Former players, journalists, broadcasters and front office executives come together to chronicle the history of the Montreal Expos in The Colorful Montreal Expos, the next installment of MLB Network Presents, premiering on Tuesday, January 26 at 9:00 p.m. ET. Narrated by award-winning actor and Montreal native William Shatner, the program focuses on how the unique culture, history and heritage of the Montreal Expos made it one of baseball's most distinctive franchises. The following is a clip from The Colorful Montreal Expos: http://atmlb.com/1V4PDWr.
Connecting different generations of players, Warren Cromartie, Andre Dawson, Cliff Floyd and Rondell White join together at a local restaurant to reminisce about life as Montreal Expos and the special bond created with its fan base. Notable Expos personalities relive different points in the club's history, beginning with original owner Charles Bronfman and three-time Expos All-Star Rusty Staub discussing the birth of Montreal baseball in 1969 at Jarry Park. Sandy Carter, the widow of Expos Hall of Famer Gary Carter, and former players Tim Raines and Steve Rogers detail the Expos captivating Montreal in the late 1970's at Olympic Stadium. The memorable 1981 Expos season is featured, including the Los Angeles Dodgers' Rick Monday describing his back-breaking home run in Game Five of the 1981 National League Championship Series, which Expos fans refer to as "Blue Monday."
The episode continues with Expos Cy Young award winner and Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez highlighting the talented 1994 Expos team, who were poised for a Postseason appearance before the season was cut short by the players' strike in August. Former Expos general manager Dave Dombrowski, longtime Expos broadcasters Dave Van Horne and Rodger Brulotte, and journalists Michael Farber, Jonah Keri and Mitch Melnick explain the once festive environment surrounding Expos games at Olympic Stadium. The relocation of the franchise to Washington, D.C. in 2004 is covered with the current Mayor of Montreal Denis Coderre describing the city's passion for seeing a baseball team return.
MLB Network Presents is MLB Network's series of documentaries and access-driven profiles. Episodes this offseason have featured Terry Collins: A Life in Baseball, Lenny Randle, "The Most Interesting Man in Baseball" , The Eighth Wonder of the World and Royal in Kansas City, 30 Years Later . MLB Network's signature studio show, MLB Tonight, will continue to provide the latest offseason news and interviews around the league live at 6:00 p.m. ET, including analysis from the aforementioned Cliff Floyd and Pedro Martinez. MLB Network's daily offseason programming schedule can be found here.