Expos era in Montreal ends with loss

MONTREAL - This was the kind of crowd the Expos always hoped to draw at Olympic Stadium - 30,000 strong, loud and lively.

They finally did, on the night they played their very last game in Montreal.

Some fans stood with tears in their eyes, and others waved flags and signs during the final inning of Montreal's 9-1 loss to Florida on Wednesday. When it was over, all the Expos poured onto the field to wave goodbye.

It made for a touching scene, even a wrenching one. But the last-minute show of support came far too late to save a franchise doomed in recent years by dwindling attendance.

"Now it can't be undone," Montreal manager Frank Robinson said. "That reaction makes it tougher to move on. It's like you want to stand still right now and not rush out of here, savor every moment you can be here.

"You know when you walk out of this ballpark tonight, it will be the last time taking off the uniform," he said.

Hours earlier, baseball announced that the 36-year-old team will be moved next season to Washington, D.C. The crowd of 31,395 was the largest of the year in Montreal and about four times the season average.

The end almost came more abruptly than expected. There was a 10-minute delay in the third inning when players were pulled off the field after a fan threw a golf ball that landed near second base, and the crowd was warned the game could be forfeited if there were any more problems.

Three plastic bottles were tossed into left field in the sixth, one near Florida's Miguel Cabrera. But the teams remained on the field and no announcement was made. The game was held up for a few minutes as the bottles were retrieved by a ball boy.

With two outs in the ninth, a fan jumped onto the field near Florida's on-deck circle and was quickly escorted off by two security guards.

"I think there were some minor things that happened, which is understandable," Montreal first baseman Brad Wilkerson said. "But I think, for the most part, give credit to the fans for being smart about things, coming out and watching a ballgame, and cheering and not doing anything too serious."

The Marlins were unsympathetic visitors, at least on the field.

Former Expo Carl Pavano (18-8) set a Marlins record for wins. Cabrera hit his 32nd homer, giving him 108 RBIs.

Juan Pierre and Alex Gonzalez each drove in two runs and Cabrera, Jeff Conine and Luis Castillo all scored twice.

The Marlins put it away early, scoring four times in the second inning and four more in the fifth for a 9-1 lead.

Sun-woo Kim (4-6) lasted only two-plus innings.

Flashbulbs popped as Terrmel Sledge popped up for the final out. Marlins coach Perry Hill took the ball from third baseman Mike Mordecai and tossed it across the field to Robinson.

Bob DuPuy, baseball's chief operating officer, addressed the team in the clubhouse after the game.

"He was just letting us know that they hoped that they would get an owner as soon as possible. That's basically all he told us," Expos reliever Chad Cordero said.

Cordero became the last pitcher in Montreal history. His cap is going to the Hall of Fame.

Back in their heyday, the Expos used to draw big crowds. Montreal was a hotbed for baseball in the early 1980s, when the team featured stars such as Andre Dawson and Tim Raines.

Even in 1994, when the Expos had the best record in baseball before the players' strike wiped out the end of the season and the World Series, they were doing fine at the gate. But as big names such as Pedro Martinez, Moises Alou and Larry Walker left, interest faded.

Current Expos cannot remember those exciting times.

"I don't know all the history but I know this stadium sold out back in the day," Sledge said before the game.

Peter McStravick, an Ottawa native and lifelong Expos fan now living in Boston, held a sign with pictures of commissioner Bud Selig, former team president Claude Brochu and Florida owner Jeffrey Loria, who sold the franchise to the other 29 teams to purchase the Marlins in 2002.

"Expos Hall of Shame," read the sign, "Merci de Rien (Thanks for Nothing.)"

"It's a funeral," said McStravick, who made a five-hour drive to attend the game.

The last major league team to move was the Washington Senators, who became the Texas Rangers for the 1972 season.

The Senators' final home game was forfeited on Sept. 30, 1971. Fans rushed onto the field with two outs in the ninth inning, upset over owner Bob Short's decision to move the team to Texas.

The Senators were leading the New York Yankees 7-5 when the game was declared a forfeit.

In this game, Conine was at the plate in the third inning when Robinson came out of the dugout, summoned plate umpire Rick Reed and pointed out the golf ball.

Reed, the crew chief, waved all the players into the dugout as the crowd cheered. Security guards lined up along each baseline.

Fans were still streaming into Olympic Stadium during the second inning Wednesday night. The seldom-used upper deck was already filling with spectators as Kim threw the first pitch to Juan Pierre.

Wednesday night's game was the 2,786th for the last-place Expos in Montreal, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. That includes 641 at Jarry Park, where the team started play in 1969, and 2,145 at Olympic Stadium, where the Expos moved in 1977.

Several members of the 1994 team - including current Montreal left-hander Joey Eischen, Florida's Wil Cordero, pitchers Ken Hill, Gil Heredia and Tim Scott - were on hand to sign autographs as fans were allowed to mill about the outfield before the game.

Usherettes Marie-Claude Girard and Dominique Duquette were red-eyed from crying unabashedly as fans filed past them on and off the field.

Many fans brought gloves and played catch on the field, others sat or sprawled on the field's artificial turf. Security was increased, but the crowd cleared the field without any problems when the autograph session ended.

Recorded messages from former Expos Felipe Alou, who managed the team from 1992-01, Cubs slugger Moises Alou and San Francisco's Kirk Rueter and Marquis Grissom, were played on the video scoreboard.

NOTES: Montreal has three games remaining this season, in New York against the Mets. The Expos also played their first game at Shea Stadium in 1969.