See also
- Interleague play
- Canadiens–Maple Leafs rivalry
- 401 derby
- Major League Baseball rivalries
- Beltway Series, the rivalry series currently played by the Nationals after moving from Montreal to Washington.
| Teams | |
|---|---|
| First meeting | June 29, 1978 Olympic Stadium, Montreal, Canada Expos 5, Blue Jays 4 |
| Latest meeting | July 4, 2004 Estadio Hiram Bithorn, San Juan, Puerto Rico Expos 6, Blue Jays 4 |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 43 |
| Regular season series | Blue Jays, 24–19 |
| Largest victory | Blue Jays: 14–2 (June 22, 1998) Expos: 11–2 (June 10, 2000) |
| Longest win streak |
|
| Current win streak | defunct |
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.
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.
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 | |||||||||
| Season | Date | Location | Visiting team | Runs | Home team | Attendance | Ref | Cumulative record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | June 29 | Olympic Stadium | Toronto | 4–5 (10) | Montreal | 20,221 | [11] | Montreal 1–0–0 | |
| 1979 | April 19 | Exhibition Stadium | Montreal | 4–4 (11) | Toronto | 21,564 | [4] | Montreal 1–0–1 | |
| 1980 | July 31 | Olympic Stadium | Toronto | 1–3 | Montreal | 6,731 | [12] | Montreal 2–0–1 | |
| 1981 | July 6 | Exhibition Stadium | Cancelled due to players' strike | [2] [13] | Montreal 2–0–1 | ||||
| 1982 | September 2 | Exhibition Stadium | Montreal | 7–3 | Toronto | 23,102 | [14] | Montreal 3–0–1 | |
| 1983 | May 5 | Olympic Stadium | Toronto | 7–5 | Montreal | 8,291 | [15] | Montreal 3–1–1 | |
| 1984 | May 24 | Exhibition Stadium | Montreal | 5–6 (13) | Toronto | 24,768 | [16] | Montreal 3–2–1 | |
| 1985 | May 9 | Olympic Stadium | Toronto | 2–2 (11) | Montreal | 11,075 | [5] | Montreal 3–2–2 | |
| 1986 | April 28 | Exhibition Stadium | Montreal | 2–5 | Toronto | 16,786 | [17] | Tied 3–3–2 | |
| Regular season series | |||||||||
| Season | Date | Location | Visiting team | Games | Home team | Average Attendance | Ref | Series | Cumulative record |
| 2003 | June 20–22 | Olympic Stadium | Toronto | 2–1 | Montreal | 12,782 | [18] | Tied 3–3 | Tied 3–3–3 |
| June 27–29 | SkyDome | Montreal | 2–1 | Toronto | 31,571 | ||||
| 2004 | June 25–27 | SkyDome | Montreal | 1–2 | Toronto | 22,091 | [19] | Tied 3–3 | Tied 3–3–4 |
| July 2–4 | Hiram Bithorn Stadium (San Juan, Puerto Rico) | Toronto | 1–2 | Montreal | 8,443 | ||||
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]
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)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2000s (Blue Jays, 24–21)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2010s (Blue Jays, 5–4)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2020s (Nationals, 8–6)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Summary of Results
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Montreal Expos were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (NL) East division from 1969 until 2004. Following the 2004 season, the franchise relocated to Washington, D.C., and became the Washington Nationals.
The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games primarily at Rogers Centre in downtown Toronto.
Rogers Centre is a retractable roof stadium in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated at the base of the CN Tower near the northern shore of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989 on the former Railway Lands, it is home to the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). Previously, the stadium was also home to the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL) played an annual game at the stadium as part of the Bills Toronto Series from 2008 to 2013. While it is primarily a sports venue, it also hosts other large events such as conventions, trade fairs, concerts, travelling carnivals, circuses and monster truck shows.
The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1873, the team is the oldest existing professional sports team in North America still using its original name, as well as the oldest-surviving team in both the modern-day CFL and East Division. The team's origins date back to a modified version of rugby football that emerged in North America in the latter half of the 19th century. The Argonauts played their home games at Rogers Centre from 1989 until 2016, when the team moved to BMO Field, the fifth stadium site to host the team.
Interleague play in Major League Baseball refers to regular-season baseball games played between an American League (AL) team and a National League (NL) team. Interleague play was first introduced during the 1997 Major League Baseball season. Prior to that, matchups between AL teams and NL teams occurred only during spring training, the All-Star Game, other exhibition games, and the World Series. Unlike modern interleague play, none of these contests, except for the World Series, counted toward official team or league records.
Olympic Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Montreal, Canada, located at Olympic Park in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district of the city. Built in the mid-1970s as the main venue for the 1976 Summer Olympics, it is nicknamed "The Big O", a reference to both its name and to the doughnut-shape of the permanent component of the stadium's roof. It is also disparagingly referred to as "The Big Owe" in reference to the high cost of its construction and of hosting the 1976 Olympics as a whole.
Canadian National Exhibition Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on the grounds of Exhibition Place. Originally built for Canadian National Exhibition events, the stadium served as the home of the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL) from 1959 to 1988, the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1977 to 1989, and the Toronto Blizzard of the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1979 to 1983. The stadium hosted the Grey Cup game 12 times over a 24-year period.
Tomokazu Ohka is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher. He played for the Boston Red Sox (1999–2001), Montreal Expos / Washington Nationals (2001–2005), Milwaukee Brewers (2005–2006), Toronto Blue Jays (2007), Cleveland Indians (2009), as well as the Fukushima Hopes in Japan's Baseball Challenge League. He started his professional career with the Yokohama BayStars in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. He throws right-handed and is a switch hitter.
The Intercounty Baseball League (IBL) is a Canadian baseball league, comprising teams of college players and former professionals from North America and beyond. The teams are located in Southern Ontario.
Jacques Doucet is a retired Canadian radio announcer of baseball play-by-play in the French language. He broadcast Montreal Expos games for every year of the team's existence, from 1969 to 2004. After commenting on the Québec Capitales from 2006 to 2010, he became the French play-by-play voice of the Toronto Blue Jays on TVA Sports from 2011 until his retirement in 2022.
The Beltway Series, promoted by the teams as "The Battle of the Beltways," is the Major League Baseball (MLB) interleague rivalry series played between the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals. The Orioles are a member of the American League (AL) East division, and the Nationals are a member of the National League (NL) East division. The series name is taken from the beltway highways, the Baltimore Beltway (I-695) and the Capital Beltway (I-495), that serve Baltimore, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., respectively.
Baseball in Canada is played at various levels throughout the country, including by Major League Baseball's Toronto Blue Jays, founded in 1977 and Minor League Baseball's Vancouver Canadians, an affiliate of the Blue Jays competing in the High-A Northwest League. There are also several teams that compete in independent baseball leagues, such as the Trois-Rivières Aigles of the Frontier League and the Winnipeg Goldeyes of the American Association.
The city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, has a long history of sport. It is home to a number of clubs, including the Granite Club, the Royal Canadian Yacht Club, the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club, the Argonaut Rowing Club, Toronto Argonauts football club, the Toronto Lawn Tennis Club, and the Badminton and Racquet Club. A number of heritage venues have developed in Toronto such as: Christie Pits, Coca-Cola Coliseum, Varsity Arena, and Maple Leaf Gardens. Toronto is also the location of the Canadian Football League's headquarters.
The 1997 Major League Baseball season was the inaugural season for Interleague play, as well as the final season in the American League for the Milwaukee Brewers before moving to the NL the following season. The California Angels changed their name to the Anaheim Angels. The Florida Marlins ended the season as the World Champions defeating the Cleveland Indians in a seven-game World Series, four games to three.
The 1997 Toronto Blue Jays season was the franchise's 21st season of Major League Baseball. It resulted in the Blue Jays finishing fifth in the American League East with a record of 76 wins and 86 losses. With a massive redesign of their logos and uniforms, the Blue Jays attempted to re-establish themselves in the American League East by signing Roger Clemens via free agency and bringing All-Stars Carlos García and Orlando Merced through trade. Although Clemens rejuvenated himself with the Blue Jays, both Garcia and Merced ended up being flops as dismal overall hitting and an inconsistent bullpen doomed the Blue Jays once again to a last-place finish. 1997 also marked the end of the road for manager Cito Gaston, being fired near the end of the season. Longtime fan-favourite Joe Carter also played in his final season for the Blue Jays, as he was released at the end of the season.
The 1997 Montreal Expos season was the 29th season of the franchise. They finished 78–84, 23 games back of the Atlanta Braves in the National League East and 14 games back of the Florida Marlins in the Wild Card. They played the Toronto Blue Jays in Interleague play for the first time during the season.
The 1978 Montreal Expos season was the tenth season in franchise history. The team finished fourth in the National League East with a record of 76–86, 14 games behind the first-place Philadelphia Phillies.
The 1989 Major League Baseball season saw the Oakland Athletics win their first World Series title since 1974.
The Naismith Cup was an annual pre-season National Basketball Association (NBA) exhibition game. From the 1995 season through 2000, it was played between the two Canadian NBA rivals, the Toronto Raptors and the Vancouver Grizzlies, at neutral venues across Canada. The cup was named after James Naismith, the Canadian inventor of basketball, and was originally created to raise money for Canada Basketball, similar to the Pearson Cup competition between Canada's Major League Baseball teams the Toronto Blue Jays and Montreal Expos. Following the Grizzlies relocation to Memphis the cup was laid dead, though the Raptors continued the tradition of hosting neutral site pre-season games in Canadian cities under the NBA Canada Series name. The Raptors won the series against Vancouver 4–1.
Throughout its history, Major League Baseball rivalries have occurred between many teams and cities. Rivalries have arisen for many different reasons, the primary ones including geographic proximity, familiarity with opponents, various incidents, and cultural, linguistic, or national pride.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
