We all know what happened at the Survivor Series 1997. Shawn Michaels defeated Bret Hart for the WWF Championship after the referee called for the bell when Michaels barely hooked Hart with the Sharpshooter, Bret Hart's finishing maneuver. Hart spits on Vince McMahon and tears up the ringside area in his swan song with the company. This is considered one of the most controversial moments in professional wrestling history and has since been dubbed "The Montreal Screwjob".
But in 1994, another screwjob happened that almost crippled an entire sport, but totally crippled one certain team.
The MLB strike of '94 was a dark cloud in the sports world. America's pasttime was stopped to a screeching halt and fans turned on the players and owners due to the cancellation of the postseason and World Series. The game was tarnished, because of this with the effects still felt to this day. Many teams were totally effected by this strike. One pelicular team, the Montreal Expos, the strike basically destroyed their future.
The '94 Expos were actually a team that was on the rise after a 94-68 campaign in the 1993 season. GM Dan Duquette built the team, but in early 1994, he decided to leave and accept the GM job for his hometown team in the Boston Red Sox. The reins of GM were handed down to Kevin Malone. Felipe Alou was the manager who's keen baseball mind helped shape the Expos into a perennial contender. One of those players was his son, Moises. After suffering a gruesome ankle injury the prior season, Moises was robbed of his speed, but was still able to make timely hits and belt a home run when the team needed it. He delivered the game-winning hit in the All-Star Game for the National League that season. Joining Moises in the lineup was Larry Walker, a hitting machine. Marquis Grissom provided speed and clutch defense for the Expos. Cliff Floyd was a future star that used his power and quickness to provide a bright future for the team. Mike Lansing, Wil Cordero, Sean Berry and Darrin Fletcher were good pieces of consistency that the Expos were fortunate to have.
The pitching core received a gift when the Expos made a trade during the off-season that at the time didn't seem that big of a deal. They traded Delino DeShields to the Dodgers for Pedro Martinez. DeShields had a decent career in the majors, however Martinez became one of the most dominating pitchers in the era. Ken Hill was a quality ace who was dominant in 1994. Jeff Fassaro, Butch Henry and Kirk Reuter were solid 3 through 5 starters. The bullpen was lights out with Mel Rojas as the set-up man and John Wetteland as the closer.
The Expos roared through the All-Star break with a 54-33 record and were clearly the best team in Major League Baseball. One series late in the season that separated the Expos from the rest of the pack was a three game set against the Atlanta Braves in late July of that year. The Expos took 2 games out of 3 at Fulton County Stadium and basically, showed the baseball world that the Expos can be a powerhouse.
Unfortunately, the strike cut down any hope of the Expos achieving their goal of the promised land as the World Series was cancelled. Think about it. If the Expos ran the table and won the World Series, it would have been the third straight title won by a Canadian team as the Toronto Blue Jays went back-to back the two years prior. The World Series win could have been a godsend for the team that was dealing with stadium issues and financial hell. Take the 1995 Seattle Mariners. Whispers around that if that team didn't get a new stadium, the team would be moving. Their epic comeback in the final days of the season and their improbable playoff run prompted the city and fans to go ahead with a new stadium deal. Would the World Series win that didn't happen could have prompted the city and fans to go through with a new stadium deal as Olympic Stadium was literally falling apart. It probably wouldn't have fixed their financial issues,
After the strike ended, the Expos were forced to give up their best players due to their financial issues and were not the same team they were the year before. What makes this worse, the team that they were dominating during the strike shortened season, the Atlanta Braves, won the World Series that should have been theirs. One of the key players on that winning team was Marquis Grissom. In 1996, the New York Yankees won the title. Their closer, John Wetteland. In 1997, the Florida Marlins won the title. Key players on that team, Moises Alou and Cliff Floyd. Years would pass and the Expos would never recover from their misfortunes. Jeffrey Loria would own the team and make things worse. He also did that as owner of the aforementioned Marlins franchise. The Expos did generate a generational talent in Vladimir Guerrero, but sadly, they had to give him up. They had to play in Puerto Rico, because of the poor conditions at Olympic Stadium and were almost contracted along with the Minnesota Twins, yet the Twins received a new stadium in Target Field. In 2005, the Expos moved to Washington D.C. to become the Nationals and they are prospering in the D.C. area.
It's a sad tale of a team with baseball riches and a very loyal fanbase, but it was the tale of a franchise that couldn't keep up with the rest of baseball.
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