Gallagher: Montreal broadcaster/Expos fan Makos saddened with what has happened

Montreal talk show host Elias Makos, who’s the administrator of the @montreal_expos Twitter handle, is disappointed that Major League Baseball may not return to Montreal.

December 9, 2022

By Danny Gallagher

Canadian Baseball Network

One of Montreal's most respected talk-show hosts and the administrator of the @montreal_expos Twitter handle is forlorn with news baseball may not return to the city to replace the Expos.

CJAD Radio broadcaster Elias Makos, a former Expos media-relations employee, was reacting to Canadian Baseball Network stories that say Stephen Bronfman's Montreal Baseball Group isn't interested in an expansion team or a relocated franchise.

“That makes me sad as a baseball fan, and sad as a cheerleader for this city in general,’’ Makos said in an email exchange. “I was shocked that the split-city effort was the actual plan. I always thought it was subterfuge for getting back a real team.

"I remember how dire the return of baseball to Montreal seemed right after the team left in 2004. I remember being in D.C. the following year and my sadness realizing what we lost.

"But it wasn't very long before I had a glimmer of hope that one day Major League Baseball would return to Montreal. And as you know when the Blue Jays started playing preseason games here, the Expos coming back turned into a "when, not if" question.

"But the recent messaging from the people that were working to bring back to Montreal makes it pretty clear they don't have the appetite for a full-time team in this city.’’

What happens now that Bronfman's group is out of the picture?

"Tall order,'' said Matthew Ross, chairman and founder of Expos Nation. "All the leg work and permissions and credibility were in place with Bronfman.''