The 1979

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

season was the 11th in franchise history. The team finished second in the

National League East The National League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. Along with the American League Central, it is one of two divisions to have every member win at least one World Series title. After having internal, informal divisions for ...

with a record of 95–65, 2 games behind the first-place

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

. The 1979 season was the Expos first winning season in franchise history (and it would be the most wins they would have in a season in the team's history before they relocated).

Offseason

* November 28, 1978:

Duffy Dyer Donald Robert "Duffy" Dyer (born August 15, 1945) is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from to , most prominently as a member of the New York Mets team that won two Nat ...

was signed as a free agent by the Expos. * December 4, 1978:

Ken Macha Kenneth Edward Macha ( ; born September 29, 1950) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) third baseman and manager. He managed the Oakland Athletics from 2003 to 2006, including American League Western Division championships in both h ...

was drafted by the Expos from the

in the 1978

rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

. * December 7, 1978: Stan Papi was traded by the Expos to the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

for Bill Lee. * December 8, 1978: Mike Hart was traded by the Expos to the Texas Rangers for Jim Mason. * December 9, 1978: Randy St. Claire was signed by the Expos as an amateur free agent. * December 14, 1978:

Sam Mejías Samuel Elías Mejías '' ay-hee'-ahs' (born May 9, 1952) is a former backup outfielder in Major League Baseball who played from through for the St. Louis Cardinals (1976), Montreal Expos (1977–78), Chicago Cubs (1979) and Cincinnati Reds (197 ...

was traded by the Expos to the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

for Jerry White and Rodney Scott. * March 30, 1979:

Mike Garman Michael Douglas Garman (born September 16, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player. A relief pitcher, he played for five different teams in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1969 and 1978. He was a first-round draft selection o ...

was released by the Expos. * March 31, 1979:

Pepe Frías Jesús María "Pepe" Frías Andújar (born July 14, 1948) is a Dominican former professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Montreal Expos, Atlanta Braves, Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Dodgers between an ...

was traded by the Expos to the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

for Dave Campbell.

Spring training

The Expos held

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

at City Island Ball Park in

Daytona Beach Daytona Beach is a coastal resort city in Volusia County, Florida, United States. Located on the East Coast of the United States, its population was 72,647 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Deltona–Daytona Beach–Ormond Beach metropo ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. It was their seventh season there.

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Opening Day lineup

Andre Dawson Andre Nolan Dawson (born July 10, 1954), nicknamed "the Hawk" and "Awesome Dawson", is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for four different teams as a center and r ...

, CF * Rodney Scott, 2B *

Warren Cromartie Warren Livingston Cromartie (born September 29, 1953) is an American former professional baseball player best remembered for his early career with the Montreal Expos. He and fellow young outfielders Ellis Valentine and Andre Dawson were the talk ...

, LF *

Ellis Valentine Ellis Clarence Valentine (born July 30, 1954) is an American former Major League Baseball right fielder. He is remembered for having one of the all-time great throwing arms. "There's a plateau where you can't throw the ball any harder and you can' ...

, RF *

Tony Pérez Atanasio "Tony" Pérez Rigal (born May 14, 1942) is a Cuban-American former professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a first baseman and third baseman from through , most notably as a member ...

, 1B *

Gary Carter Gary Edmund Carter (April 8, 1954 – February 16, 2012) was an American professional baseball catcher whose 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career was spent primarily with the Montreal Expos and New York Mets. Nicknamed "Kid" for his youth ...

, C *

Larry Parrish Larry Alton Parrish (born November 10, 1953) is an American former professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as a third baseman from 1974 to 1990, most pr ...

, 3B *

Chris Speier Christopher Edward Speier (born June 28, 1950) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop, most notably for the San Francisco Giants and the Montreal Expos. He is known by the nickname ...

, SS *

Steve Rogers Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in ''Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely Comics ...

, P

Notable transactions

* June 13, 1979: The Expos traded a player to be named later and cash to the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

for

John Tamargo John Felix Tamargo (born November 7, 1951) is an American former professional baseball catcher, coach, and long-time minor league manager. He played all or part of five seasons in the majors from until . He currently serves as the Latin America ...

. The Expos completed the deal by sending

Joe Pettini Joseph Paul Pettini (born January 26, 1955) is an American former Major League Baseball player and the former bench coach for the St. Louis Cardinals and Houston Astros. Playing career Pettini attended Brooke High School in Wellsburg, West Virgi ...

to the Giants on March 15, 1980. * July 20, 1979: The Expos traded a player to be named later and cash to the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

for

Rusty Staub Daniel Joseph "Rusty" Staub (April 1, 1944 – March 29, 2018) was an American professional baseball player and television color commentator. He played in Major League Baseball for 23 seasons as a right fielder, designated hitter, and first base ...

. The Expos completed the deal by sending Randy Schafer (minors) to the Tigers on December 3.Rusty Staub
at ''Baseball Reference''

Youppi!

Youppi Youppi (sometimes branded as Youppi!) ( or , French for wikt:youpi, Yippee!) is the official mascot for the Montreal Canadiens, and former longtime mascot of the Montreal Expos. Youppi wears an exclamation mark, "!" instead of a jersey number. His ...

!, a creation of Acme Mascots, Inc. (a division of Harrison/Erickson, Inc.), was commissioned by Expos vice-president

Roger D. Landry Roger D. Landry (January 26, 1934 – February 1, 2020) was a Canadian businessman who was president and publisher of ''La Presse''. Born in Montreal, he was educated in Montreal, Paris, and London. He started his career with Bell Canada workin ...

. Originally leased by the team in 1979, the

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, sports team, university society, society, military unit, or brand, brand name. Mascots are als ...

was eventually purchased by the Expos and represented the team.

Roster

Game log

, - , ''Legend: = Win = Loss = Postponement
Bold = Expos team member''

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

''Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Other batters

''Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Pitching

Starting pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Other pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Relief pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Awards and honors

Dick Williams Richard Hirschfeld Williams (May 7, 1929 – July 7, 2011) was an American left fielder, third baseman, manager (baseball), manager, coach (baseball), coach and front-office consultant in Major League Baseball (MLB). Known especially as a hard-d ...

, Associated Press NL Manager of the Year

All-Stars

1979 Major League Baseball All-Star Game The 1979 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 50th playing of the midsummer classic between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and National League (NL), the two leagues constituting Major League Baseball. It was held on Tuesday, ...

* Gary Carter, Catcher - Reserve * Larry Parrish, Infield - Reserve * Steve Rogers, Putcher - Reserve

Farm system

Notes

References

*
1979 Montreal Expos
at ''Baseball Reference''
1979 Montreal Expos
at ''Baseball Almanac'' {{Montreal Expos Montreal Expos seasons Montreal Expos season 1979 in Montreal Montreal Expos season