Cubs assistant hitting coach Terrmel Sledge enjoyed his best season in 2004 as a rookie outfielder for the Expos.
But it also was a trying situation as the Expos played 22 of their 81 “home” games in San Juan, Puerto Rico, before moving permanently to Washington and becoming the Nationals.
A similar plan has resurfaced as the Rays received permission from Major League Baseball to explore splitting their home games between the Tampa Bay area and Montreal in future seasons.
“It was, let’s just say, an unusual situation,” said Sledge, who batted .269 with 15 home runs and 62 RBIs that season for the Expos. “It was kind of weird playing our home games in Puerto Rico. They took care of us very well, but it was like playing on the road.”
Sledge recalled that the players lodged at a resort in San Juan and that their per diem was “cranked up a bit.”
“But other than that, there was a lot of traveling,” Sledge recalled. “I remember that.”
Cubs manager Joe Maddon, who is familiar with the Rays’ attendance issues dating to his nine seasons as their manager, provided a peculiar response about the feasibility of the Rays splitting home games with Montreal.
“Love it,” Maddon said. “It would be kind of cool. Let’s do a little European vacation in the middle of the summer, north of the border. It sounds really groovy. I’ve never been to Montreal, but I’ve heard so many wonderful things about it.
“I don’t see it ever happening.”
Unfinished business
Since losing to the Mets in the 2015 National League Championship Series, the Cubs have won a World Series title and returned to the playoffs all three seasons. And they’ve made a big effort to get back again in 2019.
“(But) we’re still not where we want to be,” Maddon said. “We’re still trying to cover up some of the weaknesses we have. Not cover up — develop them and make them better.
“And we need to do that to become a real elite team on an annual basis because other teams have caught up, and it’s become more difficult over the last couple years based on a variety of different reasons. A big part is the injection of youth that is performing well on a major-league level. Everybody has got it, whereas maybe we were a bit of a surprise.
“We have a group, we have a great method in place. We have a few items we need to shore up to become that elite team that’s going to get a chance to play the last game of the year and win it this year, and we’re definitely capable of that. But there are a couple things I want to get into that.”
Lange promoted
Alex Lange, the Cubs’ second pick in the 2017 draft, was promoted to Double-A Tennessee from Class A Myrtle Beach, where he had a 1-9 record and 7.36 ERA in 11 starts. Lange struck out 16 and walked three in his last 13 innings.
