JotCast | FanGraphs Book Club - Up, Up & Away

FanGraphs Book Club - Up, Up & Away

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Jonah Keri

9:33

Honestly I wouldn't mind trying a political book. Not a partisan one per se, just a reported one. But who knows what the future holds. Possible that's the end of my book life too.

Walker for the HoF

9:33

Does 1994 still hurt? If so, will it ever stop hurting?

Jonah Keri

9:34

I'm over it, just because I'm in my mid-40s and it'd be a little weird to let it take over my current existence. It was a royal screw job that didn't need to happen, though. Never underestimate how much damage greedy owners can do to sports.

GYatch

9:34

As someone a decade older than you, I got to live through much of the Expos era but from a Mets-fan perspective (how I dreaded when they faced Steve Rogers). And, of course, our teams both got to enjoy Gary Carter and Rusty Staub. While Carter is a HOFer, and Staub really shouldn't be, is there a reason, you think, Rusty is still underrated despite how good he was?

Jonah Keri

9:35

Staub reached base more than 4,000 times! He was a wonderful player who derived a lot of his value from walks/OBP, and also performance relative to very weak league norms in the late 60s and early 70s, so we don't fully appreciate how good he was. Dude could rake though. Maybe not quite a Hall of Famer, but better than like 20 guys already in there.

David

9:35

How much research on other teams that moved - specifically, the Brooklyn Dodgers or Boston to Milwaukee - did you do, if any? Did you find a specific thread in any of those that encouraged you to explore ideas in your own book?

Jonah Keri

9:37

I did do some Brooklyn Dodgers research, but more as it related to the Montreal Royals and Jackie Robinson, both subjects in the early pages of the book. Beyond that, I could've definitely gone down that road (Seattle Supersonics, Hartford Whalers, you name it), but it took 3 years of research just to get what I got, so even though I'm a maniacally intellectually curious person, I had to cut it off somewhere!

Paul Swydan

9:37

How did that process of cutting off go? Was your editor key in that process, or did you map it all out yourself?

Jonah Keri

9:39

It was me. My editor was awesome in helping me figure where to stick specific blocks of text and topics. But in terms of how much research I wanted to do, who I wanted to interview, and what I wanted to cover, that was just about all me, for both books. The biggest addition my editor (Paul Taunton) made was insisting that I include personal anecdotes in "Up, Up, & Away". I kept resisting, telling him that the players and coaches are interesting and I'm not at all, but he thought even a sprinkle of autobiographical stuff would resonate. So...I mean I tried, anyway!

Vic

9:40

You mentioned that Staub was underappreciated. Are there any other former Expos that you think we would look at in a different light today?

Paul Swydan

9:41

I would agree! I thought the same thing helped Russell Carleton's recent book.

Jonah Keri

9:41

Go look at the regular-season stats of Dennis Martinez, Steve Rogers, and Jack Morris, then explain to me how Morris is in the Hall and the other two guys aren't. It's pretty hilarious.

9:42

Bob Bailey was something of an on-base fiend too.

Paul Swydan

9:43

Rogers: 49.8 WAR in 2837.2 IP. Morris: 55.8 WAR in 3824.0 . Pretty hilarious indeed.

Jonah Keri

9:45

I think one of the WARs (maybe BRef?) those 3 are like dead even in WAR.

Danny

9:45

Was there any one chapter that took more research or work than the others?

Jonah Keri

9:47

The beginning of the book for sure. I was born in '74, so everything about how the team came into existence in the first place, all the political stuff happening in Montreal and Quebec in the 60s...I knew some of that stuff second-hand, but to really master the material I had to find as many people as I could who lived through that era, then just do a ton of reading. Related: That was my favourite part of the book to research and write. To me being a journalist means learning about a cool story, then taking the reader by the hand so he can see everything you've just learned. So as much fun as it was to write about Raines or Walker or Vlad, the early stuff stood out for me.

Marcus

9:47

Is Warren Cromartie still involved in the effort to get baseball in Montreal back? He's probably one of the most interesting ex-Expos that had a lot bigger impact away from Montreal.

Jonah Keri

9:48

How to say this delicately? Cro has a lot of enthusiasm, but at this point he isn't close to being a major player in the efforts to bring a team back.

GYatch

9:48

BRef WAR: Martinez 49, Rogers 44.9, Morris 43.9.

Jonah Keri

9:49

Bingo. Morris pitched that great Game 7 in 1991 and also had more Winszzzz than anyone in the 80s. Yippee-doo. Where are the plaques for my homies Cy and El Presidente?

9:51

Got time for one more question!

Shane

9:53

If you had one game with your pick of any Expos in history, what would your starting nine be?

Jonah Keri

9:54

I first read that as what's my favourite game in Expos history, and was excited to report that today is the 25th anniversary of that game! https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/september-17-1993-expos-fans-shower-cu...

But OK here's my Starting 9, and I'm going to cheat a bit because holy moly this franchise had some insanely good OF

C Carter - Easy one. Best player in franchise history.

9:55

1B Walker - This is my cheat, as you'll soon see why. Walker did play some first with the Spos though.

9:56

2B Vidro - He could really rake in his prime. Worked his ass off to get into good enough shape to become Vlad's second banana.

SS Brooks - Couldn't field worth a lick, but he hit a ton for a SS in the 80s

Paul Swydan

9:56

Quickly butting in with this old George Michael Sports Machine clip on Curtis Pride:

Jonah Keri

9:56

3B Wallach - Holds way more franchise records than you'd think. A really good, really steady two-way player who wore the Expos uniform for a LONG time. Helluva guy IRL too.

(Best clip, Paul!)

9:57

LF Raines - As if I'm going to leave out my guy

CF Dawson - Cubs fans may remember Hawk better as a slow-footed slugger, but he was a Gold Glove centre fielder who amazing speed in addition to great power and hand-eye coordination. The Big O turf killed his knees.

Paul Swydan

9:57

(The relevant clip starts at ~3:37.)

Jonah Keri

9:58

RF Vlad - Read this: https://deadspin.com/vladimir-guerrero-had-hubris-and-he-had-balls-168...

SP Rogers has the best overall resume, but Pedro in 1997 was a human killing machine. Before he became PEDRO in Boston, that '97 season was a testament to his impossible greatness. What a pitcher he was.

GYatch

9:58

But then Walker can't throw guys out at first after they thought they hit a single to right!

Paul Swydan

9:59

hahaha

Jonah Keri

9:59

This is very true. Can always put Raines at 2B. :)

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