Review of "Charlie Hustle"

Sometimes it's hard to find a book that is fair and complete when it is about a controversial person or event, but this book on Pete Rose fits that perfectly.  Here is my review of "Charlie Hustle." 

Title/Author:

“Charlie Hustle: The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose and the Last Glory Days of Baseball” by Keith O’Brien

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review:  Pete Rose is one of the most polarizing figures in baseball history.  Even people who have never followed the game but know about him through the news about his gambling, conviction on tax evasion and his banishment from baseball will have an opinion on him.  Whatever one’s opinion is about Rose, it is unlikely to change, even after reading this excellent biography of Rose by Keith O’Brien.

Before getting to all the excellent aspects of the book, I will the two criticisms I have out of the way.  One is a passage about how baseball changed, for the worse in O’Brien’s view, during the steroid era after Rose was banished from the game in 1989.  That fits the subtitle of this book and is an opinion held by many but it just felt out of place – not only where it was placed in the book but by being included at all.  Rose was never believed to use steroids so why is that included in a book on him?

The other detail that was a negative is that in later passages, when mentioning the number of children Rose had, it always stated four – the four he had with his two wives.  There was another daughter who Rose fathered with one of his mistresses, but aside from when she was little, she is ignored and forgotten the rest of the book.  For the record, Pete Rose fathered five children, not four.

With that out of the way, time to talk about all of the good things about this book and there are plenty.  The first is that O’Brien was able to get many quotes, stories and pieces of information from Rose himself.  For a such a controversial figure, it was remarkable that the author was able to glean this much from Rose and it made for more authenticity. Now, whether one believes that Rose is lying, as he did in many of his public statements about his gambling, that doesn’t really matter as the reader will be getting the story from the person himself.

About that gambling – the detail with which O’Brien writes about Rose’s betting is what truly shines in this book.  As many know, Rose gambled on more than just baseball.  It was interesting to read about Rose’s “triple header” days in Florida during spring training.  After the games, he would often head to the dog races, the horse races and the jai alai centers for placing bets. This would often take place with some characters who were less than desirable.  This became known to many who befriended Rose through baseball and they had concerns.  Teammates, managers and front office personnel alike all had questions about Rose’s acquaintances, but because of his success on the field, this wasn’t an issue for awhile.

That is until the FBI and the Department of Justice started investigating some of those acquaintances such as Tommy Gioiosa and Ron Peters.  The latter’s testimony to the agents working for these agencies was the most damaging and O’Brien brings their stories to life in riveting pages.  The same goes for the investigation by John Dowd for Major League Baseball and his report.  The reader will think that they are right there in the room with Dowd and the baseball commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti when reading about this investigation and the banishment of Rose from the game.

These are just a few of the excellent topics covered in this book.  I haven’t even mentioned anything about O’Brien’s writing about Rose’s accomplishments on the field.  The beginning of the book that describes the night when Rose became the all-time leader in hits will give you an idea of how he covers that aspect of Rose as well – which is excellent.

 No matter how one feels about Rose as a person or whether or not he belongs in the baseball Hall of Fame, one who cares at all about him or baseball should read this book.  It deals with a very controversial baseball figure fairly and leaves the reader to make the final judgement for themselves.

 I was provided a review copy via NetGalley and the opinions expressed are strictly my own.

 Link: Amazon.com: Charlie Hustle: The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and the Last Glory Days of Baseball: 9780593317372: O'Brien, Keith: Books

 

Review of "108 Stitches"

As a viewer who enjoys hearing Ron Darling's broadcasts whether with the Mets or on TBS, I was interested in seeing what stories he would share in his latest book.  Here is my review of "108 Stitches"

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Title/Author:

“108 Stitches: Loose Threads, Ripping Yarns and the Darndest Characters from My Time in the Game” by Ron Darling

Tags:

Baseball, professional, memoir, Mets, Athletics, Expos

Publish date:

April 2, 2019

Length:

272 pages 

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (outstanding)

Review:

Ron Darling can be described as a baseball lifer, first as a player as he enjoyed a moderate amount of success as a pitcher with the New York Mets, Montreal Expos and Oakland Athletics. He is now a successful broadcaster for the Mets and also for TBS on their national baseball telecasts.  Having spent decades in the game, he would naturally have many stories to tell and he does so in this, his third book.   At the beginning, Darling tells the reader that baseball has its own “six degrees of separation” and that is how everything in the game is somehow connected, but makes a better analogy by describing the makeup of a baseball and its 108 stitches.  Pull one story out of his memory and he connects it with another, which is related to yet a third one and soon one will see how everything in the game is connected, just like the 108 red stitches keep a baseball together.   Darling also drops names of the people in his story in (almost) alphabetical order and these people, mostly players who were teammates at one time or other broadcasters, range from the obscure to the superstar.  Most of the stories are about the Mets, since that is the team with which he has spent the most amount of time, but there are also good stories about his time with Oakland as well.  He was only on the Expos for about two weeks, so he doesn’t recall much about them, but is able to portray that transitional period about as well as one can expect.   These anecdotes can range from hilarious to poignant.  There is one chapter on crying in baseball which was probably the best, as those were the touching stories and a reader will almost tear up when reading some of those.  The best of these for me was the one on a young player in a late season game.  The young player had struck out in the second inning, killing a Mets rally.  The Mets got things going again in the third, the young man’s turn came up again – and the manager pinch hits for him.  This left that player demoralized and was sobbing on the bench – and his teammates felt sympathy instead of the usual indifference.  I left the names out so as not to spoil the story, but this is an example of the prose that Darling produces throughout the book.   The book ends with Darling’s take on the modern game, one which he views from the broadcast booth and while he is critical of many of the strategies of today’s analysis-driven game, he doesn’t come across as a grumpy old man as many former players can do.  Instead, he offers illustrations of what makes today’s baseball different from when he played.  It is a fitting conclusion to a book that starts slow, but picks up steam and ends up being a fast, fun read for hard core baseball fans.  Readers who are more casual fans may not pick up on all the names as easily, but should still be able to enjoy reading about some of Darling’s favorite people and stories.     I wish to thank St. Martin’s Press for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Excellent basketball memoir Usually a sports memoir will follow the same pattern. An ex-athlete will talk about his childhood, his career while playing his chosen game and his life after retiring. While some of this is true for Metta World Peace (formerly known as Ron Artest), his story takes on extra meaning because of his willingness to talk about his mental health issues so candidly. He does verify some of his more off beat moments, such as working at Circuit City while still a player. He does

 

 

Book Format Read:
E-Book (Kindle)

Buying Links:

https://www.amazon.com/108-Stitches-Threads-Darndest-Characters-ebook/dp/B07D2BXK3Q/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=  

Review of "Blue Monday"

Even though this post is written during an American holiday weekend, this book about a significant day in Canadian baseball history was one that caught my eye. I always followed the Montreal Expos during their existence and this book about the most heartbreaking game in their 36 year history was a decent read.  Here is my review of "Blue Monday,"

Title/Author:

“Blue Monday: The Expos, the Dodgers and the Home Run That Changed Everything” by Danny Gallagher

Tags:

Baseball, professional, championship, Expos, Dodgers

Publish date:

October 13, 2018

Length:

256 pages

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

In October 1981, Major League Baseball was in the midst of a postseason that went longer thanks to a players’ strike in the middle of the regular season. The National League Championship Series (NLCS) between the Montreal Expos and the Los Angeles Dodgers was a tense 5 game affair (the series was a best of 5 format at that time) that the Dodgers won on the strength of a home run by outfielder Rick Monday. Because the home run denied the Expos a chance to go to their first World Series and the fact that the game was on Monday, October 19, that day has been known as “Blue Monday” in Canada. The significance and sadness of the game in Canada only grew over time as the Expos never got that close to the World Series again before leaving Montreal in 2004. That game, the main men involved and how the Expos got that that point is chronicled in this book by sportswriter Danny Gallagher.

Blue Monday actually had its beginnings at the end of the 1976 season when the Expos, coming off a season in which they lost 107 games, fired manager Karl Kuehl and hired Dick Williams. Williams was a proven winner, having won pennants and World Series titles previously in Boston and Oakland.  Between good drafts and trades by general manager John McHale and Williams changing the culture of the franchise, the team had come very close to making the postseason in 1979 and 1980, finally breaking through in 1981 thanks to the split season format enacted after the player’s strike. By winning the National League East Division in the second half, the playoff format that year had the Expos facing the first half winner, the Philadelphia Phillies. After winning that series, the Expos met the Dodgers, with the teams splitting the first four games, setting up the epic showdown for the National League pennant.

The book leads the reader up to this moment completely, from the hiring of Williams to the rise of many key Expos players such as Rogers, Andre Dawson, Warren Cromartie (more in him a little later) and Gary Carter. There were surprises along the way, such as the shocking firing of Williams as manager in September 1981 and replacing him with Jim Fanning. This was not a completely popular move and it led to the biggest question asked in the history of the Expos – why did Fanning send Rogers out to pitch in the eighth inning of game 5 of the NLCS?

Gallagher asks the question and gets many responses from many people, including the main three – Fanning, Rogers and Monday.  Without giving away any spoilers, it is safe to say that the reader will have plenty of information to determine whether that decision was justified or not. There is also similar analysis with other questions, such as if the Expo starter in game 5, Ray Burris, could have stayed in the game and why Williams was fired. These not only are analyzed with serious information, there is also a bit of humor in each one. The humor may come from other sources or from Gallagher himself. For the former, try this quote from legendary Los Angeles sports writer Jim Murray, writing about Burris who played with several teams before the Expos: “…Ray Burris, one of those pitchers who has been through more towns than a steamboat trunk.”  For some humor from the author, try this for a reason that Dick Williams was fired: “ Youppi! didn’t want to be manager.”  (Note: Youppi! was the Expos’ orange furry mascot)

While the book overall is a decent read, those who were Expos fans or followed the team during its existence will want to pick this up to learn a little more about the man who broke Canada’s heart, Rick Monday. Gallagher’s interviews and writing about Monday since that home run give the reader an inside glimpse into the man that many baseball fans have never seen. For that reason alone, it is a worthy addition to any baseball library.

I wish to thank Dundurn Publishing for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Book Format Read:

E-book (Kindle)

Buying Links:

www.amazon.com/Blue-Monday-Dodgers-Changed-Everything/dp/1459741870/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Review of "Alou: My Baseball Journey"

Felipe Alou may be remembered best as the manager of the 1994 Montreal Expos, the best baseball team that never got to play in the World Series.  However, there is so much more to the man and now he tells his complete story.  Here is my review of his memoir to be released on April 1, "Alou: My Baseball Journey"

Title/Author:

“Alou: My Baseball Journey” by Felipe Alou with Peter Kerasotis

Tags:

Baseball, professional, Giants, Braves Expos, memoir

Publish date:

April 1, 2018

Length:

336 pages

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review: 

Usually a man who became a major league baseball player and manager will share that he always dreamed of making it to the majors. Not so for Felipe Alou. The man who became the first player from the Dominican Republic to play in the major leagues, to play in the World Series and to manage in the major leagues, originally was going to be a doctor. Then through a strange turn of events in the 1955 Pan American games, a young Alou found himself on the baseball team, where he caught the eye of scouts.  The rest is history – and told by Alou in this memoir of his life both in his homeland and in the United States.

Alou was often portrayed as a gentleman during his playing days with the San Francisco Giants and Atlanta Braves and even more so during his managerial career, mostly with the Montreal Expos but also his last two years back in San Francisco. The stories he shares are told in that manner with one notable exception: his recollections of the racism he faced while being a pioneer for Latin American ballplayers.

While there are many stories about the racism directed at black players in the early days of integration in baseball, the plight of the Latin American player is not as well known. However, it is was just as humiliating and degrading and reading about someone experiencing this firsthand, as Alou did, is very powerful.  He talks about Latin players going through this even worse than black players, as the latter players were able to stick together and retreat to friendly neighborhoods.  When they were doing this, the black players, according to Alou, would exclude their Latin American teammates, making them feel even more isolated.

When approached by Sport magazine in 1963 to talk about these experiences, Alou had also been fined by commissioner Ford Frick for playing in an exhibition series in his homeland. Incensed by this and wanted to tell everyone about the racism Latin players faced, he wrote an article for the magazine’s November edition, which is shared verbatim in the book and certainly the most powerful passage in the entire volume.

This isn’t to say that the book is all about this topic  Indeed, Alou spends a great deal of time talking about his two brothers who also played in the major leagues, Matty and Jesus. The three brothers made history when they appeared in a game together in all three outfield positions and also were the three batters who came to bat in one inning – both firsts for the major leagues. Alou speaks with some pride about his accomplishments on the field with the Giants and Braves, but downplays it much of the time.

Then he talks about his experience with the Montreal Expos as both a coach and later the manager of the team, becoming the first man from the Dominican Republic to manage in the major leagues. Here Alou looks back fondly at his time in Montreal as it is very clear that he has a special place in his heart for the city and it broke when the Expos left.  He blames the ownership for this. He also looks back warmly at the Expos team that is still talked about today, the 1994 team with so many young stars whose season of glory was cut short by a strike that wiped out the season and the World Series that year. I do wish there was more in the book about that team, but at least Alou shared some great memories of that group.

Finally, Alou shares much about his homeland, not just his family life but also about the political strife of the Dominican Republic in the 1960’s. While interesting, this section took a little bit away from the rest of the book for me as it seemed to be more a statement about his political beliefs in his homeland than simply background information. This fits with his writing in the rest of the book where he shared his opinions of what he felt strongly about (including his belief that the National League should adopt the designated hitter) but I believe it could have been shortened.

Nonetheless, this was a very good book that fans of the Giants, Expos and baseball in general will enjoy. If a reader is interested in the history of Latin American players in the game, Alou’s experiences will certainly be of interest to that person. 

I wish to thank University of Nebraska Press for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Book Format Read:

E-book (Kindle)

Buying Links:

 http://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/university-of-nebraska-press/9781496201522/

https://www.amazon.com/Alou-My-Baseball-Journey-Felipe-ebook/dp/B077DZXTG7/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Review of "Fastball John"

This book is one that falls into the category of being much better than I expected.  It was provided to me by the publisher a few months ago and it was tossed on the TBR (To Be Read) pile. It was then picked for me to read in May for a group challenge and I was dreading it.  BUT...it turned out to be one of the best sports memoirs I have read.  So, the only regret is that I expected so much less.  Below is my review of "Fastball John"

Also, don't forget, there are still three days to enter the giveaway drawing for a copy of "Pride of the Yankees."  Go to the review of that book (the previous review on this blog) and leave a comment before June 4.  The winner will be picked at random from all commenters on June 5.

Title/Author:

“Fastball John” by John D’Acquisto and Dave Jordan

Tags:

Baseball, memoir, Giants, Padres, Angels, Expos

Publish date:

September 13, 2016

Length:

558 pages

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (outstanding)

Review:

John D’Acquisto didn’t have a memorable major league baseball career – as a journeyman pitcher, he compiled a 34-51 record with a 4.52 ERA.  However, many of his experiences in the game were memorable to him, and he recalls them, along with what happened to him after baseball, in this terrific memoir co-written with Dave Jordan.

D’Acquisto was a first round draft choice of the San Francisco Giants and he took a typical route through the minor leagues to reach San Francisco.  He writes about his growing pains, his puppy love feelings for women, especially one he called “Katie” (he kept the real names of women he encountered out of the book), and his chance encounters with major league stars such as Richard “Goose” Gossage.

He keeps up the excellent storytelling through his time in the major leagues, through his surgery, the trades, his release from the California Angels which he attributed to being a player representative during the 1981 players’ strike and even the thrill of being in a pennant race when he pitched for the Montreal Expos during their run to the National League East title, in which they ultimately finished second behind the Philadelphia Phillies.

D’Acquisto brings this same level of great writing when talking about his life after baseball. Whether it was his marital issues (he was married three times), his success and subsequent trouble with a career in finance and the legal issues he faced that earned him prison time for fraud, he spoke with the same candor and humor that he did when talking baseball.  I thought that was quite impressive that he could relieve his time in prison or the double crossing done to him by a former Giants teammate without sounding bitter or angry.

Throughout the book, D’Acquisto uses music of the times to also express how he is feeling or what he is doing at the time. One of the most clever connections to music was the chapter when he wrote about his surgery by Dr. Frank Jobe.  It is now known as Tommy John surgery, but it wasn’t at that time. D’Acquisto compared his negative feeling about needing surgery to the sad thoughts he had about “a new song from a legendary rock group on the cab radio, a sweet ballad, very trendy for the time period. You think it’s sad that this amazing band, who authored so many hard-charging, fantastic tunes during your high school years, is now throwing this soft slop at the pop charts.  You wonder what happened to their fastball.”  He was talking about the song “Miracles” by Jefferson Starship, formerly Jefferson Airplane.  While if the song reference was left at that it would be great, the final line of the chapter about his surgery when he steps back on the field for the first time afterward makes the chapter my favorite in the book.  “If only you believe like I believe.”

Because there are so many musical references like this that fit his story, that makes this book very different than the typical sports memoir.  Between the vivid detail, all of clever use of popular music and his frequent sprinkles of humor, this book is certainly one that all baseball fans should read.  It would be easy to compare this book to “Ball Four”, but that really isn’t fair because they project entirely different messages.  This one is quite upbeat despite all the trouble D’Acquisto encounters.  This was a highly entertaining, highly satisfying read.

I wish to thank Instream Books for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Book Format Read:

E-book (PDF)

Buying Links:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0692750274/ref=x_gr_w_glide_bb?ie=UTF8&tag=x_gr_w_glide_bb-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0692750274&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/fastball-john-john-dacquisto/1124946418?ean=9780692750278

Review of "Up, Up and Away"

While I could never consider myself a fan of the team, I was always followed the Montreal Expos.  Whether it was their constant struggles for survival, the checkered success on the field, or just the great tri-colored hats they wore, they always were good for entertaining stories.  Having seen the last game they played in 2004 as the Expos, I also felt I was a very small piece of their history.  So, of course I was interested in this book when it was mentioned in a Goodreads group discussing baseball books.  Here is my review of "Up, Up and Away." 

Title/Author:

“Up, Up, and Away: The Kid, the Hawk, Rock, Vladi, Pedro, le Grand Orange, Youppi!, the Crazy Business of Baseball, and the Ill-fated but Unforgettable Montreal Expos.” by Jonah Keri

Tags:

Baseball, history, Expos

Publish date:

March 25, 2014

Length:

416 pages

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review:

The Montreal Expos provided many interesting stories during their 36 years of existence, both on and off the field.  Sportswriter Jonah Keri, who was also a fan of the team, covers their history in this fun-to-read account of the franchise.   

Starting with the scramble to obtain players and a suitable stadium for the inaugural 1969 season, Keri captures the adventures and misadventures of the franchise with humor, knowledge and the viewpoint that a devoted fan provides, which was surprisingly objective as well.

The objectivity comes mainly from describing the many business decisions that resulted in star players leaving.  One example is when after the team compiled the best record in the 1994 season in which the World Series was not played due to a player’s strike, the ownership group ordered general manager Kevin Malone to dump four of the team’s highest paid players in one week. Keri’s account of that fire sale did not read like a disgruntled fan – while criticizing the move, he did note that it did achieve the short term goals, but that it was just that – “a short-sighted glimpse of the situation.”

His accounts of the eventual ownership by Major League Baseball and his criticism of an ownership group that would not contribute the required money to keep the operations going that resulted in one man (Jeffrey Loria) obtaining 93% of the team was also surprisingly objective for someone who was a fan of the team.  Other business matters such as losing broadcasting rights to the southern Ontario market and only online broadcasting in the early 2000’s were covered in the same manner.

This doesn’t mean that Keri only wrote about the front office.  His accounts of the 36 seasons of Expos baseball on the field was just as good, especially when writing about the stars and beloved players who wore the red, white and blue of the team.  His prose about the sad story of Ellis Valentine, the heartbreak of “Blue Monday” when Rick Monday homered to propel the Dodgers to victory over the Expos in the 1981 National League Championship Series and the excitement of the surprise run in 1994.  Those passages are great reading for any baseball fan, whether or not he or she was an Expos fan.

One question that many ask is when was the point where the Expos started to show signs that they were in trouble.  Keri’s account offers several times both on and off the field, but the most interesting one was when he described the apex of success for the team on the field as the 1982 All-Star game which Montreal hosted.  It was at that time when the Expos were having their longest stretch of sustained success and had five players represent them at that All-Star game.  While questionable at first to me, he makes a good point why he felt that way.  That is an example of what Keri does throughout the book – makes points of why he believed something happened and uses solid evidence to support that claim.

This is a very entertaining and informative book that any reader who is interested in the history of this colorful team, whether a fan or not, will enjoy.

Book Format Read:

E-book (Kindle)

Buying links:

http://www.amazon.com/Up-Away-Business-Ill-fated-Unforgettable-ebook/dp/B00F8F0JNU/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1457874967&sr=1-1&keywords=up+up+and+away+expos

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/up-up-and-away-jonah-keri/1115810091?ean=9780307361363

TBR Tuesday - Review of "Blue Mondays"

I attended the last game in Montreal Expos history, when they played the New York Mets on the last day of the 2004 baseball season.  I have been interested in the team history for a long time, and last year, I found this short book for a decent price that I thought would be a gem.  I put off reading it as I got to other books provided by authors and decided to go back to this one for a TBR Tuesday post.  It didn't turn out to be as good as I hoped.  Here is my review of "Blue Mondays." 

Title/Author:

“Blue Mondays: The Long Goodbye of the Montreal Expos” by Jeff Stuart

Tags:

Baseball, history, Expos

Publish date:

November 10, 2010

Length:

134 pages

Rating: 

2 of 5 stars (disappointing)

Review:

While I waited a long time between purchasing this book and actually reading it, I should have waited or better yet, I should have looked for a different book on reading about the demise of the Montreal Expos. This fairly short book will not only take the reader game-by-game into the last season the franchise was in Montreal (2004), but also gives a brief history of the entire history of the team, including some pictures of the old Jarry Park.

For having been published for awhile, I found the book fraught with editing errors and a few factual ones as well, such as stating that Josh Beckett was the 2002 World Series MVP for the Florida Marlins (it was actually 2003, as the Marlins were not in the 2002 World Series).  Often scores of games would be stated without a hyphen (“54” instead of “5-4”) and whenever a monetary figure was stated, there was no dollar sign or the word “dollars” in the statement, just a numeral like “two million.”  These took away from the reading experience.

Also, the recap of the 2004 season itself was a disappointment to me.  I wanted to read about anecdotes, stories, how fans and players felt about the team leaving Canada, and other such writing.  Instead, it was mostly a recap of every game played written in a manner that is like the one or two paragraph game recaps printed in the morning newspaper.  That was certainly not the type of book I expected.

One positive, though, was the story of the last game ever played in Montreal (the longest story in the book) and also the recap of their final three games played in New York.  While those were the types of chapters I was hoping to read, they came far too late and there were far too few of them.

For all these reasons, I would recommend to readers that are looking for books on the Montreal Expos to search elsewhere.

Did I skim?

No

Pace of the book: 

Fortunately, this one was pretty quick.  Even though I wasn’t enjoying the book, I did want to read the entire book so I could give a complete review – and hopefully find a golden nugget or two along the way.  The last sections were okay and that is the closest to good reading I found..

Do I recommend? 

If readers want to learn about the Montreal Expos, both the entire team history and their final years, it is best to skip this book and look elsewhere

Book Format Read:

E-book (Nook)

Buying links:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/blue-mondays-jeff-stuart/1120367692?ean=2940150430471  

http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Mondays-Goodbye-Montreal-Expos/dp/160474295X/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1433241114&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=blue+mondays+expos

Musinig - Montreal Expos fever

This week has brought me to Plattsburgh, NY near the Canadian border.  While the occasion was a sad one - the funeral of my wife's uncle was today - I found out that here in this small town about one hour from Montreal that the spirit of the Montreal Expos is still very much alive.

I have seen several people decked out in Expos gear and at the local mall that sells sports apparel, Expos shirts and hats were plentiful.  I got in this spirit and picked up a Pedro Martinez Expos shirt - and I plan on wearing it this summer when my wife and I will be attending the Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Cooperstown, NY.

I also was talking sports with a young woman at the front desk of our hotel.  While she is first and foremost a hockey fan (Montreal Canadiens, of course), we also talked baseball and she had fond memories of her and her parents going to Olympic Stadium and watching the Expos.  I thought it was great to just listen to someone who enjoyed being a fan of that team, even though it was apparent that even though it has been more than 10 years since they left for Washington she still pines to attend another game. 

Another example of what I always believe about baseball fans - they are the most loyal fans to a team, no matter what happens to that team in either the won-loss record or thier geographical location.   Once a fan, always a fan.