An expansion of futility

1969 must have been an interesting year. The New York Jets win their first and only Super Bowl, Apollo 11 put the first man on the moon, and Major League Baseball expanded with 4 new teams. These teams were the San Diego Padres, The Seattle Pilots, The Kansas City Royals, and of course the Montreal Expos. Out of those 4 teams, two have moved cities, one has never won a World Series, and shockingly one has never even played in the World Series. Sound like a fun time to be a general manager? I suppose if you're a fan of the old chopping block. We all know the the Montreal Expos moved to Washington D.C. and became the Nationals a few years back, and that they have signed multiple top rated draft picks, but lets take a minute to see where they've been and what got them where they are. After Montreal lost the Montreal Royals, a minor league affiliate of the Dodgers where Jackie Robinson once played, there was a demand for baseball in Quebec. Naturally, after holding a version of the worlds fair in 1967 dubbed Expo67, the concept of hosting a big league team in Montreal arose, and soon came approval. Shortly enough, a make shift 28,000 seat stadium in Jarry Park was reformatted to MLB standards, and a home was born. After a brief 7 seasons, the club moved into Olympic Stadium, a converted stadium from the '76 Summer Olympics. Now with a permanent home and a substantial following, the club was ready for success. Not so fast. Over the course of the following 29 seasons, the club would manage to capture ONLY 1 division title. Throughout the years, the Expos had such greats on their rosters as Gary Carter, Andre Dawson, Larry Walker, Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson, Andres Galarraga, and most recently Vlad Guerrero. Whereas this seems incredibly impressive, the team just couldn't manage to get it all together at the same time. It was one shortcoming after another, and a last place finish to boot. To some, a disappointing past, a reason to forget, but to me it is a bittersweet transition. Clearly it was an organization that was willing to fight for success, which signed talented players in order to put themselves in a decent position, but just couldn't manage to get to the finish line in first. With a new home, fan base, and draft picks which have built hype, maybe the the moment where they turn the corner is just a few years away. Perhaps the days of the Cardinals, Phillies, Dodgers, and Giants vying for National League titles are numbered. We will soon find out. The cap above, which served as the home fitted of Les Expos de Montreal most recently, has a royal blue brim and crown with the unique Expos primary logo front and center. The M which is centered overall stands for Montreal, the E on the left in white stands for Expos, and the B stands for Baseball. Classic Logo, with a troubled past. Maybe the new Nationals W will prove to be better luck, only time will tell.