# 1970 Montreal Expos season

The 1970 Montreal Expos season was the second season in the history of the franchise. The Expos finished in last place in the National League East with a record of 73–89, 16 games behind the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Expos won 21 more games than in their inaugural season in 1969.

## Offseason

* December 3, 1969: Jerry Robertson was traded by the Expos to the Detroit Tigers for Joe Sparma.

## Spring training

The Expos held spring training at West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium in West Palm Beach, Florida, a facility they shared with the Atlanta Braves. It was their second season at the stadium.

## Regular season
### Season standings

vteNL East :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 89 | 73 | .549 | — | 50‍–‍32 | 39‍–‍41 |
| Chicago Cubs | 84 | 78 | .519 | 5 | 46‍–‍34 | 38‍–‍44 |
| New York Mets | 83 | 79 | .512 | 6 | 44‍–‍38 | 39‍–‍41 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 76 | 86 | .469 | 13 | 34‍–‍47 | 42‍–‍39 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 73 | 88 | .453 | 15½ | 40‍–‍40 | 33‍–‍48 |
| Montreal Expos | 73 | 89 | .451 | 16 | 39‍–‍41 | 34‍–‍48 |

### Record vs. opponents

1970 National League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | HOU | LAD | MON | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL |
| Atlanta | — | 8–4 | 5–13 | 9–9 | 6–12 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 9–9 | 7–11 | 7–5 |
| Chicago | 4–8 | — | 7–5 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 13–5 | 7–11 | 9–9 | 8–10 | 9–3 | 7–5 | 7–11 |
| Cincinnati | 13–5 | 5–7 | — | 15–3 | 13–5 | 7–5 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 8–4 | 8–10 | 9–9 | 9–3 |
| Houston | 9–9 | 5–7 | 3–15 | — | 8–10 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 14–4 | 10–8 | 6–6 |
| Los Angeles | 12–6 | 6–6 | 5–13 | 10–8 | — | 8–4 | 7–5 | 6–5 | 6–6 | 11–7 | 9–9 | 7–5 |
| Montreal | 6–6 | 5–13 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 4–8 | — | 10–8 | 11–7 | 9–9 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 7–11 |
| New York | 6–6 | 11–7 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 8–10 | — | 13–5 | 6–12 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 12–6 |
| Philadelphia | 5-7 | 9–9 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 5–6 | 7–11 | 5–13 | — | 4–14 | 9–3 | 8–4 | 8–10 |
| Pittsburgh | 6–6 | 10–8 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 9–9 | 12–6 | 14–4 | — | 6–6 | 4–8 | 12–6 |
| San Diego | 9–9 | 3–9 | 10–8 | 4–14 | 7–11 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 3–9 | 6–6 | — | 5–13 | 4–8 |
| San Francisco | 11–7 | 5–7 | 9–9 | 8–10 | 9–9 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 8–4 | 13–5 | — | 7–5 |
| St. Louis | 5–7 | 11–7 | 3–9 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 11–7 | 6–12 | 10–8 | 6–12 | 8–4 | 5–7 | — |

### Opening Day starters

* John Boccabella
* Ron Fairly
* Mack Jones
* Coco Laboy
* Adolfo Phillips
* Marv Staehle
* Rusty Staub
* Bill Stoneman
* Bobby Wine

### Notable transactions

* April 22, 1970: Garry Jestadt was traded by the Expos to the Chicago Cubs for Jim Qualls.
* May 19, 1970: Don Shaw was purchased from the Expos by the St. Louis Cardinals.
* June 15, 1970: José Herrera was traded by the Expos to the Milwaukee Brewers for John O'Donoghue.
* June 15, 1970: Ty Cline was traded by the Expos to the Cincinnati Reds for Clyde Mashore.
* June 22, 1970: Bombo Rivera was signed as an amateur free agent by the Expos.
* June 23, 1970: Don Bosch was traded by the Expos to the Houston Astros for Mike Marshall.
* August 2, 1970: Kevin Collins was purchased from the Expos by the Detroit Tigers.
* August 20, 1970: Floyd Wicker was purchased from the Expos by the Milwaukee Brewers.

#### Draft picks

* June 4, 1970: 1970 Major League Baseball draft
** Pat Scanlon was drafted by the Expos in the 5th round.
** Jerry White was drafted by the Expos in the 14th round.

## Player stats
### Batting
#### Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| C | John Bateman | 139 | 520 | 123 | .237 | 15 | 68 |
| 1B | Ron Fairly | 119 | 385 | 111 | .288 | 15 | 61 |
| 2B | Gary Sutherland | 116 | 359 | 74 | .206 | 3 | 26 |
| SS | Bobby Wine | 159 | 501 | 116 | .232 | 3 | 51 |
| 3B | Coco Laboy | 137 | 432 | 86 | .199 | 5 | 53 |
| LF | Mack Jones | 108 | 271 | 65 | .240 | 14 | 32 |
| CF | Adolfo Phillips | 92 | 214 | 51 | .238 | 6 | 21 |
| RF | Rusty Staub | 160 | 569 | 156 | .274 | 30 | 94 |

#### Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| Bob Bailey | 131 | 352 | 101 | .287 | 28 | 84 |
| Marv Staehle | 104 | 321 | 70 | .218 | 0 | 26 |
| Jim Gosger | 91 | 274 | 72 | .263 | 5 | 37 |
| Jim Fairey | 92 | 211 | 51 | .242 | 3 | 25 |
| Don Hahn | 82 | 149 | 38 | .255 | 0 | 8 |
| John Boccabella | 61 | 145 | 39 | .269 | 5 | 17 |
| Ron Brand | 72 | 126 | 30 | .238 | 0 | 9 |
| Boots Day | 41 | 108 | 29 | .269 | 0 | 5 |
| Jack Hiatt | 17 | 43 | 14 | .326 | 0 | 7 |
| Clyde Mashore | 13 | 25 | 4 | .160 | 1 | 3 |
| Fred Whitfield | 4 | 15 | 1 | .067 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Qualls | 9 | 9 | 1 | .111 | 0 | 1 |
| Ty Cline | 2 | 2 | 1 | .500 | 0 | 0 |
| Remy Hermoso | 4 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| José Herrera | 1 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |

### Pitching
#### Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| Carl Morton | 43 | 284.2 | 18 | 11 | 3.60 | 154 |
| Steve Renko | 41 | 222.2 | 13 | 11 | 4.32 | 142 |
| Bill Stoneman | 40 | 207.2 | 7 | 15 | 4.59 | 176 |
| Rich Nye | 8 | 46.1 | 3 | 2 | 4.08 | 21 |

#### Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| Dan McGinn | 52 | 130.2 | 7 | 10 | 5.44 | 83 |
| Mike Wegener | 25 | 104.1 | 3 | 6 | 5.26 | 35 |
| Mike Marshall | 24 | 64.2 | 3 | 7 | 3.48 | 38 |
| Joe Sparma | 9 | 29.1 | 0 | 4 | 7.06 | 23 |
| Gary Waslewski | 6 | 24.2 | 0 | 2 | 5.11 | 19 |
| John O'Donoghue | 9 | 22.1 | 2 | 3 | 5.24 | 6 |
| Balor Moore | 6 | 9.2 | 0 | 2 | 7.45 | 6 |

#### Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
| Claude Raymond | 59 | 6 | 7 | 23 | 4.43 | 68 |
| Howie Reed | 57 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 3.13 | 42 |
| John Strohmayer | 42 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4.86 | 74 |
| Bill Dillman | 18 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 5.28 | 17 |
| Carroll Sembera | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18.90 | 6 |
| Ken Johnson | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.50 | 4 |

## Awards and honors

* Rusty Staub: All-Star reserve
* Carl Morton: National League Rookie of the Year

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Buffalo Bisons/ Winnipeg Whips | International League | Clyde McCullough |
| AA | Jacksonville Suns | Southern League | Gus Niarhos |
| A | West Palm Beach Expos | Florida State League | J. W. Porter |
| A-Short Season | Watertown Expos | Northern League | Bobby Malkmus |
| Rookie | GCL Expos | Gulf Coast League | Ed Sadowski |
Buffalo franchise moved to Winnipeg and renamed, June 11, 1970; Jacksonville affiliation shared with Milwaukee Brewers