What if the Expos Weren't Struck Out?

Ken Griffey Jr. probably summed up the 1994 season the best when he said " We picked a bad season to have a good year" Nobody felt this pain any worse than the Montreal Expos. Currently at the time of the strike they had the best record in the majors at 74-40 and were on pace for 105 wins, the best record in franchise history and before this they had only made it to the postseason one other time and that was in 1981.

The team was stacked with talent, players like Moises Alou, Larry Walker, Pedro Martinez, Marquis Grissom, Jeff Fassero, were all hitting their primes and playing well. They were 6 games ahead of the Braves and most baseball writers were on the bandwagon picking them to go to the World Series.

But as this blog of mine has clearly shown, things don't always go the way we think they should or the way we hope they will. The final 47 games of the year were cancelled along with the postseason and World Series. The great effort put forth by the Expos was forgotten because nothing became of it. Would this have saved this dying franchise? Would it have given them a fanbase to put them back on the map again? This strike severley dampened the notion to get a new stadium in Montreal and local ownership groups decided not to invest enough for the team to retain its best players.

Some may say that winning a World Series might not have done a whole lot for the already diminishing franchise in Canada, but I think otherwise. Winning does a lot more than you think. With a new stadium and high interest sprung back on the team because of their success, I think it would have only made sense for ownership to have invested in the team and keep the stars. Who knows, Pedro could have been a 3 time NL Cy Young award winner and Moises Alou and Larry Walker would have provided plenty of punch in the lineup. The Expos could still be around today.

Just as another little side note about the 1994 season though this is slightly off topic from the Expos, this season was looking quite astounding for all statistics. People don't normally remember but Matt Williams was actually on pace to top Roger Maris' record of 61 homeruns he had 43 at the time of the strike. Also Tony Gwynn was batting .394 and had a legitimate shot at being the first man since Ted Williams to top an average .400.

Picture Courtesy of Major League Baseball

To have been or not to have been, that is the question...

All this lovely talk about Alex Rodriguez and steroids made me think to myself, what if A-Rod was traded to the Red Sox in 2003 for Manny Ramirez and Nomar Garciaparra. To some this may seem like I just made this "what if" up, but in actuality this trade was going to happen and could have if the players union allowed A-rod to take less money which he was willing to do. What would have become of this deal? Alex Rodriguez a Boston Red Sox Shortstop! Yikes... I'm sure any Red Sox fan must cringe at the thought that this could've been.

Now from a straight up stats perspective, which I always like to take in these opinons of mine. Fenway Park would have been a great place for A-Rod and I am quite sure he would have excelled as a regular season batter like he always seems to do. Manny and Nomar on the otherhand would have actually given the Texas Rangers a very large boost to their lineup especially considering in 03' Nomar hit .301 with 28 HRS and 105 RBIs and Manny went .325 with 37 HRS and 104 RBIs. Playing in Texas those stats could have actually seen an increase. The potential for a David Ortiz, Alex Rodriguez 3-4 in the lineup would have been just as comparable to the Ramirez, Ortiz duo and the loss of Nomar in 2003 would have been crucial. The Red Sox offense would still be very effective and they would have still made the playoffs.

In the long run though, without Manny and with A-Rod. I don't see the 86 year drought coming to an end. For all the garbage Red Sox fans gave Manny for being himself, he was very clutch and ended up being the first World Series MVP for the Red Sox since 1918. A-Rod would not have been able to replace that kind of production come playoff time.

This trade would have been quite detrimental to Boston, much more than it seemed at the time. Red Sox fans everywhere should thank the players union every chance they get because without them, Boston would still be screaming for the head of Bill Buckner.

Picture Courtesy of the Boston Globe