- Although Del Unser played for several teams, I always think of him as a Phillie. Perhaps it's because the first card I saw of him was the 1974 card and he was pictured with the Phillies. Or perhaps it was because he was a member of the famous 1980 Philadelphia team.
- Del had his toughest year (except his final season) of his career. He was in the starting lineup in eight of the Expos' first nine games, but after that his starts were infrequent (about 1-2 a month).
- 1978 Stats: .196, 2 HR, 15 RBI in 130 games (179 AB)
- 1978 Highlights:
- April 9 - Had two hits, scored a run, and knocked in a run in a 5-0 win over the New York Mets
- July 1 - Homered in the bottom of the 9th inning to lead the Expos to a 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals
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- Santo Alcala had already thrown his final major league pitch when this card was produced. He spent the 1978 season pitching for the San Jose Missions (Seattle Mariners organization) in the Pacific Coast League. Santo was waived by the Expos and claimed by the Mariners in late May of 1978. Alcala had a sore arm and was placed on the 21-day disabled list. Upon his activation he was assigned to San Jose. Santo tried to get his release but was unsuccessful. He then reluctantly reported to San Jose and spent the season there.
- After the 1978 season Alcala was sent back to the Montreal Expos organization. Somehow he ended up in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. The baseball-reference.com site doesn't say how he landed there. Santo pitched in AA and AAA in the Pirates organization from 1979-1982.
- Santo Alcala's SABR biography
- 1978 Stats
- San Jose Missions (AAA): 5-2, 5.05 ERA in 15 games (10 starts)
- Larry Parrish showed improvement in 1978. His breakout season would come the next year. Parrish was the starting third baseman for Montreal from 1975-1981.
- 1978 Stats: .277, 15 HR, 70 RBI in 144 games
- 1978 Highlights:
- June 7 - Went 3 for 3 with a home run and four RBI as the Expos beat the San Diego Padres 8-3.
- July 30 - Hit three home runs, knocked in six runs, and scored four runs in Montreal's 19-0 slaughtering of the Atlanta Braves.
- Sept 1 - Doubled and scored in the top of the 12 inning in Montreal's 3-2 win over the Padres.
- Wayne Twitchell was a starting pitcher until mid-June. He got off to a rough start (3-6, 5.40 ERA) and went to the bullpen in late June. Wayne made two more starts in July (both losses) and spent the rest of the season as a middle reliever.
- Twitchell was released in February 1979. He pitched for two teams in 1979 and called it quits after the season.
- 1978 Stats: 4-12, 5.38 ERA in 33 games (15 starts)
- 1978 Highlights:
- April 22 - Allowed one unearned run in seven innings as the Expos beat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-3.
- May 20 - Willie Stargell hit a 535-foot home run that was the only fair ball hit into the upper deck at Olympic Stadium. Wayne allowed six runs in five innings and took the 6-0 loss.
- Looks like I marked those dreaded 4-player rookie cards with an "R" on this card. I had no idea how to sort those things. Santo Alcala appears to be the missing card for this team set.
- The Expos had a number of young players who were on the cusp of developing into stars. They had future Hall of Famers Gary Carter, Andre Dawson, and Tony Perez along with future Hall of Fame manager Dick Williams.
- Montreal was in first place in the NL East as late as May 17. They started to scuffle after that and finally settled into fourth place in early July. They would spend most of the rest of the season in that position.
Team Record: 76-86, 4th in NL East, 14 games behind Philadelphia Phillies
- Managers(s): Dick Williams
- Attendance: 1,427,007 (7th in National League)
- Team Batting: .254 (7th in NL)
- Team Home Runs: 121 (5th in NL)
- Team Stolen Bases: 80 (12th in NL)
- Team ERA: 3.42 (6th in NL)
- Team Fielding: .979 (2nd in NL)
- NL All Stars: Ross Grimsley (P); Steve Rogers (P)
- Award Winners: Ellis Valentine (Gold Glove)
- League Leaders: Andre Dawson (hit by pitch, 12);
- Batting Leader: Warren Cromartie (.297)
- HR Leader: Ellis Valentine, Andre Dawson (25)
- RBI Leader: Tony Perez (78)
- Stolen Base Leader: Andre Dawson (78)
- Victory Leader: Ross Grimsley (20)
- Losses Leader: Wayne Twitchell (12)
- Saves Leader: Mike Garman (13)
- Best ERA (starters): Steve Rogers (2.47)
- Best ERA (relievers): Hal Dues (2.36) - had 12 starts; Darold Knowles (2.38)
- Players who could have had 1978 Expos cards (over 100 AB for position players, over 40 innings pitched for pitchers):
- Stan Papi (IF) - .230, 0 HR, 11 RBI in 67 games
- Rudy May (P) - 8-10, 3.88 ERA in 27 games (23 starts)
- Hal Dues (P) - 5-6, 1 save, 2.36 ERA in 25 games (12 starts)
- Woodie Fryman (P) - 5-7, 1 save, 3.61 ERA in 19 games (17 starts)
- Mike Garman (P) - 4-6, 13 saves, 4.40 ERA in 47 games
- Scott Sanderson (P) - 4-2, 2.51 ERA in 10 games (9 starts)
- Chris Speier started at shortstop for the Expos in 1978. He didn't do a whole lot with the bat, but Chris was an above average fielder. Speier continued as the starter for the Expos through the 1982 season.
- 1978 Stats: .251, 5 HR, 51 RBI in 150 games
- 1978 Highlights:
- May 17 - Had three hits and scored a run in Montreal's 5-4 win over the Cincinnati Reds
- May 25 - Was hit by a pitch from St. Louis pitcher John Urrea. Speier was batting .288 at the time, but he was removed from the game and missed the next week. Speier's batting average steadily declined until it settled at about the .250 mark in late June. His batting average stayed around .250 for the rest of the year.
- July 20 - Hit for the cycle and knocked in six runs to help the Expos beat the Atlanta Braves 7-3.
- Ellis Valentine set career highs in games played and runs scored, and he tied his career high with 25 home runs. Valentine won the only Gold Glove of his career in 1978.
- 1978 Stats: .289, 25 HR, 76 RBI in 151 games
- 1978 Highlights:
- April 19 - Went 3 for 5 with three RBI and two runs scored to help the Expos beat the Chicago Cubs 8-6.
- May 31 - Was thrown out of the game after getting in a fight with Chicago catcher Dave Rader. Valentine said the the Cubs had been throwing at the Montreal hitters
- July 7 - Was 5 for 5 and knocked in three runs in Montreal's 7-4 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.
- Sept 13 - Was fined and suspended for two games by manager Dick Williams for not running out a ball and then making gestures at the fans.
- Gary Carter was real close to succeeding Johnny Bench as the National League's best catcher in 1978. From 1979-1988 Carter would be an All Star catcher for the NL every year.
- Gary slipped a bit offensively in 1978. It was more of a pitcher's year as baseball adjusted to the 1977 expansion. Carter did have one career high -- he stole 10 bases during the season.
- 1978 Stats: .255, 20 HR, 72 RBI in 157 games
- 1978 Highlights:
- May 3 - Hit a grand slam and knocked in a total of five runs in Montreal's 10-3 win over the Houston Astros.
- July 30 - Went 4 for 5 with 4 runs scored as the Expos hammered the Atlanta Braves 19-0.
- Sept 11 - Hit a 2-run home run in the 4th inning to help the Expos beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-1.
- Stan Bahnsen had pretty much completed his transition from a workhorse starter to a relief pitcher in 1978. Stan made one spot start and came out of the bullpen 43 times.
- Bahnsen didn't pitch for seven weeks from mid May to early July. He was probably injured and on the DL, but I can't find any articles about it.
- 1978 Stats: 1-5, 7 saves, 3.81 ERA in 44 games (1 start)
- 1978 Highlights:
- April 12 - This isn't really a highlight, but it makes me wonder about some statistics. Bahnsen was credited with a "hold" even though he allowed four runs (three earned) in 2 2/3 innings pitched. The Expos "held on" to beat the Philadelphia Phillies 8-7.
- May 12 - Pitched three scoreless innings and earned the save as the Expos beat the Atlanta Braves 5-3.
- Aug 12 - Picked up his only victory of the season by allowing no runs in 2/3 of an inning in the top of the 14th inning. The Expos beat the Chicago Cubs 4-3 when pinch hitter Tommy Hutton singled in Warren Cromartie in the bottom of the 14th inning.
- Andre Dawson fell off a little bit from his 1977 Rookie of the Year season. Dawson led the NL in times hit by a pitch with 12. It was the first of four times he would lead the league in that category.
- 1978 Stats: .253, 25 HR, 72 RBI in 157 games
- 1978 Highlights:
- April 16 - Went 3 for 3 with a home run, 2 RBI, and 2 runs scored as the Expos beat the New York Mets 4-1.
- May 7, May 7 - Had a great doubleheader against the Cincinnati Reds. In the first game Dawson hit a home run, knocked in two runs, and scored three runs in Montreal's 19-5 win. In the second game Andre went 4 for 4 with a home run and 2 RBI in the Expos' 4-2 loss.
- Aug 21 - Went 4 for 4 with a solo home run to help the Expos beat the LA Dodgers 4-2.
- Bill Atkinson was signed by the Montreal Expos on his 17th birthday in 1971. The Canadian right hander was in the minors for the next four years. Bill was short for a pitcher (5'7", 165 pounds).
- Bill pitched for the AAA Denver Bears in 1976. At the end of the season he was called up to the Expos and pitched five scoreless innings in four September games.
- Atkinson spent the entire 1977 season with the Expos. He had a 7-2 record with 7 saves and had a 3.35 ERA in 55 appearances.
- Bill started the 1978 season with Montreal. He was sent to Denver in late June after a groin injury and spent two months there as he recovered from his injury. Atkinson was recalled in September and finished the season with the Expos. Bill was 2-2 with 3 saves and had a 4.37 ERA in 29 games in Montreal and was 1-3\with 6 saves and had a 7.41 ERA in 23 games with Denver.
- In 1979 Atkinson didn't make the Montreal club and was in Denver for most of the season. Bill was recalled in September and pitched well (2-0, 1 save, 1.98 ERA in 10 games) down the stretch as the Expos were in a pennant race with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
- After the 1979 season Atkinson was purchased by the Chicago White Sox. He spent the next four seasons (1980-1983) in the minors but never made it back to the major leagues. Bill was a player-coach in 1982 and in 1983.
- After his professional career Atkinson returned to Chatham, Ontario and pitched in senior baseball leagues until 1999.
- 1978 Stats:
- Montreal Expos: 2-2, 3 saves, 4.37 ERA in 29 games
- Denver Bears (AAA): 1-3, 6 saves, 7.41 ERA in 23 games
- 1978 Highlights:
- April 15 - Earned the victory by pitching three scoreless innings as the Expos beat the New York Mets 4-3 in 11 innings.
- June 7 - Pitched three scoreless innings and got the save as the Expos beat the San Diego Padres 4-0.
- Sept 4 - Made his first major league appearance since June 28 and earned the save in Montreal's 6-5, 10 inning victory over the Chicago Cubs.
- Although his batting average was higher than normal, Tony Perez started to show some slippage in 1978. Tony had the lowest home run total since he became a full time player in 1967.
- 1978 Stats:
- .290, 14 HR, 78 RBI in 148 games
- 1978 Highlights:
