Editing Montreal Expos (section)

==="El Presidente, El Perfecto!" (1989–1993)===
[[Image:Expos1992.jpg|thumb|left|The Expos, wearing their [[powder blue]] road uniforms, face the [[St. Louis Cardinals]] in 1991|alt=A St. Louis runner breaks from first base as the Expos pitcher throws to the plate.]]
On the field, the Expos won just four games more than they lost between 1986 and 1991 as the organization set about rebuilding its development system and acquiring a new generation of players.<ref>{{harvnb|Keri|2014|p=220}}</ref> The team struggled to attract free agents to Montreal,<ref>{{harvnb|Keri|2014|p=234}}</ref> and Bronfman had grown disillusioned with both the business of baseball and the challenge of drawing fans to Olympic Stadium for a middling ball club.<ref name="Keri236">{{harvnb|Keri|2014|p=236}}</ref> He hoped to take one more chance at winning a title, however, and in {{baseball year|1989}}, the Expos made a push for a division title by acquiring starting pitcher and pending free agent [[Mark Langston]] from the [[Seattle Mariners]].<ref name="Keri236" /> The price would ultimately prove to be a high one as the Expos gave up future Hall of Famer [[Randy Johnson]] and two other pitchers.<ref name="JohnsonMartinezRetrospective">{{citation |last=Cowan |first=Stu |url=https://montrealgazette.com/sports/stu-on-sports/former-expos-martinez-johnson-join-other-hall-of-famers-for-top-10-list-with-david-letterman |title=Former Expos Martinez, Johnson join other Hall of Famers for Top 10 List with David Letterman |work=Montreal Expos |date=2015-01-08 |access-date=2015-06-19 |archive-date=October 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191008153316/https://montrealgazette.com/sports/stu-on-sports/former-expos-martinez-johnson-join-other-hall-of-famers-for-top-10-list-with-david-letterman |url-status=live }}</ref> The trade helped propel the Expos to first place in the NL East by the All-Star break. They held the top spot into August before Langston and the team collapsed.<ref>{{harvtxt|Brochu|Myles|2003}} Ch. 1; As expected, the club slowly rose in the standings...</ref> The Expos finished fourth in the division with an 81–81 record,<ref>{{harvtxt|Gallagher|Young|2013}} Ch.1; However, once August rolled around and every game began to count, the team collapsed...</ref> and Langston left Montreal as a free agent.<ref>{{Citation |title=Expos out of Langston lottery |work=Ottawa Citizen |date=1989-10-17 |page=C1}}</ref>

Bronfman grew increasingly uneasy about the reckless spending of his fellow team owners, increased strife with the players, and overall direction of MLB.<ref>{{harvtxt|Gallagher|Young|2013}} Ch.1; Charles Bronfman was horrified by the reckless approach of his fellow owners...</ref> According to then-team president [[Claude Brochu]], the team's late-season decline in 1989 proved too much for Bronfman, who asked him to seek a buyer for the team.<ref>{{harvtxt|Brochu|Myles|2003}} Ch. 1; He turned to me and said, "Claude, I want to sell the ball club."</ref>

Bronfman hoped to sell the team for around $50 million, but both he and Brochu found it impossible to find a local businessman willing to take primary ownership of the team.<ref name="Keri236"/> Groups from American cities were interested, however. One group offered to buy the club for $135 million and relocate it to Miami; however, Bronfman viewed a relocation as a last resort.<ref>{{citation |title=Miami group wants Expos; Bronfman not addressing any U.S. offers yet |work=Ottawa Citizen |date=1990-08-07 |page=C1}}</ref> [[Robert E. Rich Jr.]] offered to buy the club for $100 million and relocate it to [[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]] at their recently built [[Sahlen Field|Pilot Field]], but received the same response.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://buffalonews.com/news/rich-says-battle-to-obtain-big-league-franchise-isnt-over/article_30a04d0f-8ced-58c9-85be-173d7c35644f.html |title=Rich Says Battle to Obtain Big League Franchise Isn't Over |last=Felser |first=Larry |work=The Buffalo News |date=August 16, 1992 |access-date=July 7, 2021 |archive-date=May 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511224044/https://buffalonews.com/news/rich-says-battle-to-obtain-big-league-franchise-isnt-over/article_30a04d0f-8ced-58c9-85be-173d7c35644f.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Instead, Brochu opted to lead a group himself. The city and the province agreed to fund $33 million of the $100 million sales price Bronfman had settled on,<ref>{{harvtxt|Brochu|Myles|2003}} Ch. 2; The Quebec government and City of Montreal therefore agreed to commit $18 million and $15 million, respectively...</ref> after which he and partner Jacques Ménard convinced 11 other Canadian businesses and businessmen—such as [[Bell Canada]], [[Desjardins Group]], the [[Jean Coutu Group]] and [[Loblaw Companies]]—to buy minority stakes. The sale was completed on November 29, 1990.<ref>{{harvnb|Keri|2014|pp=251, 353}}</ref> However, many of the investors Brochu cajoled into joining the partnership made it clear that they considered their investments to be the equivalent of charitable donations, and were not interested in providing additional funding.<ref>{{harvtxt|Gallagher|Young|2013}} Ch. 4; They would never be prepared to put more money in the pot. So don't ask.</ref>

With a new ownership group in place, the Expos traded Tim Raines to the [[Chicago White Sox]] in a five-player deal.<ref name="Raines-stats">{{citation |title=Tim Raines statistics |author=Sports Reference, Inc. |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/r/raineti01.shtml |access-date=2007-10-29 |archive-date=February 10, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210025645/http://www.baseball-reference.com/r/raineti01.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref>
General manager [[David Dombrowski]] fired manager [[Buck Rodgers]], who had managed the team since 1985, after the team started the 1991 season with a 20–29 record,<ref>{{citation |title=Buck Rodgers Managerial Record |publisher=Sports Reference LLC |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/managers/rodgebu01.shtml |access-date=2007-09-01 |archive-date=June 23, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080623023305/http://www.baseball-reference.com/managers/rodgebu01.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> replacing him with [[Tom Runnells]].<ref>{{citation |title=Tom Runnells Managerial Record |publisher=Sports Reference LLC |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/managers/runneto01.shtml |access-date=2007-09-01 |archive-date=July 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170708163513/http://www.baseball-reference.com/managers/runneto01.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[Mark Gardner (baseball)|Mark Gardner]] pitched nine no-hit innings in a July 26, {{baseball year|1991}} game before losing 1–0 in the 10th inning to the Los Angeles Dodgers.<ref>{{Citation |title=Gardner's 9-inning no-hitter really isn't |work=Toronto Star |date=1991-07-28 |page=G3}}</ref> Two days later, also in Los Angeles, [[Dennis Martínez]] achieved a rare feat, throwing the [[Dennis Martínez's perfect game|13th official perfect game]] in Major League Baseball history (based on MLB's 1991 redefinition of a [[Perfect game (baseball)|perfect game]]), winning 2–0.<ref name="MartinezPerfectGame">{{Citation |last=Twersky |first=Ron |title=PERFECTION: Veteran Montreal Expos' pitcher Dennis Martínez hurls major league's 15th perfect game |work=Vancouver Sun |date=1991-07-29 |page=D1}}</ref> Dave Van Horne's iconic call of "El Presidente, El Perfecto!" following the final out became a hallmark of Expos lore.<ref>{{citation |last=Keri |first=Jonah |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/baseball/el-presidente-el-perfecto-seared-into-expos-fans-minds/article17626074/ |title='El Presidente, El Perfecto!' seared into Expos fans' minds |work=The Globe and Mail |date=2014-03-21 |access-date=2015-06-19 |archive-date=April 23, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170423055409/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/baseball/el-presidente-el-perfecto-seared-into-expos-fans-minds/article17626074/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Martinez's catcher, [[Ron Hassey]], also caught [[Len Barker's perfect game]] ten years earlier and remains the only player to catch two perfect games in MLB history.<ref>{{harvtxt|Gallagher|Young|2013}} Ch. 4; For one thing, Martinez's achievement was not Hassey's first perfect game behind the plate.</ref> The euphoria of the pitching feats did not last, as the Expos were rendered homeless for the final month of the season after a 50-ton beam collapsed from Olympic Stadium's structure and fell nine metres onto a public concourse hours before a [[motocross]] event on September 13.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Block |first1=Irwin |last2=Baker |first2=Geoff |title=Stadium closed after beam falls; All events cancelled while team of experts conducts safety tests |work=Montreal Gazette |date=1991-09-14 |page=A1}}</ref> The Expos hinted that they would have to open the 1992 season elsewhere unless Olympic Stadium was certified safe. While the stadium itself was given a clean bill of health by engineers in November, it took longer to get one for the roof since it had been badly ripped in a June windstorm. Ultimately, it was decided to keep the roof closed at all times; it had only been opened 88 times in a little more than four years and could not be used in winds greater than 25 mph.<ref name=SABROlympicStadium/>

The Expos finished 1991 with a 71–90 record, sixth in the NL East, and drew fewer than one million fans for the first time since 1976.<ref name="2004MG6">{{harvnb|Dever|Giroux|2004|p=6}}</ref> However, the foundation of the Expos' future was establishing their places in MLB: [[Larry Walker]], [[Marquis Grissom]] and [[Delino DeShields]] had made their debuts the season prior,<ref>{{harvnb|Keri|2014|p=252}}</ref> and the team acquired [[Moisés Alou]] in a trade with Pittsburgh.<ref>{{citation |title=Bucs acquire Smith in deal with Expos |work=Toronto Star |date=1990-08-09 |page=B2}}</ref> Moises' father [[Felipe Alou|Felipe]], who had been a long time employee of the Expos, was promoted to manager during the {{mlby|1992}} season and became the first native of the Dominican Republic to manage a Major League Baseball team.<ref>{{citation |title=Expos fire Runnells and hire Alou |work=Windsor Star |date=1992-05-23 |page=B2}}</ref> In {{mlby|1993}}, DeShields was sent to Los Angeles in exchange for [[Pedro Martínez]]; the deal was initially pilloried by the ''[[Montreal Gazette]]'' and other local publications as a move designed to save money rather than improve the ball club.<ref name="JohnsonMartinezRetrospective" /><ref>{{harvtxt|Brochu|Myles|2003}} Ch. 7; "For a matter of money, the Expos sacrificed Delino DeShields and obtained Pedro Martínez..."</ref> Nonetheless, the Expos improved on the field; they won 87 games in 1992, 94 in 1993 and finished second in the NL East both seasons.<ref name="2004MG6" />