I was there for the last weekend of Expos games in 2004. My friend drove up from Hamilton on Saturday and we sat behind home plate. My brother and I agreed not to talk much during the Sunday game. We sat there and took in the game. (Remember Juan Rivera gunning a guy at third from right field.) The flight to Winnipeg that night seemed the longest in my life.

Vowed to never see another major league game again. (I was in Minneapolis the next summer....King Felix was to start his second major league game...so much for that vow.)

How much are flights to Montreal this weekend? HMM

As a Washington Nationals fan, I empathize, and hope Montreal doesn't have anywhere near the 33 summers D.C. endured without MLB.

This would be a great opportunity for the mooks in the Met front office to flippin' retire Carter's number already, like they should have when he was still around.

I know it's probably been discussed before, but is it possible for Montreal to grab an International League team and build a stadium that could possibly be expanded in the future? The bigger AAA stadiums can hold close to 15,000 people. I know that isn't even close to ML standards, but it seems like it could be a possible path to bring ML baseball back to Montreal.

Seems like it would make more sense to have the Nats play than the Mets.

Seems like it would make more sense to have the Nats play than the Mets.

Are you just asking for trouble doing that though? If it's the Mets it's just another team with the added benefit of being able to honor Carter. If it's the Nats you are more likely to stir up bad blood that goes against what you are trying to do.

Are you just asking for trouble doing that though? If it's the Mets it's just another team with the added benefit of being able to honor Carter. If it's the Nats you are more likely to stir up bad blood that goes against what you are trying to do.

Yeah, having the Nats there just seems like it would be rubbing salt in Montreal's wounds. With Jamey Carroll's release yesterday, the Nats pretty much have zero connection to Montreal now.

At least with the Mets, you have Carter and the first and last game played thing.

I'd like to see Rusty Staub make an appearance.

I know it's probably been discussed before, but is it possible for Montreal to grab an International League team and build a stadium that could possibly be expanded in the future? The bigger AAA stadiums can hold close to 15,000 people. I know that isn't even close to ML standards, but it seems like it could be a possible path to bring ML baseball back to Montreal.

Possible in theory, but highly unlikely in reality. I don't see any way that MLB would return to Montreal without a retractable-roof stadium, so Montreal would essentially have to build an MLB-caliber ballpark on spec for the IL team. (Even if Montreal was a warm-weather location, the infrastructure needed for an ML team (clubhouses, offices, concessions, suites, etc.) is substantially greater than that for a Triple-A team. I can't think of any current 3A ballparks that would be candidates to be expanded for ML purposes.)

I dunno, maybe I'm just a sentimental fool, but I guess I see the "Nats coming home for a visit" angle rather than the "salt in wounds" angle.

Pedro and some of the other guys from '94 are showing up, which is cool.

Possible in theory, but highly unlikely in reality. I don't see any way that MLB would return to Montreal without a retractable-roof stadium, so Montreal would essentially have to build an MLB-caliber ballpark on spec for the IL team. (Even if Montreal was a warm-weather location, the infrastructure needed for an ML team (clubhouses, offices, concessions, suites, etc.) is substantially greater than that for a Triple-A team. I can't think of any current 3A ballparks that would be candidates to be expanded for ML purposes.)

I was just throwing it out there for discussion (and thanks for replying). It would honestly have to be a stadium that was built with the purpose of being expanded (doubt it would happen).

I dunno, maybe I'm just a sentimental fool, but I guess I see the "Nats coming home for a visit" angle rather than the "salt in wounds" angle.

It would be nice to do that right? I just think its one of those "best to leave it alone" sort of things.

I was just throwing it out there for discussion (and thanks for replying). It would honestly have to be a stadium that was built with the purpose of being expanded (doubt it would happen).

Right, which is probably what's keeping Montreal without any affiliated baseball. The same conundrum has made it tough to get facilities built elsewhere, e.g., Las Vegas. Vegas has one of the worst 3A ballparks in the country, but the local government has resisted building a new 3A park because it wants MLB instead. Portland and Orlando might also belong on this list.

I can't think of any current 3A ballparks that would be candidates to be expanded for ML purposes.

Buffalo's Coca-Cola Field?

Buffalo's Coca-Cola Field?

That was their hope/plan 20-plus years ago, but time has passed that facility by. It's still a great ballpark, but I don't believe it provides the necessary amenities and infrastructure at the ground level for it to be expanded. At minimum, they'd have to demolish the entire second level and start over.

Right, which is probably what's keeping Montreal without any affiliated baseball. The same conundrum has made it tough to get facilities built elsewhere, e.g., Las Vegas. Vegas has one of the worst 3A ballparks in the country, but the local government has resisted building a new 3A park because it wants MLB instead. Portland and Orlando might also belong on this list.

Yeah, Cashman field was a disappointment. We went there in '02 when my brother turned 21 (his birthday was the next day so we had to do alternative activities). I had already been to Victory Field in Indianapolis earlier that year and Vegas was just a huge disappointment. The Cal League stadiums in Southern CA are a bit smaller than Cashman but infinitely nicer. Plus, it was hotter than heck (and I live on the fringe of the desert here). At least with the Cal League games, it gets comfortable when the sun starts going down (unless we are in the midst of a heat wave).

I realize that the D-backs hold territorial rights, but darn near all of the stadiums used in the Cactus League would be upgrades for the 51s.

They've sold 85,000 tickets for two games. Evenko (the organizers) are expecting strong walk-up sales and potentially 50,000 people for each game. The Expos haven't done that for 20 years.

I'm confident that, like winnipegwhip in #1 above, people might move mountains to attend these games precisely because it is a one-time commemorative event. If they miss it, too bad, so sad, it aint happening again.

Let's say that Montreal did have an MLB team again, how many of those 81 home games would this same group of people attend?

Nice of them to have the game in March. Bring gore-tex and goose down. I was at the first one. The 1969 opener at Shea.

I heard MLB told the Jays will not be allowed to expand their September roster unless one of these exhibition games is played in San Juan.

How's the weather in Montreal now? Think they'll open the retractable roof?

#21: (1) The weather in Montreal these days is pretty cold, although it's at least supposed to get above freezing on the weekend; (2) the original Olympic stadium retractable roof was replaced in the late 1990s with an incredibly crappy fixed roof. So the roof won't be opening no matter what the weather is like. However, the non-retractable roof is so bad that if there is even moderate snowfall in the forecast the stadium can't be used because of the danger of the roof collapsing. Luckily, it isn't supposed to snow this weekend.