Montreal Expos: Top 3 Opening Day starters from years past

Montreal Expos: Top 3 Opening Day starters from years past

El Presidente – Dennis Martinez

Dennis Martinez spent his first 11 years in Baltimore though kind of fell out of good graces with the team after struggling his final four seasons there. At age 32 he landed in Montreal and found the fountain of youth, resurrecting his career in a sense.

In the 8-years Martinez spent in an Expos uniform, he was an opening day starter six times.  He was an All-Star three times and finished his time in Montreal with 100 wins and a minuscule 3.06 ERA. He led the league in 1991 in ERA, complete games and shutouts.

The perfect game he pitched in Chavez Ravine against the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1991 is maybe his most memorable moment wearing an Expos uniform.

After leaving the Expos after the 1993 season, at age 40 Martinez wasn’t done yet. He went on to play five more years for three different teams, even garnering an All-Star bid with the Cleveland Indians in 1995. Martinez finished with 245 career wins and a .559 winning percentage.

The 122 career complete games Dennis Martinez pitched are a testament to how baseball used to be played. Martinez pitched 23 years total and until the age of 44, also feats which are rare to the game today.