January 17, 1989 - Expos sign Matt Stairs as amateur free agent

The Expos signed Matt Stairs (Fredericton, N.B.) 33 years ago today.

January 17, 2022

By Kevin Glew

Canadian Baseball Network

It was 33 years ago today that the Montreal Expos signed a 20-year-old infielder from Fredericton, N.B., named Matt Stairs as an amateur free agent.

Stairs was hoping to become a professional hockey player until he sustained a serious knee injury in high school. When he recovered, he decided to focus on baseball and he honed his skills at the National Baseball Institute in Surrey, B.C. and with Canada’s junior national team.

In 1988, he competed for Canada in the Olympics and hit .362 at the Baseball World Cup and was named the tournament’s top shortstop. His international success helped convince the Expos to sign him as a free agent.

After parts of four seasons in the minors, the stocky Maritimer made his big league debut with the Expos on May 29, 1992. But he’d play just 13 games with the Expos that season and six more the following campaign before being sold to the Boston Red Sox in February 1994.

Stairs eventually played parts of 19 big league seasons (the most by any Canadian position player) and hit 265 home runs, the third-most by a Canadian behind Larry Walker (383) and Joey Votto (295). He ranks third all-time among Canadians in games (1,895) and third in RBIs (899).

For his efforts, he was elected to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015.