The beginning of the Alouettes’ training camp always means summer is right around the corner. When we think of summer, we also think of baseball. When taking a look at the last names of some Alouettes players, we had the urge to create a baseball lineup using those very names. The list is interesting, as we find some of baseballs greats, as well as some former Montreal Expos.
Mitchell Jeter – Derek Jeter
The defensive lineman is trying to crack the Alouettes’ roster, and every time we see that last name on his jersey, it is nearly impossible not to picture it without the number 2 floating underneath it.
Winston Venable – Will and Max Venable
Not only do they carry the same last name, but all three athletes are blood-related. Will, who was the final out for the Texas Rangers in their playoff series against the Toronto Blue Jays last year, is the Alouettes’ linebacker’s older brother. Max is the father of the two, who played for the Expos in 1984. His old locker room is a mere few feet away from Winston’s at Olympic Stadium.
Duron Carter – Gary Carter
If Duron Carter’s name naturally makes you think of his father Cris, we don’t blame you. Cris had one of the greatest NFL careers for a wide receiver in the history of the league, and he is now just as entertaining as a football analyst for ESPN. Both Cris and Duron share the same last name as Gary Carter, who earned the love and respect of Montreal fans as the most popular player to don the Expos’ jersey.
Martin Bédard – Érik Bédard
Both Érik and Martin carry the same last name, are bilingual and have made a career due to their accuracy in their respective fields of play. However, the similarities stop there between the former Baltimore Orioles’ pitcher and the Als long snapper.
Billy Parker – Dave Parker
Surprisingly, the baseball player is the one with the most impressive frame between these two athletes. Dave Parker’s imposing stature allowed him to hit 339 career home runs. Just like his Alouettes counterpart, Parker won two champhionships. Furthermore, both of them have played in big games in front of big crows at Olympic Stadium, Billy during the playoffs and Dave during the 1981 MLB All-Star game.
Chandler Jones – Mack Jones
Baseball’s rich history gave us the chance to choose from a plethora of Jones’ who have played in the MLB, but we opted to go with the one who got the stands in left field at Jarry Park named after him. Mack Jones hit the first big league home run on Canadian soil, adding a triple on that day for a 5 RBI performance in an 8-7 Expos victory during the team’s historic first home outing. After that performance, it wasn’t too hard for Expos fans to name the left field stands Jonesville. We can bet that Chandler would love to see the same with the end zones at Percival-Molson Memorial Stadium.
Mitchell White – Rondell White
Both Mitchell and Rondell are speed demons, the latter leading off the Expos lineup for several seasons and the former using that speed to lay out opponents ever since he joined the Alouettes at the end of the 2013 season. Both are also multi-sport athletes, as Rondell excelled as a high school basketball player and Mitchell was a key member of the track and field team at Michigan State University.
Alan-Michael Cash – Dave Cash
If the current Alouette stalwart causes opposing offences headaches all game long in the middle of the field, Dave didn’t do so bad himself while patrolling the middle of the Olympic Stadium infield from 1977 to 1979.
Jovon Johnson – Randy Johnson
One of Major League Baseball’s most dominant and most of all intimidating pitchers, Randy started his career with the Expos in Montreal before gaining notoriety in other cities, as Jovon arrives in Montreal having already made a name for himself in other CFL cities. While the pitcher led his team twice for hit batsmen, the defensive back led his team for tackles and interceptions in 2011.
Anwar Stewart – Dave Stewart
For the sake of rivalries, we tried to avoid any relation to Toronto in this article (and yes, we know, Bobby Cox also led the Blue Jays to a division championship in 1985), but we didn’t have much choice. If the pitcher helped the Blue Jays win the World Series in 1993, the Alouettes’ defensive line coach did his part in helping Montreal counter the Argos’ shot at a CFL title. Helping lead the Alouettes to the Grey Cup Final 7 times, we can safely say he did everything in his power to prevent Toronto from winning a championship, while helping Montreal celebrate three Grey Cup victories.
Chip Cox – Bobby Cox
Chip has helped Montreal bring home back-to-back Grey Cups in 2009 and 2010, whereas Bobby consistently prevented the Expos from winning a championship of their own. The former Atlana Braves manager led his team to consecutive division titles from 1991 until 2005. Everyone in Montreal knows that streak would have come to an end in 1994 had the MLB season not been brought to an abrupt halt due to a strike, which ended the Expos dream season and any shot at a dynasty.
