Top 10 Expos Memories: No. 7 – My First Game

Normally, for most baseball fans – or fans of any sport – your first experience of the game is something that sticks with you and would without a doubt be your best memory of the game.

Well, it’s not mine. Basically because I remembered so little without the help of Baseball Reference. I remembered vaguely being there with my parents. I remember it being against the Philadelphia Phillies but that’s really it.

In fact, I didn’t even remember the date until I flipped around an old picture from that game and attached to it was my ticket stub. It was then I realized it was August 12, 1990 – or two days after my fifth birthday.

Thanks to Baseball Reference, I realize that it was a 6-3 win with a good pitching performance from Chris Nabholtz and Tim Burke. The starting lineup included two of the best Expos players ever – Tim Raines and Tim Wallach. Larry Walker was there as well.

For the Phillies, it was a bunch of players I remember like Dale Murphy, Charlie Hayes and Randy Ready – mostly for what they did before or after 1990. And a lot of players who I don’t remember. Much like I probably wouldn’t remember Spike Owen, Jerry Goff or even Dave Martinez if I wasn’t so interested in the Expos.

Raines hit a homerun and Dave Martinez hit two including the two of them going back-to-back in the third inning. If I recalled anything from this game, it would have been Martinez and he would have become my favourite player who hits two homeruns in every game. But I had no recollection of that.

I always liked Martinez and wanted him to be considered for the Washington Nationals managerial opening this offseason before Matt Williams was hired. He is currently the bench coach with the Tampa Bay Rays.

He had a major role in the 1994 Expos despite being traded from the team in 1991. He was traded to Cincinnati with Willie Greene and Scott Ruskin for Bill Risley and… John Wetteland.