1979 Montreal Expos season

The 1979 Montreal Expos season was the 11th in franchise history. The team finished second in the National League East with a record of 95–65, 2 games behind the first-place Pittsburgh Pirates. 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).

1979 Montreal Expos
League	National League
Division	East
Ballpark	Olympic Stadium
City	Montreal
Record	95–65 (.594)
Divisional place	2nd
Owners	Charles Bronfman
General managers	John McHale
Managers	Dick Williams
Television	CBC Television (Dave Van Horne, Duke Snider) Télévision de Radio-Canada (Jean-Pierre Roy, Guy Ferron)
Radio	CFCF (English) (Dave Van Horne, Duke Snider) CKAC (French) (Claude Raymond, Jacques Doucet)
← 1978 Seasons 1980 →

Offseason

• November 28, 1978: Duffy Dyer was signed as a free agent by the Expos.^[1]
• December 4, 1978: Ken Macha was drafted by the Expos from the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1978 rule 5 draft.^[2]
• December 7, 1978: Stan Papi was traded by the Expos to the Boston Red Sox for Bill Lee.^[3]
• December 8, 1978: Mike Hart was traded by the Expos to the Texas Rangers for Jim Mason.^[4]
• December 9, 1978: Randy St. Claire was signed by the Expos as an amateur free agent.^[5]
• December 14, 1978: Sam Mejías was traded by the Expos to the Chicago Cubs for Jerry White and Rodney Scott.^[6]
• March 30, 1979: Mike Garman was released by the Expos.^[7]
• March 31, 1979: Pepe Frías was traded by the Expos to the Atlanta Braves for Dave Campbell.^[8]

Spring training

The Expos held spring training at City Island Ball Park in Daytona Beach, Florida. It was their seventh season there.

Regular season

Season standings

• v
• t
• e

NL East

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Pittsburgh Pirates	98	64	.605	—	48‍–‍33	50‍–‍31
Montreal Expos	95	65	.594	2	56‍–‍25	39‍–‍40
St. Louis Cardinals	86	76	.531	12	42‍–‍39	44‍–‍37
Philadelphia Phillies	84	78	.519	14	43‍–‍38	41‍–‍40
Chicago Cubs	80	82	.494	18	45‍–‍36	35‍–‍46
New York Mets	63	99	.389	35	28‍–‍53	35‍–‍46

Record vs. opponents

1979 National League record v t e Sources:
Team	ATL	CHC	CIN	HOU	LAD	MON	NYM	PHI	PIT	SD	SF	STL
Atlanta	—	4–8	6–12	7–11	12–6	1–9	4–8	7–5	4–8	6–12	11–7	4–8
Chicago	8–4	—	7–5	6–6	5–7	6–12	8–10	9–9	6–12	9–3	8–4	8–10
Cincinnati	12–6	5–7	—	8–10	11–7	6–6	8–4	8–4	8–4	10–7	6–12	8–4
Houston	11–7	6–6	10–8	—	10–8	7–5	9–3	5–7	4–8	14–4	7–11	6–6
Los Angeles	6–12	7–5	7–11	8–10	—	6–6	9–3	3–9	4–8	9–9	14–4	6–6
Montreal	9–1	12–6	6–6	5–7	6–6	—	15–3	11–7	7–11	7–5	7–5	10–8
New York	8–4	10–8	4–8	3–9	3–9	3–15	—	5–13	8–10	4–8	8–4	7–11
Philadelphia	5–7	9–9	4–8	7–5	9–3	7–11	13–5	—	8–10	9–3	6–6	7–11
Pittsburgh	8–4	12–6	4–8	8–4	8–4	11–7	10–8	10–8	—	7–5	9–3	11–7
San Diego	12–6	3–9	7–10	4–14	9–9	5–7	8–4	3–9	5–7	—	8–10	4–8
San Francisco	7–11	4–8	12–6	11–7	4–14	5–7	4–8	6–6	3–9	10–8	—	5–7
St. Louis	8–4	10–8	4–8	6–6	6–6	8–10	11–7	11–7	7–11	8–4	7–5	—

Opening Day lineup

• Andre Dawson, CF
• Rodney Scott, 2B
• Warren Cromartie, LF
• Ellis Valentine, RF
• Tony Pérez, 1B
• Gary Carter, C
• Larry Parrish, 3B
• Chris Speier, SS
• Steve Rogers, P

Notable transactions

• June 13, 1979: The Expos traded a player to be named later and cash to the San Francisco Giants for John Tamargo. The Expos completed the deal by sending Joe Pettini to the Giants on March 15, 1980.^[9]
• July 20, 1979: The Expos traded a player to be named later and cash to the Detroit Tigers for Rusty Staub. The Expos completed the deal by sending Randy Schafer (minors) to the Tigers on December 3.^[10]

Youppi!

Youppi!, a creation of Acme Mascots, Inc. (a division of Harrison/Erickson, Inc.), was commissioned by Expos vice-president Roger D. Landry. Originally leased by the team in 1979, the mascot was eventually purchased by the Expos and represented the team.

Roster

1979 Montreal Expos
Roster
Pitchers 42 Bill Atkinson 22 Stan Bahnsen 35 Woodie Fryman 48 Ross Grimsley 34 Bill Gullickson 20 Bob James 37 Bill Lee 43 Rudy May 29 Dale Murray 46 Dave Palmer 45 Steve Rogers 21 Scott Sanderson 36 Dan Schatzeder 27 Elías Sosa		Catchers  8 Gary Carter  5 Duffy Dyer 47 John Tamargo Infielders 57 Randy Bass  7 Tony Bernazard 30 Dave Cash 14 Tommy Hutton 31 Ken Macha 12 Jim Mason 15 Larry Parrish 24 Tony Pérez  3 Rodney Scott 25 Tony Solaita  4 Chris Speier  6 Rusty Staub		Outfielders 49 Warren Cromartie 10 Andre Dawson 17 Ellis Valentine 18 Jerry White Other batters 32 Tim Raines		Manager 23 Dick Williams Coaches 16 Felipe Alou (Third base)  2 Jim Brewer (Pitching) 58 Pat Mullin (Hitting) 40 Norm Sherry (Bullpen)  9 Vern Rapp (Bench)  1 Ozzie Virgil (First base)

Game log

1979 Game Log: 95–65 (Home: 56–25; Away: 39–40)
April: 14–5 (Home: 10–1; Away: 4–4) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Streak
May: 15–10 (Home: 7–2; Away: 8–8) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Streak
June: 14–12 (Home: 9–3; Away: 5–9) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Streak
July: 14–16 (Home: 8–10; Away: 6–6) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Streak
August: 15–11 (Home: 10–3; Away: 5–8) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Streak
September: 23–11 (Home: 12–6; Away: 11–5) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Streak
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

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
C	Gary Carter	141	505	143	.283	22	75
1B	Tony Perez	132	489	132	.270	13	73
2B	Rodney Scott	151	562	134	.238	3	42
SS	Chris Speier	113	344	78	.227	7	26
3B	Larry Parrish	153	544	167	.307	30	82
LF	Warren Cromartie	158	659	181	.275	8	46
CF	Andre Dawson	155	639	176	.275	25	92
RF	Ellis Valentine	146	548	151	.276	21	82

Other batters

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

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Dave Cash	76	187	60	.321	2	19
Jerry White	88	138	41	.297	3	18
Rusty Staub	38	86	23	.267	3	14
Tommy Hutton	86	83	21	.253	1	13
Duffy Dyer	28	74	18	.243	1	8
Jim Mason	40	71	13	.183	0	6
Tony Solaita	29	42	12	.286	1	7
Tony Bernazard	22	40	12	.300	1	8
Ken Macha	20	36	10	.278	0	4
John Tamargo	12	21	8	.381	0	5
Randy Bass	2	1	0	.000	0	0
Tim Raines	6	0	0	----	0	0

Pitching

Starting pitchers

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

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Steve Rogers	37	248.2	13	12	3.00	143
Bill Lee	33	222.0	16	10	3.04	59
Scott Sanderson	24	168.0	9	8	3.43	138
Dan Schatzeder	21	162.0	10	5	2.83	106
Ross Grimsley	27	151.1	10	9	5.35	42

Other pitchers

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

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
David Palmer	36	122.2	10	2	2.63	72
Rudy May	33	93.2	10	3	2.31	67

Relief pitchers

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

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Elias Sosa	62	8	7	18	1.96	59
Stan Bahnsen	51	3	1	5	3.15	71
Woodie Fryman	44	3	6	10	2.79	44
Bill Atkinson	10	2	0	1	1.98	7
Dale Murray	9	1	2	1	2.70	4
Bob James	2	0	0	0	13.50	1
Bill Gullickson	1	0	0	0	0.00	0

Awards and honors

• Dick Williams, Associated Press NL Manager of the Year

All-Stars

1979 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Denver Bears	American Association	Jack McKeon
AA	Memphis Chicks	Southern League	Billy Gardner
A	West Palm Beach Expos	Florida State League	Larry Bearnarth
Short-Season A	Jamestown Expos	New York–Penn League	Pat Daugherty
Rookie	Calgary Expos	Pioneer League	Bob Bailey

Notes

1. Duffy Dyer at Baseball Reference
2. Ken Macha at Baseball Reference
3. Stan Papi at Baseball Reference
4. Jim Mason at Baseball Reference
5. Randy St. Claire at Baseball Reference
6. Sam Mejías at Baseball Reference
7. Mike Garman at Baseball Reference
8. Dave Campbell at Baseball Reference
9. John Tamargo at Baseball Reference
10. Rusty Staub at Baseball Reference

References

• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
• 1979 Montreal Expos at Baseball Reference
• 1979 Montreal Expos at Baseball Almanac