How Jeffrey Loria Destroyed the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals
The Montreal Expos were the best team in the National League back in 1994. Their roster was the perfect mix of up-and-coming youngsters and experienced veterans.
Cliff Floyd, Mike Lansing, Marquis Grissom, Moises Alou, Larry Walker, Rondell White, Pedro Martinez, Ken Hill, John Wetteland, and Darrin Fletcher were just some of the names dotting the Expos' major league roster.
The Expos got off to a fast start and when the player's strike began on Aug. 12th, the Expos had the best record in all of baseball at 74-40 and were on pace to win 106 games.
They averaged almost 24,000 fans per game and things looked bright for both the franchise and the city.
A year later, the Expos were slowly going the way of the dinosaur.
The majority of their star players were gone in a cost-cutting tsunami that slashed more than a quarter of the team's payroll. They won 31 games less (based on full seasons in 1994 and 1995) and failed to make the playoffs.
And their fans noticed. Attendance dropped a full 10,000 per game.
Baseball in Montreal was over. Oh sure, they played on for another decade, but neither the owners, or the fans, took it very seriously.
Ownership became a big issue as well, there was no way the city of Montreal and the other provincial, federal purse holders were dropping any coin for the much needed downtown ball park.
Jeffrey Loria