Will Any Hall of Famers Ever Proudly Don an Expos Cap?

It’s not all that surprising that Andre Dawson is upset to be going into Cooperstown as a Montreal Expo. Nor is it surprising that he doesn’t really agree with that decision.

⇥The hall announced its decision Wednesday. Dawson told WMVP-AM in Chicago that he thought hall officials would discuss the issue with him in detail before the decision was made. He said he wanted a chance to tell them “what really catapulted me to Hall of Fame status and pretty much what my preference was but I think their decision had been made. It was a little gut-wrenching for me to hear that but it’s their decision.”⇥⇥⇥⇥⇥“I’m disappointed,” Dawson told the ESPN Radio affiliate. “I can proudly say that because Chicago was my preference.”⇥⇥⇥⇥

It’s not really a shock that Dawson would rather be a Cub. That sentiment makes sense -- and cents -- for him. But the question is this: Is he the last Expo to enter the Hall? And is this the legacy that the Expos will be saddled with, one of being jerked around by baseball and treated as a second-class team even by those who had great times north of the border? (I see you, Gary Carter.)

Montreal has not had many Hall of Fame caliber players. Vladimir Guerrero was probably the best and longest-tenured. He’s up there on Baseball-Reference’s Hall of Fame Monitor, but with an MVP with the Angels and a strong chance of retiring with more at-bats for other teams than he had with Montreal, too, he’s an unlikely candidate to go in an Expo. Pedro Martinez had his more memorable dominant years with the Red Sox, and won a World Series with that team; Larry Walker spent more years with the Rockies, winning an MVP with them.

So next best bet is also probably the last bet: Tim Raines. Rock’s Hall of Fame candidacy would probably require a Veterans Committee selection, as smart grassroots efforts haven’t done much to help his candidacy so far. Raines would be a sure Expo, though, and would probably wear the hat gladly: He spent 13 years in Montreal, more than half of his career, and he was a coach for the franchise in its last days in Montreal.

Raines is the guy whose Expos hat would make sense both to the inductors and the inductee. And he probably won’t make it. C’est la vie, non?

↵