Pearson Cup

Last updated
Pearson Cup
Teams
First meetingJune 29, 1978
Olympic Stadium, Montreal, Canada
Expos 5, Blue Jays 4
Latest meetingJuly 4, 2004
Estadio Hiram Bithorn, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Expos 6, Blue Jays 4
Statistics
Meetings total43
Regular season seriesBlue Jays, 24–19
Largest victoryBlue Jays: 14–2 (June 22, 1998)
Expos: 11–2 (June 10, 2000)
Longest win streak
  • Expos: 4 games (June 14, 2002 – June 28, 2002)
  • Blue Jays: 6 games (July 2, 1997 – June 4, 1999)
Current win streakdefunct

The Pearson Cup (French : Coupe Pearson) was an annual midseason Major League Baseball rivalry between former Canadian rivals, the Toronto Blue Jays and Montreal Expos. Named after former Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson, it was originally created to raise money for minor league baseball in Canada. In later years, it was incorporated into the interleague baseball schedule.

Contents

The series began in 1978, and ran until 1986. [1] Due to a strike, no game was played in 1981. [2] In 2003, the series was revived as part of the Blue Jays–Expos interleague rivalry. [3] It continued on into the 2004 season, after which the Expos moved to Washington, D.C., and became the Washington Nationals. The cup is now on display in the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in St. Marys, Ontario.

Results

From 1978 to 1986, the Cup was awarded after a one-game exhibition, that had no effect on the major league standings. The 1979 and 1985 games were abandoned as ties due to time constraints; in 1979 the Expos had to catch an airplane flight, [4] while in 1985 the Jays had to catch a flight. [5] [6]

The game was suspended in 1987 as the two teams could not find a mutually agreeable date to play the game. [7] There was discussion about reviving the game in the preseason, or playing it in another Canadian city such as Vancouver, but this never took place. [8] [9] [10]

During the 2003 and 2004 series, the Cup was awarded after a six-game set, three in Toronto and three in Montreal. [3] These games counted in major-league standings and were played during the regular season.

Single exhibition games
SeasonDateLocationVisiting teamRunsHome teamAttendanceRefCumulative
record
1978 June 29 Olympic Stadium Toronto4–5 (10)Montreal20,221 [11] Montreal 1–0–0
1979 April 19 Exhibition Stadium Montreal4–4 (11)Toronto21,564 [4] Montreal 1–0–1
1980 July 31Olympic StadiumToronto1–3Montreal6,731 [12] Montreal 2–0–1
1981 July 6Exhibition StadiumCancelled due to players' strike [2] [13] Montreal 2–0–1
1982 September 2Exhibition StadiumMontreal7–3Toronto23,102 [14] Montreal 3–0–1
1983 May 5Olympic StadiumToronto7–5Montreal8,291 [15] Montreal 3–1–1
1984 May 24Exhibition StadiumMontreal5–6 (13)Toronto24,768 [16] Montreal 3–2–1
1985 May 9Olympic StadiumToronto2–2 (11)Montreal11,075 [5] Montreal 3–2–2
1986 April 28Exhibition StadiumMontreal2–5Toronto16,786 [17] Tied 3–3–2
Regular season series
SeasonDateLocationVisiting teamGamesHome teamAverage
Attendance
RefSeriesCumulative
record
2003 June 20–22 Olympic Stadium Toronto2–1Montreal12,782 [18] Tied
3–3
Tied 3–3–3
June 27–29 SkyDome Montreal2–1Toronto31,571
2004 June 25–27SkyDomeMontreal1–2Toronto22,091 [19] Tied
3–3
Tied 3–3–4
July 2–4 Hiram Bithorn Stadium
(San Juan, Puerto Rico)
Toronto1–2Montreal8,443

The All-Canadian Series

The Blue Jays and Expos first played meaningful baseball in the 1997 season with the introduction of interleague play, with the teams being designated natural rivals. [20] In 1997, the teams played three games at Toronto; the two teams played home and home series for the first time in 1998. The series was a decided boost to the paltry attendance numbers at Olympic Stadium in Montreal, and gave a modest increase in attendance at SkyDome in Toronto; it failed, however, to become a serious rivalry amongst the players or the fans. [1] Some people attribute this to a lack of Canadian players on both teams, while others point to the general discontent of Canadians with Major League Baseball during the late 1990s and early 2000s. [1] [21]

Major League Baseball put the final nail in the Series' coffin by playing the final set between the Jays and Expos in San Juan, Puerto Rico instead of Montreal. Major League Baseball's intention to boost attendance by playing in San Juan ended up resulting in lower attendance than the series had attracted in Montreal a year earlier. [22] [23] [24]

The All-Canadian Series ended after 2004 when the Expos were relocated and became known as the Washington Nationals. [25] [26] The Blue Jays won the series 24 games to 19 games, and Toronto also won the most season series (3–2–2). [27]

Season-by-season results

The two teams met annually from 1997 to 2004 as part of the All-Canadian Series, then met annually again starting in 2023 as a result of the scheduling formula change, meeting intermittently from 2005 to 2022.

Toronto Blue Jays vs. Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals Season-by-Season Results
1990s (Blue Jays, 9–4)
SeasonSeason seriesat Toronto Blue Jays at Montreal Expos Overall seriesNotes
1997 Expos21Expos
21
no gamesExpos
21
First regular season games played between the two clubs
First regular season games played between two Canadian teams
Only time Expos have held the overall series lead
1998 Blue Jays40Blue Jays
20
Blue Jays
20
Blue Jays
52
First regular season games played between the two clubs at Olympic Stadium
First season series sweep by either team
1999 Blue Jays42Blue Jays
21
Blue Jays
21
Blue Jays
94
First year of 6-game home and away format
2000s (Blue Jays, 24–21)
SeasonSeason seriesat Toronto Blue Jays at Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals Overall seriesNotes
2000 Blue Jays42Blue Jays
21
Blue Jays
21
Blue Jays
136
2001 Tie33Blue Jays
21
Expos
21
Blue Jays
169
2002 Expos42Blue Jays
21
Expos
30
Blue Jays
1813
2003 Tie33Expos
21
Blue Jays
21
Blue Jays
2116
Last meetings played in Montreal
2004 Tie33Blue Jays
21
Expos
21
Blue Jays
2419
Expos played their home games during this series in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Most recent MLB games between two Canadian franchises.
2005 Tie33Blue Jays
21
Nationals
21
Blue Jays
2722
First meetings between the Nationals and Blue Jays.
Last 6-game series meeting
Only Washington-Toronto meeting to have games played in both cities
2006 Blue Jays30Blue Jays
30
no gamesBlue Jays
3022
Second season series sweep for Blue Jays
2007 Blue Jays21Blue Jays
21
no gamesBlue Jays
3223
2009 Nationals21no gamesNationals
21
Blue Jays
3325
2010s (Blue Jays, 5–4)
SeasonSeason seriesat Toronto Blue Jays at Washington Nationals Overall seriesNotes
2012 Nationals30Nationals
30
no gamesBlue Jays
3328
First season series sweep for Expos/Nationals franchise
2015 Blue Jays21no gamesBlue Jays
21
Blue Jays
3529
2018 Blue Jays30Blue Jays
30
no gamesBlue Jays
3829
Third season series sweep for Blue Jays
2020s (Nationals, 8–6)
SeasonSeason seriesat Toronto Blue Jays at Washington Nationals Overall seriesNotes
2020 Tie22no gamesTie
22
Blue Jays
4031
Both Blue Jays home games relocated to Nationals Park due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as their alternate stadium (Sahlen Field) in Buffalo, New York was being prepared. These are considered home games for the Nationals, per official statistics, [28] though each team played two games batting in the bottom of innings.
2021 Nationals31Tie
11
Nationals
20
Blue Jays
4134
Both Blue Jays home games played at TD Ameritrade Park (their Spring Training venue) due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2023 Blue Jays21Blue Jays
21
no gamesBlue Jays
4335
Beginning this season, teams play three games annually in alternating venues as MLB adopts a new scheduling format.
2024 Nationals21no gamesNationals
21
Blue Jays
4437
Summary of Results
SeasonSeason seriesat Toronto Blue Jays at Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals Notes
Toronto Blue Jays vs Montreal ExposBlue Jays2419Blue Jays, 149Tie, 1010
Toronto Blue Jays vs Washington NationalsBlue Jays2018Blue Jays, 137Nationals, 117
Overall Regular seasonBlue Jays4437Blue Jays, 2716Nationals, 2117
Toronto Blue Jays vs Montreal Expos seriesBlue Jays323Blue Jays, 62Blue Jays, 43
Toronto Blue Jays vs Washington Nationals seriesBlue Jays542Blue Jays, 511Nationals, 411
Overall Regular season seriesBlue Jays865Blue Jays, 1131Expos/Nationals, 751

Notes

See also

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References

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