Expos legend Felipe Alou leads Hall-of-Famers Pedro Martinez and Randy Johnson in headlining celebrity list at ExposFest '26

Annual Gala keeps Expos memories alive in support Montreal Children’s Hospital

On Saturday night at a packed convention centre in Laval, QC, just north of Montreal, the annual ExposFest Gala dinner was staged, raising significant funds for Le Pavillon Kat Demes, an initiative of the Montreal Children’s Hospital, organized and executed, by Perry Gee who has made this his passion project with a family connections.

The significant funds raised at the Gala allows the world-renowned Children’s Hospital to continue expanding a unique facility that provides a place to stay for families of children in long-term care, for serious health issues. There is no charge.

The former Expos who give of their time to attend and sign autographs are the attraction, while Perry’s niece, Kat, taken from us too early, is the inspiration.

This year’s list of former Expos in attendance was led by Hall-of-Famers Pedro Martinez and Randy Johnson. Others that returned to Montreal for the event included: Marquis Grissom, Cliff Floyd, Rondell White, Steve Rogers, Moises Alou, Darrin Fletcher, Kirk Rueter, Mike Fitzgerald, Tom Foley, Andy McGaffigan, Balor Moore, Denis Boucher, Joe Siddall, Bill Stoneman, Elias Sosa, Bill Atkinson, Don DeMola, Bill Lee and Lou Frazier. In addition, there was hockey hall-of-fame, former Canadiens defenceman, Larry Robinson.

But the one legend I would like to highlight in this column is Expos icon Felipe Alou, who each year when at the Gala receives one of the longest, loudest and most emotional ovations from the 1,000+ ExposFest supporters. Alou played for the Expos in 1974, his final year as a player. He coached with the major-league team during three different stints, managed in the Expos farm system for 13 years, marred Lucie Gagnon, a woman from Laval and managed the Expos for 10 years.

Reflections on Felipe

Before we begin, it should be noted that I am writing, not from a completely objective standpoint. I have told Felipe, as far back as the 1994-95 off-season, during the strike, at a time when I was in the process of leaving the Expos for The Toronto Star, that he was one of my, personal, Top 5 most admired men of all time. Sure, there are others that have joined my Top 10 list in the past 30 years, but not many.

As a player, on June 8, 1958, Alou became the second Dominican-born player in MLB, making his debut with the Giants. Via his performance and leadership in repping the Latino baseball community, he paved the way for others from his homeland, including two younger brothers, Matty who debuted with San Francisco in 1960 and Jesus who was called up to join his brothers with the same Giants in September, 1963.

The three Alous made history on Sept. 15, 1963, five days after Jay’s recall, appearing in the same outfield for the final two innings of a 13-5 win in Pittsburgh. Felipe insists that Willie Mays was the one who suggested to manager Alvin Dark that the Say Hey Kid come out of the game, with Felipe moving to centre, flanked by Jesus in right, Matty in left. The Alou brothers never had another sharing-the-outfield moment after that, but ended their MLB careers with a combined 5,094 hits, 231 more than the more celebrated DiMaggio brothers – Joe, Dom and Vince.

As a manager, on May 22, 1992, Alou became the first Dominican-born MLB skipper, replacing Tom Runnells with the Expos and paving the way for other Spanish-speaking candidates to at least be interviewed by showing that language did not have to be an impediment to leadership.

Finishing with a record of 1033-1021, Alou is one of six managers in history with 2,000-plus hits as a player and 1,000 or more wins as a manager, along with Frank Robinson, Joe Torre, Frankie Frisch, Joe Cronin and Jimmy Dykes. All are in the Hall-of-Fame except Felipe and Dykes. Add 200 HR to the criteria and the list narrows to Torre, Robinson and Alou. Combine playing and managing and that’s Hall-worthy.

The Wit and Wisdom of Felipe Alou

The Leadership.

**Pedro Martinez on Saturday called Felipe, his father, his friend and his mentor and that after his trade from the Dodgers to Montreal prior to the ’94 season that Alou believed in him despite the critics who questioned his size, his weight, his endurance and his ability to be a starting pitcher in the majors. Now he’s in Cooperstown.

**Lou Frazier was a career minor leaguer with one overpowering tool, his speed and ability to steal bases. Frazier was ready to quit, when as a 27-year-old who had never risen above Double-A, he signed a last-ditch free agent contract with the Expos prior to ’93. Felipe had managed against Frazier in the Dominican Winter League as the skinny utility guy had won the league MVP. Alou was entering his first full season as manager and convinced the front office to bring Frazier north with the team. In his first full season as manager, Frazier appreciates Alou taking that chance.

“Felipe brought me into his office when he heard I had been thinking about calling it quits,” Frazier recalled. “He told me, ‘I will never give up on a player until he shows he has given up on himself.” The St. Louis native went on to steal 37 bases in 138 games, batting .280, as a 28-year-old rookie and including the strike-shortened ’94 season when Expos were headed to the playoffs … that were cancelled.

The Family Dynamic

**Times have changed and family relationships have become softer since the early ‘90s. It must be noted the different dynamic of a father coaching his son in the majors, especially in that time, 34 years ago. Moises Alou had been obtained from the Pirates in trade and after sitting out the ’91 season with injury, he joined the Expos to play for his father. How different were those times in baseball. There was no Paternity List for the birth of a child. Moises was born in Atlanta on July 3, 1966, coincidentally the same day that Braves pitcher Tony Cloninger recorded a record two grand slam homers in the same game. Felipe was at Candlestick Park marvelling at Cloninger’s feat when his son entered the world. The schedule ruled.

**Empty clubhouse at Three Rivers Stadium in 1992 on Father’s Day Sunday morning. As Expos PR man I had arrived to the park early to finish and print the game notes. Borrowing the manager’s office, I was fine-tuning the notes when Moises Alou peeked around the corner, from the tunnel. Seeing his father had not yet arrived, he carefully placed a bottle of fine red wine on the manager’s desk. When asked what was going on, Moises responded, “This is the first Father’s Day I have ever been with my father.” Then quietly he went to his locker to prepare for the Pirates.

**A year later, in June of 1993, I arranged for the great photographer Rich Pilling to take a cover shot of Moises and Felipe Alou, together, for The Sporting News when the Expos arrived in St. Louis. The Expos were again playing like contenders and the Alous were leading the way. Everything was arranged and ready to go, but when we arrived at Busch Stadium, Moises saw the lineup card and his name was not there. Pilling was set up. When I sought out the left fielder, he growled at me, “I will not have my picture taken with that man.” Eventually, yes it happened.

**Felipe Alou treated his coaches like extended family and is proud that in his 10 years with the Expos as manager, he churned out six future MLB managers: Jim Tracy, Pete Mackanin, Jerry Manuel, Luis Pujols, Joe Kerrigan and Tim Johnson. His family tree.

The Wisdom of a Baseball Legend

**When GM Dan Duquette attempted to inject some early analytics into Felipe’s lineup construction: I had set up a pre-game meeting in the manager’s office before the first game of a Mets series at Shea. Duquette had bought into an early stats guru who published a stapled news letter. It had captured the GM’s imagination. The guy’s full time job was with New York City public sanitation. I escorted him into Felipe’s office. The meeting lasted about four minutes as the stats guy emerged looking ashen. “The man told me I should have (catcher) Tim Spehr leading off,” Felipe scowled. A couple of weeks later, at Olympic Stadium I received a New York Post clipping that this guy had been arrested for raising an alligator in his bathtub.

**Felipe on his players feeling pressure: “When you’re in the water swimming with the sharks you don’t feel pressure. It’s only when you are lying in bed later that you start to shake.”

**Felipe on an adverse reaction to the noise and flashing colours of fireworks at Shea Stadium, as we walked to the team bus after a Friday night game: “I do not like fireworks. It reminds me of Americans bombs in Santo Domingo (in 1965-66).”

**On wordlessly listening to a randomly optimistic Braves official sticking his head into Felipe’s office during a hurricane delay in Atlanta to tell him that there may be a three hour window soon that will allow the game to be played: “The man has obviously never been in a hurricane.”

**On pulling open his office drawer in the Atlanta clubhouse during a rain delay with a room full of Montreal traveling media and pulling out a half empty bottle of V.O. whiskey: “I guess Jim Fregosi was here.”

**On hearing late in September ‘92 that GM Duquette was not immediately taking the interim tag off Felipe’s manager title until they evaluated him, even given the Expos strong finish with fans showing him love and approval: “The man wants to evaluate me. He wants to evaluate. I have managed for 16 years. If he evaluates, he will hire me.”