Montreal Expos: Top 3 Opening Day starters from years past

Montreal Expos: Top 3 Opening Day starters from years past

Silent Assassin- Javier Vazquez

Javier Vazquez was a beast, a real workhorse. He drew two opening day assignments over the course of his six-year stint with the Expos. Vazquez made at least 31 starts in all but one of his fourteen seasons, pitching at least two hundred innings nine times.

With the Expos he won 64 career games. His best season coming in 2001 where he finished 16-11 with a 3.42 earned run average. He pitched five complete games and a league-leading three shutouts for Montreal that year.

Like many Expos of the time, Vazquez became too expensive and was shipped to the New York Yankees for three players. He was an All-Star for the Yankees before moving on and pitching for four other teams.

When Vazquez hung up his cleats at the age of 34 he was coming off twelve straight seasons of winning at least ten games. He could have continued to be a serviceable pitcher, though he decided he had had enough.

His 165-160 career record with ERA of 4.22 is very respectable and he struck out over twenty-five hundred hitters during his tenure in the league. He’ll be remembered for his tall stature and crisp, clean, windup with no wasted movement.