October 13, 2022

By Danny Gallagher

Canadian Baseball Network

The Montreal Baseball Group led by Stephen Bronfman and Mitch Garber is not leaning toward putting its money behind a full-time team in the city through relocation of an existing team or expansion club.

Some 10 months after Major League Baseball rejected the idea of a split-season, part-time team concept involving Montreal and Tampa Bay, Garber said in an interview that Bronfman and himself are not enamoured with the idea of a team playing from April until October because of the huge cost involved.

The split-season idea would have tentatively begun in 2028 with 40 games played in Montreal as part of Tampa Bay’s 81-game home schedule -- but 81 games at home and 81 on the road are a bit much, Garber thinks.

“Playing 162 games is a lot of games in today’s culture and the short attention span,” Garber wrote in a brief email exchange. “I believe baseball is dead for us and I don’t want to have to perpetuate that.”

Near the end of a news conference held last January to express his group’s

disappointment at the news of the cancellation of the split-season idea, Bronfman asked, “Is a full-time team viable?”

Apparently, not. But the group’s lack of enthusiasm doesn’t mean another individual or another group of investors wouldn’t be interested.

Letters were sent several months ago by this reporter to Bronfman and

commissioner Rob Manfred with both asked a series of questions about the cancellation of the two-city arrangement -- and the future of baseball in Montreal. Neither replied.

Bronfman was specifically asked if he wanted a full-time team.

Manfred has never publicly explained the reason for squashing the two-city idea.

Montreal lost the Expos following the 2004 season when they were transferred to Washington, D.C. a city which lost the Washington Senators after the 1960 season when the franchise was moved to Minneapolis-St. Paul area to become the Minnesota Twins.

Given a second chance the new-look Washington Senators lasted from 1961-to-71 before moving to Arlington, Tex. as the Texas Rangers.

Bronfman and his group had been excited for several years about the part-time team scenario, even though the idea hadn’t been approved by the

Players Association. Bronfman’s group had been hoping a new stadium would be built south of downtown Montreal as part of a residential and commercial project in anticipation of the proposed idea with the Rays. 

The group grew fond of the split-season idea because it would cost less money since the Rays would have handled a lot of the expenses. A full-time team, though, is another story because it will cost close to $2.5-billion and that doesn’t include a new stadium.

It’s generally believed the contenders for an expansion franchise are Montreal, Charlotte, North Carolina, Portland, Oregon, Nashville and Las Vegas but U.S.-based baseball writer and historian Dan Schlossberg believes a third team in the New York area is an idea which should be studied.

“The biggest population area without a team is Northern New Jersey,” Schlossberg said in an interview. “But any team moving to the Meadowlands would have to get the New York Yankees and New York Mets to waive territorial rights that they really shouldn’t have, as they are across state lines. In fact, Flushing (home of Citi Field) is nearly an hour’s drive from the

Hackensack Meadowlands and, with traffic, often more.

“Other areas that should be considered are New Orleans and Vancouver, where domes are available and populations are waiting -- as well as tourists who would love to take in a game.”

Former Expos outfielder and broadcaster Ken Singleton thinks Montreal is in the running for an expansion franchise but stadium issues in Tampa Bay and Oakland must first be resolved.

“Unfortunately for MLB, politicians in both locations are dragging their feet. This also slows down the process of expansion,” Singleton said. “If expansion does happen, Montreal definitely has a chance to get a second opportunity. If the Oakland team remains in California, I think Las Vegas might get a franchise, if the A’s relocate there.”

Former commissioner Bud Selig got into the act by stating to me, “Eighteen years later and there is still no new stadium in Montreal.’’

Danny Gallagher has written eight books about the Expos, including his 2022 release Books Loaded.