Fans cheer old faves in charity road trip
Baseball was back – for one evening. The fans wanted to see their Montreal Expos stars again, and they loved it. At this seven-inning charity softball game in Sherbrooke on Wednesday evening, the crowd rang through “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” during the fifth-inning stretch, then did a loud take on “Sweet Ca-ro-line” after the sixth. It was all good cheer, beer and hot dogs, before a thrilling last-inning comeback attempt. Expos win!
But the fans were there for the old stars. Claude Raymond, an original Expo who pitched for the 1969 Montreal squad, was nicely bracketed by Livan Hernandez, who pitched for the team in their doomed 2004 season. Hernandez maintained some team dignity that final season with a decent pitching performance, long after he had been a World Series MVP with the Florida Marlins. He played shortstop Wednesday and turned a sharp double-play against the opposing Quebec Senior A squad.
Crowd-pleaser Otis Nixon, now a spry 64, was invariably called “speedy” for his base-running skill. Nixon was again a standout in the field at Amédée-Roy stadium, pulling in two well-hit balls. A fan yelled “Nice catch!” and Nixon replied, laughing: “I can still catch … just can’t run anymore”.
Younger ex-Expos in this charity game benefiting the Montreal Children’s Hospital included pitcher Denis Boucher and catcher Brian Schneider, who moved on with the Expos to Washington and the MLB Nationals. “I would have liked to stay”, Schneider told the Journal de Montreal. “I got to know [Montreal], and I had no reason to leave”.
Fans swarmed the field to meet their Expos favourites after the 6-3 win at Sherbrooke Wednesday.
The real ex-Expos were joined by some crowd-pleasers from the Canadiens, including scoring sensation Stéphane Richer, who played catcher and smashed a hit to centre field. Former Habs goalie coach Stéphane Waite was also on the team. Surprisingly for many fans, Waite was once a baseball star in Sherbrooke and Coaticook, playing Senior ball after his career as a Quebec Junior league goalie; his number 16 is retired in the stadium outfield.
At the end of six innings, it was a healthy 6-0 for the Expos. Then, with their rally caps on, the local Senior A team suddenly made it 6-1, then 6-2, then 6-3. No lead seemed safe.
Finally, with a man on second base and the tying run in the on-deck circle, the Expos outfield cleanly grabbed a sharp line drive to right. The game ended with hurrahs all over. Fans flooded the field, and the players were all smiles.
The Expos Fest road trip continues its charity tour all week, playing in Lac-Megantic on Thursday, Granby on Friday, then at Quebec on Saturday Aug. 19 and Lachine, Sunday Aug. 20th.
