Who Would Have Won Between the 1993 Blue Jays or 1994 Expos?

The Montreal Expos were poised for greatness in 1994 when a work stoppage shattered their World Series aspirations, however, could have the Expos contingent competed with the 1993 Toronto Blue Jays?

The Toronto Blue Jays defended their World Series title in 1993 by defeating the Philadelphia Phillies on the heels of an epic home run off the bat of slugger Joe Carter. The following season it appeared the Blue Jays may pass the championship torch to their counterpart to the east.

When the 1994 work stoppage took effect the Montreal Expos were sitting in first place in the National League East with an impressive 74-40 record. Montreal was six-games up on the second-place Atlanta Braves and had won 12 of their last 14 when the strike commenced.

Conversely, the World Champion’ Blue Jays were sputtering along in third place with a 55-60 record, 16 games behind the first-place New York Yankees. Toronto did not appear as if they would be in the conversation for a three-peat in 1994.

Let’s take a closer look at how the Expos 1994 roster would have stacked up against the Blue Jays 1993 roster. Take into account the Expos overall statistics will be lower seeing the team only played a total of 114 games.

Catcher

Blue Jays: Pat Borders

Expos: Darrin Fletcher

In 1993 Borders hit .254/.285.371 with 124 hits including 9 homers in 520 plate appearances.

In 1994 Fletcher hit .260/.314/.435 with 74 hits including 10 homers in 325 plate appearances.

Advantage: Expos

First Base

Blue Jays: John Olerud

Expos: Cliff Floyd

In 1993 Olerud hit .363/.473/.599 with 200 hits, 54 doubles, 114 walks, and 24 home runs in 679 plate appearances. Olerud won the AL batting title and finished third in MVP voting for his efforts.

In 1994 Floyd hit .281/.332/.398 with 94 hits, 4 homers and 10 stolen bases in 366 plate appearances. Floyd was in his rookie campaign and would finish 5th in NL Rookie of the Year voting.

Advantage: Blue Jays

Second Base

Blue Jays: Roberto Alomar

Expos: Mike Lansing

In 1993 Alomar hit .326/.408/.492 with 192 hits, 17 home runs, and 55 stolen bases in 683 plate appearances. The future Hall of Famer was an All-Star, Gold Glove winner and finished sixth in MVP voting during their repeat season.

In 1994 Lansing hit .266/.328/.368 with 105 hits including five homers and 12 stolen bases in 435 plate appearances.

Advantage: Blue Jays

Shortstop

Blue Jays: Tony Fernandez

Expos: Wil Cordero

In 1993 Fernandez hit .306/.361/.442 with 108 hits including four homers and 15 swipes in 390 plate appearances.

In 1994 Cordero hit .294/.363/.489 with 122 hits including 15 homers and 16 stolen bases in 467 plate appearances. Cordero only had 45 MLB games under his belt prior to the 1994 campaign and finished seventh in Rookie of the Year voting.

Advantage: Expos (Very close but gave the edge to Cordero due to the uptick in power.)

Third Base

Blue Jays: Ed Sprague

Expos: Sean Berry

In 1993 Sprague hit .260/.310/.386 with 142 hits, 12 homers and 73 ribbies in 596 plate appearances.

In 1994 Berry hit .278/.347/.453 with 89 hits, 11 homers and 14 stolen bases in 359 plate appearances.

Advantage: Expos ( Again very close but Berry nearly matched Sprague’s power in 237 fewer plate appearances and was 14 for 14 in stolen base attempts.)

Blue Jays Rotation

Juan Guzman– 14-3 with a 3.99 ERA, 7.9 SO/9 in 221 IP

Pat Hentgen– 19-9 with a 3.87 ERA, 5.1 SO/9 in 216.1 IP

Todd Stottlemyre– 11-12 with a 4.84 ERA, 5.0 SO/9 in 176.2 IP.

Dave Stewart– 12-8 with a 4.44 ERA, 5.3 SO/9 in 162 IP.

Jack Morris– 7-12 with a 6.19 ERA, 6.1 SO/9 in 152.2 IP.

Hentgen and Guzman received CY Young consideration finishing 6th and 7th respectively in the voting. However, the likes of Stewart and especially Morris began to feel the effects of Father Time during the 1993 season. The rotation benefitted greatly from a dynamic offence that could put crooked numbers up on the scoreboard in a hurry.

Expos Rotation

Ken Hill– 16-5 with a 3.32 ERA, 4.9 SO/9 in 154.2 IP.

Pedro Martinez– 11-5 with a 3.42 ERA, 8.8 SO/9 in 144.2 IP.

Jeff Fassero– 8-6 with a 2.99 ERA, 7.7 SO/9 in 138.2 IP.

Butch Henry– 8-3 with a 2.43 ERA, 5.9 SO/9 in 107.1 IP.

Kirk Rueter– 7-3 with a 5.17 ERA, 4.9 SO/9 in 92.1 IP.

The Expos had two aces atop their rotation coupled with a no-name supporting cast. The likes of Fassero and Henry were definitely overachieving but regardless they were each having a nice season before the stoppage. Reuter was your typical fifth starter, although, from his wins total, he obviously received a decent amount of run support when he was on the bump.

Advantage: Expos (It is close but Hill and Martinez give Montreal the edge.)

Blue Jays Bullpen

Duane Ward– Closer- 2.13 ERA, 45 saves

Danny Cox– 3.12 ERA, 2 saves

Mark Eichhorn– 2.72 ERA

Mike Timlin– 4.69 ERA, 1 save

Tony Castillo– 3.38 ERA

Expos Bullpen

John Wetteland– Closer- 2.83 ERA, 25 saves

Mel Rojas– 3.32 ERA, 16 saves

Gil Heredia– 3.46 ERA

Jeff Shaw– 3.88 ERA, 1 save

Tim Scott– 2.70 ERA, 1 save

Advantage: Tie (Both teams had dominant closers with a decent supporting cast.)

There are the numbers, who do you think would have reigned victorious in a best of seven match-up? The Expos are much closer to the Blue Jays than I had anticipated and utilized a nice blend of speed and power to get the job done. It would have been interesting to see how far they would have gone if there had not been a work stoppage.

Chime in below folks and let me know who you think was the better team.