by Jonah Keri
First published 2015
Jonah Keri opens with the 2004 departure that ended Montreal's 35-year love affair with Major League Baseball. The Expos had captured hearts across Quebec with their colorful pinwheel caps and scrappy play, but labor disputes and dwindling attendance sealed their fate. Keri traces the franchise from its 1969 birth as Canada's first MLB team through decades of near-misses and what-ifs. He interviews former players and front office executives who built a unique baseball culture in a hockey-mad city. The 1994 strike looms large, cutting short what many considered the Expos' best shot at a World Series. Keri examines how the team's relocation to Washington DC left a hole in Montreal's sporting landscape that persists today. The book captures both the statistical revolution that changed how teams evaluate talent and the human stories behind the numbers. At its heart, this is about a city that embraced America's pastime and the fans who still dream of baseball's return to Montreal.
Genres: history, canadian-literature, non-fiction, biography-memoir, baseball
Vibes: emotional, thought-provoking
Tropes: underdog
Setting: Canada, Montreal, Quebec, Washington DC
Period: 1969, 1994, 2004
432 pages · Paperback · Vintage Canada