Sacre Bleu! Les Return of Les Expos!

[jaa36]

While I would have viewed this edition of the team as weaker than last year, the pundits disagree, projecting us to run away with the NL East with a 95-61 record. Charles Bronfman Jr. expects us to reach the playoffs. We have the 31st-best minor league system in baseball, with Chris Kambic our only top-100 prospect at #67 overall.

Luke Leto continued his tradition of getting injured for our team; he has a sore elbow and it's uncertain exactly when he'll return. Infielder Ernesto Medina, a 22-year-old who helped fill in for Leto last year, also starts the season on the DL.

Opening day lineup:
SS Tristan Hanoian
CF Jorge Olivera
RF Luis Estrada (he's shifting there from center field this year)
DH Danny Steele (acquired with Estrada and Leto last season)
LF Chris Atherton
1B Zaire Regular
3B Eric Goldberg
2B Jose Altuve (batting eighth?!? Really, Mike Matheny?)
C Miguel Amaya

The rotation is Juan Salazar, Ron Geiger, Juan Vega, Adrian Morejon, and Kevin Davenport. Carlos Jose Romero is the new closer; the bullpen appears to be a weak spot this season.

Jarred Kelenic remains unsigned; he's now expecting a one-year deal in the $30M range.

[jaa36]

The Expos are off to a HOT start in 2031, with a league-best 19-8 record. Five regulars are hitting .300 or better, led by Zaire Regular's .346 mark. Jose Altuve got his 3500th career hit, and he's off to a .303 start. Carlos Jose Romero won the Pitcher of the Month award, starting his Expos career with a 3-0 record, 9 saves, and an 0.61 ERA. The makeshift bullpen has actually been the best in the National League thus far, and we have a 7-0 record in one-run games thus far.

Around the league:
-Chad Workman (CWS) hit for the cycle and already has a .441 average and 12 home runs.
-Jarred Kelenic signed with the Rangers for $27M over one year, and Ian Anderson signed with the Mets for one year at $20M.
-Eloy Jimenez (MIN) hit his 400th career home run.

[jaa36]

May was somehow even better than April- we won 19 games and we're now 38-15, seven games up in the NL East. Luis Estrada had a 25-game hitting streak and won NL Player of the Month after hitting .459 with six home runs and 26 RBI. His contract is up after this year, and while I'd love to resign him, he's asking for nine years and $600M, which may be a bit too rich for us. Carlos Jose Romero continues to lock down the ninth inning and now has an 0.36 ERA. Luke Leto and Jose Altuve have both suffered through injuries, but our infield depth is quite good this year and the offense has just kept on rolling. We swept a series against Oakland by a combined score of 34-7, and one against Minnesota by 26-3. We actually beat the Rangers in a game that Jarred Kelenic was the starting pitcher- probably not a great idea on Texas's part.

Around the league:
-Chad Workman (CWS) won the AL Player of the Month again, but unfortunately will miss three weeks after he was attacked by a wild animal at the zoo and broke his foot. Days off can be dangerous.
-Ozzie Albies (SEA) got his 2500th career hit.
-Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (TOR) and Ian Happ (COL) got their 400th home runs.
-Tyrese Cooperwood (PHI) pitched a perfect game.

[jaa36]

Only 15 wins this month. We remain the top team in baseball at 53-26 overall. It was a month full of injuries, as Luis Estrada went down for a month with a sprained ankle, and Ron Geiger will miss at least the rest of the regular season with a ruptured finger tendon, finishing with an excellent 1.96 ERA in eight starts. Jose Altuve, Danny Steele and Jon Osborne all hit the DL as well. Estrada leads the NL with a .392 average and 3.9 WAR. Juan Vega has continued his impressive stint with our club, posting a 3.20 ERA this season. Eric Goldberg had nine home runs and 22 RBI this month.

With the bullpen remaining a bit thin, I dealt with my favorite trading partner the Portland Beavers to get three pitchers, Doug Jenkins, Juan Castaneda and Juan Maldonado, giving up three minor leaguers that weren't in our plans. This was yet another salary dump for the rebuilding Beavers. The 28-year-old Jenkins had a 2.76 ERA and 18 saves with Portland, and will move into a setup role with us; Mike Matheny would prefer him as the closer, but I'm not going to demote Carlos Jose Romero and his 1.25 ERA. Jenkins makes $6.7M in his second year of arbitration. The other two both make the league minimum of $800K, and Maldonado (who has a 3.28 ERA) will move into he rotation with Castaneda (2.57) joining the bullpen.

I picked college first baseman Mike Todd with the #24 overall pick; Todd is a good overall hitter who could be major-league ready in a few years. Unfortunately, he demanded a major-league contract, so he better be ready soon! Infielders Jon Billups, Steve Fitzsimmons and Jared Crawford and pitchers Chris Brothman and Ben Walther rounded out the first five rounds- we had an extra pick after not signing our "impossible" draftee last year.

Around the league:
-Cody Bellinger (LAD) got his 2000th hit.
-Luis Rayos (CHC) leads the NL with a 2.20 ERA; I had almost traded for him instead of Tristan Hanoian, though I guess with our current record I can't complain.

[jaa36]

We squeaked by with another winning month- barely- and head into the last two months of the season tied for the best record in MLB with the Chicago Cubs, at 65-37. We've somehow put together the most potent offense in baseball despite Jose Altuve, Luis Estrada and Luke Leto all missing time. Altuve is now hitting .331, and Estrada .369. Young third baseman Eric Goldberg leads the team with 23 home runs. The top of the rotation, with Juan Salazar, Juan Vega and Adrian Morejon, has all been solid, even with the loss of Ron Geiger. Altuve, Estrada, Salazar, Carlos Jose Romero and Chris Preuss all made the all-star team. This is a team that could be very formidable heading into the postseason.

Around the league:
-The AL won the all-star game 11-2.
-Carlos Correa (HOU) got to 2500 hits.
-Cody Bellinger (LAD) reached 600 career home runs.
-Forrest Whitley (LAA) won AL Player of the Month, and has a 7-2 record and 2.43 ERA. Did I make a mistake in trading him?

[jaa36]

We head into September with 84 wins, tied with the Cubs for best in baseball. It could be quite a showdown for the NLCS if both teams keep up this pace. I made two trades to shore up the team for the playoffs. The first saw Chris Kambic and Jonathan Ferguson, two pitchers acquired in the offseason, go to the New York Mets for Ian Anderson (who of course had spent three excellent seasons in our bullpen) and starting pitcher Eric Vaughn. The 29-year-old Vaughn was not highly regarded coming out of college, but rose through the ranks to eventually become the #12 prospect in baseball. He spent five good but under-the-radar years with the Mets (37-39, 3.99 ERA) and is making $8.2M in his first year of arbitration. Adrian Morejon will miss the rest of the season with a torn labrum, so Vaughn will replace him in the rotation.

The other deal saw left fielder Jordan Anderson join the Expos in exchange for infielder Tristan Hanoian unremarkable minor leaguers. Anderson is a masher, a four-time all-star and three-time Silver Slugger who has a .373 OBP, 253 home runs, and 40 WAR in nine seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks. The 32-year-old Anderson makes $45M in his walk year, but the D-backs will pick up 2/3 of the remainder of his salary. He'll immediately slot into the middle of our lineup as a fearsome right-handed presence, as we otherwise are stacked with lefties. Hanoian played fine for us, but his ratings were starting to drop, and this gets us off the hook for the $27M we would owe him over the next two seasons.

With just a month to go, Luis Salazar and Juan Vega are both in the Cy Young hunt. Jose Altuve is hitting over .300 for the millionth year in a row. We now have a very deep team, both with respect to our lineup and our pitching staff. Could this be the year the Expos win it all?

Around the league:
-The Blue Jays and Angels lead their divisions in the American League.
-Chad Workman (CWS) leads the AL in WAR yet again, and just hit his 300th career home run.

[jaa36]

We easily sailed into the postseason with a 97-59 record, the best in Expos history. Unfortunately, Eric Goldberg ruptured an Achilles tendon, but he and Adrian Morejon will be the only two Expos to miss the postseason. Ron Geiger has returned, leaving us with a very solid rotation of Juan Salazar, Geiger, Eric Vaughn and Juan Vega, not to mention an excellent back end of the bullpen with Doug Jenkins, Carlos Jose Romero and Ian Anderson. Despite the loss of Goldberg, Mat Belland is a capable fill-in at third base, and the lineup is stacked from top to bottom. Luis Estrada finished second in the NL with a .332 average, and Juan Salazar finished third with a 2.89 ERA and 5.0 WAR.

Around the league:
-The Cubs finished with the best record in baseball at 103-53.
-Bryce Harper (WAS) hit his 600th career home run. Harper has played the entirety of his 20-year career with the Nationals.

[jaa36]

We took a hard-fought series, three games to two, against the Miami Marlins to win the Division Series. Game one saw Juan Salazar walk the bases loaded in the fifth before giving way to Juan Maldonado, who allowed a three-run triple and a lead the Marlins never relinquished. Home runs by Luke Leto and Zaire Regular gave the Expos a 5-3 win in the second game. In game three, Chris Atherton provided the only offense with a two-run homer as Eric Vaughn pitched six shutout innings. Luis Estrada homered twice in game four despite being hobbled by a pulled abdominal muscle, but Doug Jenkins gave up an eighth-inning run and the series headed back to Montreal tied at two games apiece. Game five saw both Jose Altuve and Jordan Anderson hit two-run home runs; this time Juan Salazar pitched six scoreless innings and the bullpen was able to hold on for a 4-2 win.

It was a stressful series, but the Philadelphia Phillies did us a favor by beating the Cubs three games to two in their series, so we'll play a somewhat weaker opponent. The Phillies have a great ace in Tyrese Cooperwood, and some power in the lineup (including four-time all-star first baseman Blaze Jordan), but their bullpen has been decimated by injuries, to the point that their current close had no regular-season saves and a 5.65 ERA. Mike Matheny oddly used Ron Geiger out of the bullpen in game five- although to be honest, he can typically only go two or three innings anyway since his return from injury- so Eric Vaughn starts against Cooperwood in game one.

[jaa36]

We took yet another hard-fought series, defeating the Phillies in seven games. Luke Leto had four hits in the first game, and the Expos bullpen gave up the lead twice, but we prevailed 6-5 when Danny Steele hit a pinch-hit walk-off home run in the ninth inning. Jose Altuve homered twice in game two, and we appeared well on our way to another victory until the bullpen coughed up five runs in the eighth, including a three-run home run by designated hitter Ernesto Celaya. Altuve had another home run in game three to propel the Expos to a 7-2 victory. Late home runs by Zaire Regular and Luis Estrada gave us a 4-3 come-from-behind victory in game four to give us a commanding 3-1 series lead.

Phillies right fielder Greg Parsons drove in four in the next game as they brought the series back to 3-2. Then first baseman Blaze Jordan led the Phillies to a 5-1 victory to tie the series. It all came down to game seven, and once again, Luis Estrada played through injury to carry the Expos on his back, getting four hits to lead the team to a 7-1 victory and winning series MVP.

We match up in the World Series against the Texas Rangers, who are trying to repeat as MLB champions. The Rangers are a bit shorthanded, though, with their top player, center fielder Tyler Kehoe, injured and unavailable to play. It appears that they'll plan to play our old friend Jarred Kelenic in center (not a great plan) and a reserve shortstop to play right field. Kelenic, for what it's worth, had a great year with the bat, and also pitched 24 games for them! (Also not a great plan.)

[jaa36]

The Montreal Expos have won the first World Series in franchise history, beating the Texas Rangers in six games! Chris Atherton won the series MVP by hitting .444 with three home runs and seven RBI. The theme of the series was "next man up," as the team didn't miss a beat despite losing key players Jose Altuve, Jorge Olivera, Luis Estrada and Doug Jenkins to injuries during the series.

Game one saw Olivera and Altuve both leave early on. Altuve's replacement, Ernesto Medina, hit a grand slam to break the game open in the fifth inning. Medina had only one home run during the regular season. Eric Vaughn pitched effectively to get the win.

The second game saw excellent pitching from Juan Vega, and surprisingly, from Rangers starter Abraao Omari; Omari had not started a regular season game but had been forced into the playoff rotation due to injury. Texas took a 1-0 lead into the ninth, but Chris Atherton tied the score with a sac fly, and Danny Steele hit a walk-off pinch-hit home run the next inning.

We were cruising with an 8-3 lead in game three, behind four home runs, but the bullpen absolutely collapsed in the ninth, with Doug Jenkins, Carlos Jose Romero and Juan Maldonado allowing a total of nine runs, including a soul-crushing walk-off grand slam to left fielder Juan Miranda. Both he and designated hitter Alfredo Cervantes hit two home runs in the game. To add injury to insult, Luis Estrada injured himself trying to throw out a runner at third base during the Rangers' rally; thankfully, he was able to return the next day.

Game four saw Jarred Kelenic perform well on the mound, at least well enough to beat Ron Geiger, as the Rangers rolled to a series-tying 7-3 win. This made me nervous.

In game five, Kelenic (clearly still miffed that I didn't resign him) homered to give the Rangers a 5-3 lead. But the bats came alive, as Jordan Anderson hit a grand slam (the third of the series) and we tacked on some insurance runs to take a 10-6 lead into the ninth. Texas loaded the bases with one out, but Ian Anderson got Kelenic to ground into a game-ending double play. One more game to go.

Game six was a stress-free affair, until it wasn't. We put up three runs on Abraao Omari, which looked like it would easily stand up with Juan Vega throwing six scoreless innings. Doug Jenkins pitched a scoreless eighth, came back out for the ninth with a 4-0 lead, promptly gave up back-to-back home runs, and came out of the game with forearm stiffness. But Carlos Jose Romero, who had been so good at the start of the season, needed just eight pitches to retire the Rangers to give the Expos faithful their long-awaited championship!!

[jaa36]

Mike Matheny won the NL Manager of the Year- well deserved for his skillful leadership this season. Luis Estrada won a Silver Slugger in right field.

AL MVP: Chad Workman, CWS (.341/43/107, 9.8)
NL MVP: Juan Fontes, CHC (.296/59/131, 6.9)
AL Cy Young: Juan Camacho, CLE (14-9, 2.43, 5.5)
NL Cy Young: Tyrese Cooperwood, PHI (16-8, 3.13, 6.1)

This was Workman's fourth MVP, and Cooperwood's third straight Cy Young.

Having accomplished his goal of winning a championship for Montreal, Carter Dawson Raines unexpectedly stepped down as the team's general manager. His longtime assistant Jim Steele will move into that role. Kevin Poindexter and Dave Hansen, longtime scouting director and hitting coach, both retired after the season as well.

I'll follow the Expos under Steele's leadership at least for a little while. This offseason, Jose Altuve, Luis Estrada and Jordan Anderson all reach free agency, so it'll be a bit of a crossroads for the new GM.

[jaa36]

Since it's been ten years, and we conveniently just won a championship, a look back at the Expos' all-time team (at least of these ten years):

C: Jake Rogers (.232/.300/.390, 49 HR, 187 RBI, 5.4 WAR) While Zac Susi had similar numbers, Rogers was the original Expos backstop, and provided a consistent presence behind the plate over five seasons.

1B: Wan-hua Chai (.264/.365/.508, 182 HR, 543 RBI, 13.8 WAR) The burly Taiwanese import was a solid presence in the middle of the Expos lineup for six seasons. Chai was a big investment for the club in 2025, and he earned his salary and then some.

2B: Jose Altuve (.323/.388/.479, 1332 H, 226 2B, 132 HR, 662 R, 556 RBI, 105 SB, 30.6 WAR, 3x-All Star, 4x-Silver Slugger) What else can you say about the legend? He hit .300 every season with the Expos, from his age 34 season though his age 41 season. With 3638 career hits, the only question is how much longer can he do it, and does he have a chance at Rose's record? You would guess no, but you would have lost a lot of money betting against Altuve in the past.

3B: Kris Bryant (.291/.387/.571, 47 2B, 37 HR, 118 RBI, 7.0 WAR) Only played one season with the Expos (2025), but what a season it was, as he finished second in the NL MVP voting and won the NL Division Series MVP. Bryant, who will likely retire after this season with 528 career home runs and 76 career WAR, still has the highest single-season WAR in Expos history.

SS: Dorian Gonzalez (.272/.349/.370, 237 R, 10.1 WAR) The shortstop, who was more or less stolen from the Padres, was a tremendous presence at the top of the lineup for the Expos, leading the league in plate appearances in both 2028 and 2029 while also providing top-notch defense. Luis Victoriano Garcia would have been a close second on this list.

LF: Brandon Marsh (.255/.311/.431, 104 HR, 429 RBI, 87 SB, 8.6 WAR) The outfielder was a rule 5 pick and played his entire career with the Expos. Marsh was an All-Star in 2022, and won the 2024 NL Division Series MVP.

CF: Luis Estrada (.320/.382/.572, 48 HR, 163 RBI, 27 SB, 8.5 WAR) I'm cheating a bit here, as he played right field in his second season with the Expos, but what a force he was when he joined the lineup in 2030. The 2031 NLCS MVP was often injured, but when he was in the lineup, there was no one better. Quite a bit of his future remains to be written, though it's likely the next phase will be somewhere other than Montreal.

RF: Jarred Kelenic (.298/.389/.498, 121 HR, 437 RBI, 507 R, 20.6 WAR, 3x-All Star) The only disappointment about the 2031 championship is that Kelenic was in the wrong dugout. The sweet-swinging left-hander was everything we could have asked of him in his five years as an Expo, and had the second-highest career WAR of any position player.

DH: Chris Atherton (.296/.346/.504, 104 HR, 428 RBI, 10.2 WAR) While the prickly Atherton was never much for hanging out or playing defense, he sure could hit. Atherton won the 2031 World Series MVP, hitting three home runs for the Expos. He was stolen from the Royals for perpetual disappointment Tirso Ornelas.

SP: Juan Salazar (28-13, 3.54 ERA, 576 K, 378.2 IP, 11.1 WAR) "The Big Chill" gave instant credibility to the Expo rotation when he came over in the 2029 season, winning the Pitcher of the Month that September and later posting the best season in Expos history in 2031 (14-4, 2.89, 5.0 WAR, 2nd in Cy Young voting). Honorable mentions to Zach Guth and Luis Patino, who both performed admirably over seven seasons for the Expos.

RP: Luis Urrego (23-12, 2.79 ERA, 85 saves, 303 K, 219 IP, 6.9 WAR) Urrego had a sensational 2028 season, winning the NL Reliever of the Year award when he went 8-2 with a 1.90 ERA and 49 saves, with 3.4 WAR. He was also the main trade chip in the deal that brought over Salazar. Juan Ramirez (10.9 WAR, 84 saves over seven seasons) was a close second, but didn't have nearly the peak that Urrego did.

[jaa36]

Well, the Expos apparently did not need me as they defeated the Royals 4-2 to win their second straight World Series. The Expos finished 93-63 in the regular season. Chris Atherton won his second straight World Series MVP and went .352/37/96 in the regular season. Zaire Regular hit .318/32/100. Ron Geiger was 16-6 with a 3.20 ERA. Mike Matheny was Manager of the Year again. Jim Steele kept a pretty steady hand on the tiller as the roster closely resembled the 2031 team.

Robinson Cano and Kenley Jansen were selected to the Hall of Fame. Francisco Lindor got his 3000th hit, and Ronald Acuna Jr. his 2500th.

Jose Altuve signed with the Marlins for one year, $23M; he broke a bone in his elbow in June and retired after the season. Unbelievably, he hit only .299 this season, and finished his career with 3694 hits.

Luis Estrada signed a seven-year, $384M deal with the Giants and had another great year, .297/31/107 and 5.4 WAR. Jordan Anderson went to the Mets for $108M over five years. Jarred Kelenic signed with the Yankees for one year, $17M.

[jaa36]

The Expos fell to 77-79 in 2033. Juan Salazar won the Cy Young, going 17-10 with a 2.61 ERA. But Ron Geiger could only make two starts after fracturing his elbow in spring training, Juan Vega and Adrian Morejon have been limited to bullpen duties, and Luke Leto dropped to a .232 average. Chris Atherton and Zaire Regular had excellent seasons again.

The San Diego Padres won their first World Series, beating the 107-win Toronto Blue Jays. Zach Greinke and Giancarlo Stanton went into the Hall of Fame. Rhys Hoskins hit his 500th home run and retired; Carlos Correa (WAS) got his 500th as well, and can still play a capable shortstop at age 39. Chad Workman (CWS) reached his 400th home run and has 95 WAR at age 32; he just led the AL in WAR for the eighth time in nine years.

[jaa36]

The Expos finished 79-77, as they have retreated firmly to the middle of the pack. Juan Salazar had a 4.14 ERA and will leave as a free agent after the season. Zaire Regular is also set to leave. Ron Geiger is now a bullpen arm.

The Rockies continues the stretch of new World Series winners, defeating the Red Sox in seven games. The pitcher who threw the most innings for them had a 6.30 ERA, so it was a fairly typical Rockies season otherwise. Chad Workman won his sixth MVP award. Mike Trout was a first-ballot Hall of Famer; Trout had finished with 589 home runs and 97 WAR. Adley Rutschman (CWS) got his 400th career home run; the 12-time all-star has played his whole career with the Sox and is likely to go down as one of the best catchers of all time. Nolan Gorman (TEX) and Ronald Acuna Jr. (MIN) also hit their 400th.

[jaa36]

The Expos finished 70-86. Only a few of the "championship" Expos are remaining. Ron Geiger had a 2-12 record and 6.53 ERA. Mat Belland, Danny Steele, Jorge Olivera, Luke Leto and Kevin Davenport are still hanging around as well.

The St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series, defeating the Portland Beavers in six games. The Beavers have actually turned into a pretty good club at last, making the postseason the last three years in a row. A different Juan Salazar won the NL MVP, though our own Juan Salazar signed with the Cardinals (four years, $227M) and pitched well. Chad Workman signed for five years, $315M with the Nationals and played well again, getting his 2000th hit. Luis Estrada has now had four straight 5-WAR seasons with the Giants. Nolan Arenado entered the Hall of Fame. Kyle Tucker (LAA) got his 400th career home run.

[jaa36]

The Expos continued to plummet, finishing 61-95, the worst record in the National League. This has become a dismal sad-sack of a team. Bobby Brock was the team's nominal "ace," going 7-14 with a 6.16 ERA. The team's top hitter (Danny Steele) hit .275 with 23 home runs, but is a immobile statue in right field. The team's second-best hitter (Luis Trevinio, also known as the "Sheriff of Swattingham," even though he's from Venezuela) is best known for his wife complaining about the fans in Los Angeles. It's not good.

The San Francisco Giants won the World Series in seven games over the Red Sox. Neither team won more than 84 games, and the Giants snuck in as the worst playoff team by record in the NL. Chad Workman won the NL MVP (his seventh overall MVP) with a 10-WAR season, and hit his 500th career home run. Cody Bellinger hit his 700th home run; the 41-year-old Bellinger has spent his whole career with the Dodgers, but he's pretty much cooked at this point, hitting .148 this season. Ronald Acuna Jr. got his 3000th hit and retired after the season. Blaze Jordan (LAA) hit his 400th career home run. Manny Machado was elected to the Hall of Fame- Machado had 68 WAR and was an Oriole for his whole career.

[jaa36]

The Expos "improved" to 62-94- which was not last in the NL East! The "ace" of the staff was 35-year-old Chris Wentworth, who was signed to a misguided four-year, $134M contract before the season. Chris Brock continued his crappy career, going 7-18 with a 6.24 ERA. Danny Steele and Jorge Olivera, the two other holdovers from the glory years, hit .237 and .232 respectively. Young center fielder Marcal Trevino did play well, hitting .320 with 18 home runs.

The Los Angeles Angels beat the Cincinnati Reds in seven games in the World Series. Chad Workman (WAS) won another MVP. Luis Estrada (SFG) got his 2000th hit and 400th home run. Noah Syndergaard and Kris Bryant went into the Hall of Fame.

[jaa36]

The Expos finished 71-85, fifth in the NL East; this was actually seven games better than their Pythagorean record. Montreal signed two-time MVP Juan Fontes to a five-year, $385M deal before the season; Fontes didn't disappoint, hitting .314 with 25 home runs. But Marcal Trevino regressed, and the team was 14th-best in both run scoring and run prevention. Bobby Brock is somehow still on the team. Jon Macdonald, the #2 overall pick last season, made his debut with the club.

The biggest Expos news, of course, was Jose Altuve getting elected to the Hall of Fame. Altuve finished his career with a .318 average, 3694 hits, 323 home runs, 1398 RBI and 1859 runs scored.

The Atlanta Braves won the World Series over the Portland Beavers; this was their first championship since 1995. Chad Workman hit home run #600 and got his 2500th hit. Luis Salinas (DET) and Jordan Groshans (LAA) got their 400th home runs.

[jaa36]

The Expos finished 76-80. Marcal Trevino rebounded to hit .335, second baseman Bob Basson hit 26 home runs, and youngster Jon Macdonald pitched for the big league club for half the season. Juan Fontes hit his 400th career home run.

The Washington Nationals beat the Detroit Tigers in seven games. Chad Workman won his ninth MVP, and his first championship-and then up and retired to go into broadcasting! He finishes his career with 139 WAR, sixth best of all time, though you wonder if he could have broken the all-time record. Bryce Harper and Luis Severino went into the Hall of Fame. Juan Ramos (BOS), Giovani Silva (KC), and Mike Mund (WAS) all go their 400th home runs.