It has always intrigued me how the 1994 Montreal Expos were ready to make their only serious championship run. Yes, some late 1970s and early 80s teams looked good, but the 1994 version was one of the deepest, win ready teams, the organization had ever had. The Atlanta Braves had their consecutive division title streak extended because of the player's strike. It was unlikely the Braves could have caught the Expos in a full 1994 season. Of course, once baseball resumed for the 1995 season, the Expos were in the process of being dismantled. The beginning of the end of baseball in Montreal.
How many games could they have won? We will never know, but they were on pace for 105 wins in 1994. This team was as deep as any other in baseball, with very good pitching. They had speed and power in their lineup, power and finesse in their pitching rotation and a bullpen that was the best in baseball.
So hypothetically, how could the team have fared if they were given a full season? I understand how many are against hypotheticals, but 1994 was a season taken away from them because of the strike. It had nothing to with injuries, inconsistent play or getting beat by a team either better or worse than them. For the first time since the early 1900s, there was no World Series. The team never got to finish its season and had to start over in 1995, with a large amount of their team turned over. There is no excuse for that. The fans deserved better. Imagine having a team finally built to win, finally starting to dominate the league and like that- the season ends without completion. And the owners junk the team in the offseason so the fans never know what could have been. One of the more unfair things to happen to a team in recent memory.
Here is a list of player stats of the 1994 Montreal Expos starting lineup.
Pos Player GP HR RBI
C Darrin Fletcher 94 10 57
1B Cliff Floyd 100 4 41
2B Mike Lansing 106 5 35
SS Wil Cordero 110 15 63
3B Sean Berry 103 11 41
LF Moises Alou 107 22 78
CF Marquis Grissom 110 11 45
RF Larry Walker 103 19 86
The team played 114 games in 1994. Heres what was averaged over the course of a 162 game season.
Pos Player GP HR RBI
C Darrin Fletcher 134 14 81
1B Cliff Floyd 142 6 58
2B Mike Lansing 150 7 50
SS Wil Cordero 156 21 89
3B Sean Berry 146 16 58
LF Moises Alou 151 31 110
CF Marquis Grissom 156 16 64
RF Larry Walker 146 27 122
It is obvious that anything could have happened if the season had continued. At the very least, this shows how good of an offensive team they really had. The same could be said about their pitching. Here is the Expos pitching rotation and their two best relievers in 1994.
Pitcher GS W-L
Ken Hill 23 16-5
Pedro Martinez 23 11-5
Jeff Fassero 21 8-6
Butch Henry 15 8-3
Kirk Rueter 20 7-3
Pitcher GP W-L SV
John Wetteland 52 4-6 25
Mel Rojas 58 3-2 16
So heres how they would have projected to finish the 1994 season.
Pitcher GS W-L
Ken Hill 33 23-7
Pedro Martinez 33 16-7
Jeff Fassero 30 11-9
Butch Henry 21 11-4
Kirk Rueter 28 10-4
Pitcher GP W-L SV
John Wetteland 74 6-9 36
Mel Rojas 82 4-3 23
Hill and Pedro stand out and would be a fit for any team in the postseason. Henry and Rueter may have finished with better stats as both weren't in the rotation for the entire first part of the season. Wetteland and Rojas were on pace for almost 60 saves, as the team was on pace to win 105.
But, who knows what would have happened had the rest of the 1994 season been cancelled. Maybe the Braves would find a way to win the NL East again. The Expos were very fortunate to not have any major injuries up to that point, so perhaps their luck would run out. But there is no question that this team was the best Expos team put together in their history. (With all due respect to the teams with Andre Dawson, Gary Carter, Tim Raines, Tim Wallach and Steve Rogers.) The sad part about this is what happened afterwards. Walker and Wetteland left as a free agents. Hill and Grissom were traded away. And injuries to Floyd and Rueter changed this team dramatically. Fans never got the chance to see what this team could have been had they got a chance to finish the season, something that had always happened.
How many games could they have won? We will never know, but they were on pace for 105 wins in 1994. This team was as deep as any other in baseball, with very good pitching. They had speed and power in their lineup, power and finesse in their pitching rotation and a bullpen that was the best in baseball.
So hypothetically, how could the team have fared if they were given a full season? I understand how many are against hypotheticals, but 1994 was a season taken away from them because of the strike. It had nothing to with injuries, inconsistent play or getting beat by a team either better or worse than them. For the first time since the early 1900s, there was no World Series. The team never got to finish its season and had to start over in 1995, with a large amount of their team turned over. There is no excuse for that. The fans deserved better. Imagine having a team finally built to win, finally starting to dominate the league and like that- the season ends without completion. And the owners junk the team in the offseason so the fans never know what could have been. One of the more unfair things to happen to a team in recent memory.
Here is a list of player stats of the 1994 Montreal Expos starting lineup.
Pos Player GP HR RBI
C Darrin Fletcher 94 10 57
1B Cliff Floyd 100 4 41
2B Mike Lansing 106 5 35
SS Wil Cordero 110 15 63
3B Sean Berry 103 11 41
LF Moises Alou 107 22 78
CF Marquis Grissom 110 11 45
RF Larry Walker 103 19 86
The team played 114 games in 1994. Heres what was averaged over the course of a 162 game season.
Pos Player GP HR RBI
C Darrin Fletcher 134 14 81
1B Cliff Floyd 142 6 58
2B Mike Lansing 150 7 50
SS Wil Cordero 156 21 89
3B Sean Berry 146 16 58
LF Moises Alou 151 31 110
CF Marquis Grissom 156 16 64
RF Larry Walker 146 27 122
It is obvious that anything could have happened if the season had continued. At the very least, this shows how good of an offensive team they really had. The same could be said about their pitching. Here is the Expos pitching rotation and their two best relievers in 1994.
Pitcher GS W-L
Ken Hill 23 16-5
Pedro Martinez 23 11-5
Jeff Fassero 21 8-6
Butch Henry 15 8-3
Kirk Rueter 20 7-3
Pitcher GP W-L SV
John Wetteland 52 4-6 25
Mel Rojas 58 3-2 16
So heres how they would have projected to finish the 1994 season.
Pitcher GS W-L
Ken Hill 33 23-7
Pedro Martinez 33 16-7
Jeff Fassero 30 11-9
Butch Henry 21 11-4
Kirk Rueter 28 10-4
Pitcher GP W-L SV
John Wetteland 74 6-9 36
Mel Rojas 82 4-3 23
Hill and Pedro stand out and would be a fit for any team in the postseason. Henry and Rueter may have finished with better stats as both weren't in the rotation for the entire first part of the season. Wetteland and Rojas were on pace for almost 60 saves, as the team was on pace to win 105.
But, who knows what would have happened had the rest of the 1994 season been cancelled. Maybe the Braves would find a way to win the NL East again. The Expos were very fortunate to not have any major injuries up to that point, so perhaps their luck would run out. But there is no question that this team was the best Expos team put together in their history. (With all due respect to the teams with Andre Dawson, Gary Carter, Tim Raines, Tim Wallach and Steve Rogers.) The sad part about this is what happened afterwards. Walker and Wetteland left as a free agents. Hill and Grissom were traded away. And injuries to Floyd and Rueter changed this team dramatically. Fans never got the chance to see what this team could have been had they got a chance to finish the season, something that had always happened.
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