Fans piling into the Olympic Stadium this week won’t get a chance to see the Jays’ über prospect and son of former Expos legend, Vladimir Guerrero, as Vlad Guerrero Jr. is still recovering from an oblique injury.
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The Toronto Blue Jays, who are at the Big O for an exhibition tune-up versus the Milwaukee Brewers before the start of the 2019 MLB season, announced their ‘Montreal Series’ roster, which featured one powerful omission.
NEXT STOP: 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦
Here is our roster for this year’s exhibition series in Montréal! pic.twitter.com/5uzlimizFI
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) March 24, 2019
During last year’s exhibition game versus the St. Louis Cardinals, Vlad Guerrero Jr. hit a walk-off tater in the very same ballpark where his Hall of Fame father wowed Expos fans for eight extraordinary seasons.
The moment was a jolt of much-needed baseball nostalgia for a city that’s been missing professional baseball since ‘Nos Amours’ relocated to Washington after the 2004 season.
Guerrero Jr.’s heroic blast to centre field was a storybook moment that couldn’t have been scripted better.
You couldn’t script it any better. People wouldn’t believe you. #LikeFatherLikeSon pic.twitter.com/yURPB0UqsY
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) March 28, 2018
The Montreal-born Guerrero Jr., who’s expected to make his much-anticipated Major League debut this season (hopefully, as soon as possible), was left off the exhibition roster, along with other notables Rowdy Tellez, Anthony Alford, Daniel Hudson and Bud Norris.
Fans longing for another local link will also miss the likes of former Jays catcher Russell Martin, who spent his formative years in Montreal, before he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in January.
Optimism of rejuvenating Major League Baseball in Montreal has been high since The Montreal Group announced a market study and consultations for constructing a new stadium in downtown Montreal.
Guerrero Jr. is a sight for sore eyes when it comes to baseball in Montreal. His father played for the Expos from 1996 to 2003 and racked up 234 home runs, 702 RBIs and is regarded as one of, if not the best Expos players of all time.
Even without the sentimental number 27 on the field, in the form of Jr., Expos fans will be slamming the Big O’s yellow seats tonight and tomorrow in letting the baseball world know that the city deserves a chance at bringing a team back to La Belle Province.
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