Baseball will be back in Montreal once again, with the Blue Jays hosting the Reds for a pair of spring training games.
The Blue Jays played the Mets in a pair of exhibition games last spring. That wouldn't normally be worth noting, but these games took place in Montreal, a city bereft of Major League Baseball since the Expos headed south to become the Nationals for 2005. As those contests drew 96,000 people this past spring, Baseball and the Jays will give it another go next spring, this time against the Reds.
The two teams will meet in Montreal on April 3 and 4 at Olympic Stadium, and there will be a little extra special something thrown in the mix. Hall of Famer and former Reds and Expos first baseman Tony Perez will be on hand to to be honored, while his fellow Cooperstown citizen and former Blue Jays second baseman Roberto Alomar will get the same treatment. Former Jays' manager Cito Gaston will also be in Montreal as part of this ceremony.
The same questions abound this time as last, about whether this is Major League Baseball just giving Montreal something to enjoy at a stadium that's already built and capable of hosting baseball, or if this is just the lead-in to something bigger for the next time a new home is needed for a team in a struggling market. The latter might not be the point, but if Olympic Stadium keeps drawing well for spring training games, it certainly won't hurt their cause.
