June 9, 1985: Capacity crowd in Vancouver sees Steve Rogers launch comeback with Edmonton

Steve Rogers spent his entire major-league career with the Montreal Expos, and for nearly all of it, the Expos were undisputedly Canada’s team.1 During his 13 seasons with Montreal, only four National League pitchers compiled more Baseball-Reference Wins Above Replacement (bWAR) than he did: Phil Niekro, Steve Carlton, Tom Seaver, and Rick Reuschel.2 When a Los Angeles Times writer observed that baseball fans across Canada viewed Rogers “with the same reverence Angelenos hold for Sandy Koufax and Fernando Valenzuela,” he was not exaggerating.3

In June 1985, less than three weeks after the Expos angered many of their fans by releasing Rogers,4 the 35-year-old right-hander began a comeback attempt in Vancouver with the Triple-A Edmonton Trappers. Rogers thrilled a standing-room-only crowd at picturesque Nat Bailey Stadium, where he tossed five shutout innings and earned the win in a 7-2 victory over the Vancouver Canadians.

Rogers’ fall from grace came less than three years after the best season of his career. He was the NL’s starting pitcher in the 1982 All-Star Game at Olympic Stadium, and he became the first starter to win the midsummer classic at home since Johnny Vander Meer of the Cincinnati Reds did it in 1938.5 Rogers finished the ’82 season with a 19-8 record and a major-league-leading 2.40 ERA. Although he also led the majors with 7.7 pitching bWAR, his lack of a 20-win season may have cost him the NL Cy Young Award.6 He came a distant second in voting behind Carlton, who went 23-11 with a 3.10 ERA.7

After winning 17 games and finishing fourth in the NL Cy Young Award voting the next season, Rogers pitched with shoulder pain for much of 1984,8 and his ERA ballooned to 4.31. But he bounced back in 1985 spring training, posting a solid 2.57 ERA.9 The performance earned Rogers the ninth Opening Day start of his career; as of 2026 he was the only Expos/Nationals pitcher with more than six.10

Rogers lost his first two starts of the season, and the cash-strapped Expos began trade discussions with the Houston Astros, hoping to unload his $900,000 USD contract.11 After the two teams agreed on a trade, Rogers, as a 5-and-10 man, vetoed the deal.12 He got roughed up in back-to-back starts in mid-May, giving him a 2-4 record and an un-Rogers-like 5.68 ERA. On May 21 the Expos released the five-time All-Star.

Jim Fanning, a front-office executive with the Expos since their inception,13 admitted that releasing Rogers was not easy. “We remember the great performer − the guy who put four games together in that 1981 stretch drive which were simply miraculous,” Fanning recalled. “He out-dueled Carlton back-to-back [in the Division Series. It was the apex of his career.”14

Nine days after getting released, Rogers had a tryout at Yankee Stadium. Prior to a game between the California Angels and New York Yankees, he threw for 25 minutes in front of Angels manager Gene Mauch, his skipper for the first three seasons of his big-league career.15 Rogers threw well enough for California to sign him and send him to Edmonton.

The Angels also agreed that if they did not call him up after five starts, he would be given his release so he could find a better opportunity elsewhere.16 It was a low-risk move for the Angels, since they had to pay only $40,000 of his contract.17

Rogers joined the Trappers in Vancouver as they began a 12-game road trip,18 kicking off a media frenzy. He was interviewed by seemingly every newspaper, TV, and radio station in the city during the four-game series. A Montreal Gazette correspondent went as far as labeling the ravenous Vancouver media “superstar starved.”19

The last-place Trappers won the first three games of the series, knocking the Canadians, a Milwaukee Brewers affiliate, into second place in the Pacific Coast League’s North Division.20 Vancouver fans saw little of Angels prospect Wally Joyner in the series; he injured his ankle on Thursday night and missed the final three games.21

Rogers got the start for Edmonton in the Sunday afternoon finale.

Canadians manager Tom Trebelhorn tapped Tim Leary (2-4, 5.87 ERA) as his starter.22 The 26-year-old righty had made 23 big-league appearances since 1981, all with the New York Mets. Leary had faced Rogers once before: At Shea Stadium on the last day of the 1983 season, Leary outpitched him to earn his first major-league victory.23

Leary kept the Trappers off the scoreboard in the top of the first.

The 6,648 fans in attendance – seating capacity was just 6,500 – gave Rogers a rousing 20-second ovation as he took the mound for the bottom of the first.24 After tipping his cap to the crowd,25 he got to work against a batting order that included eight former or future big-leaguers.26

Wearing uniform number 26 instead of his familiar 45,27 Rogers retired the leadoff hitter, PCL All-Star center fielder Mike Felder. The next batter, shortstop Juan Castillo, smacked a line drive that deflected off Rogers’ glove for a single.28 Edmonton’s 29-year-old catcher Bobby Ramos,29 who also had been released by the Expos that spring, helped his longtime batterymate by throwing out the speedy Castillo trying to steal second. Rogers ended the inning on Doug Loman’s deep flyball to center field.

Leary surrendered a run in the second on a walk to Chris Clark, Jack Howell’s double, and an infield single by Ramos.

As Rogers was about to start pitching in the bottom of the second, Vancouver’s version of “The Kissing Bandit” emerged from the stands and ran towards him.30 “I’m going to pay for this,” she told Rogers. “So, make it good.” The young woman – identified only as Christie − settled for a hug.31

After the PCL’s All-Star DH, Carlos Ponce, singled to open the inning,32 Rogers bore down and struck out the next three hitters.33

Rogers breezed through the third. In the fourth, he gave up a pair of infield hits before escaping the mini-jam on a fly out by second baseman Randy Ready.34

Edmonton extended its lead to 2-0 in the fifth on singles by Reggie West and Tim Krauss and a sacrifice fly by Clark.

The pregame plan was for Rogers to be pulled after five innings or 75-80 pitches, whichever came first.35 Vancouver catcher Mike Martin walked to open the bottom of the fifth and advanced to third on back-to-back groundouts. Rogers got out of the inning on Castillo’s groundball, thanks to a nice defensive play at second base by Krauss.36

The Trappers touched Leary for two more runs in the sixth on a hit-by-pitch, an RBI double by shortstop Gus Polidor, and West’s RBI single.

Trappers righty T.R. Bryden pitched a scoreless bottom of the sixth, but Vancouver cut Edmonton’s lead in half in the seventh.37 Dale Sveum scored the first run on a single by Castillo, while Feldman tallied the second on Loman’s groundout.38 Edmonton led, 4-2, after seven innings.

Vancouver closer Brad “The Animal” Lesley, on his way to a 17-save season and a September callup with the Brewers, replaced Leary to start the eighth. In uncharacteristic fashion, Lesley surrendered three runs in the inning.39 Pat Keedy, Joyner’s replacement at first base, drove in a pair of runs with a double, and West’s sacrifice fly brought home the game’s final run.40

Edmonton reliever Dave Smith, not to be confused with Astros reliever Dave Smith, pitched three scoreless innings to earn the save, and Rogers picked up his first victory in the minor leagues in 12 years.41 Rogers allowed just five singles – two of which were infield hits − in his five scoreless innings. He walked one and struck out four. After the game, Rogers was satisfied with his performance. “Pitching stamina was the only thing that wasn’t there,” he said.42

Something was missing from his next start, though, because the Portland Beavers roughed him up for 12 hits and six earned runs in six innings.43 The final three outings in his five-start trial were in Edmonton, and those games drew an average of 4,880 fans to John Ducey Park, roughly 50 percent more than usual.44

In Rogers’ five starts with Edmonton, he compiled a 1-2 record and a mediocre 4.08 ERA. Perhaps more importantly, the Angels’ starting pitching had improved during his trial.45 On July 2, California granted Rogers his release. “We have no quarrel with his performance,” said Angels GM Mike Port. “Steve has been the victim of a very pleasant predicament regarding our current pitching situation.”46

Five weeks later, Rogers signed a free-agent contract with the Chicago White Sox.47 He went 1-2 with a 4.35 ERA in four Triple-A starts with the Buffalo Bisons before the White Sox released him on August 30.48 Rogers considered a return to the majors in 1986, but he retired after experiencing significant pain in his right shoulder while throwing in January.49

As of 2026, Rogers was still the Expos/Nationals franchise leader in many statistical categories, including career wins (158), shutouts (37), innings pitched (2,837⅔), starts (393), and complete games (129).

Author’s Note

The author’s friend, Craig Richardson, made a special day trip from Victoria to Vancouver with his two brothers to see Rogers pitch. (The one-way travel time from Victoria to Nat Bailey Stadium is close to three hours plus wait time at the ferry terminal.) He was 15 years old at the time. Richardson kept the game ticket and program, pictured below, as a souvenir.

Acknowledgments

This article was fact-checked by Mike Huber and copy-edited by Mike Eisenbath.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com, Stathead.com, Retrosheet.org, The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, and the SABR biography of Steve Rogers. Unless otherwise noted, detailed play-by-play for this game was taken from the article “Rogers Returns to Minors with Sharp Mound Effort” in the June 10, 1985, edition of the Victoria (British Columbia) Times-Colonist.

Photo credit

Photo of Steve Rogers courtesy the Trading Card Database.

Notes

1 Rogers’ career in Montreal began in July 1973 and ended in May 1985. For the first 3½ years with the Expos, they were Canada’s only major-league team. The Toronto Blue Jays began play in 1977, but they didn’t have their first winning season until 1983. Montreal had a record of 331-261 (.559) from 1979 to 1982, tops in the National League. The Expos made their only postseason appearance in 1981, beating Philadelphia in the NLDS before losing the NLCS to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the winner-take-all Game Five.

2 From 1973 to 1985, Rogers amassed 45.1 bWAR, fifth best in the NL; Niekro had 62.8 bWAR, Carlton 54.3, Seaver 53.2, and Reuschel 51.6. Don Sutton was sixth with 33.7 bWAR.

3 Mike Penner, “The Comeback of Steve Rogers,” Los Angeles Times, June 23, 1985: J-11.

4 Bob Elliott, “Fans Won’t Remember Rogers for this Stint with Trappers,” Ottawa Citizen, June 5, 1985: C-3.

5 Rogers pitched three solid innings in the 1982 All-Star Game, as he limited the AL to four singles and one earned run.

6 In the days before advanced analytics, starting pitchers were measured largely by their won-loss record.

7 Carlton’s 5.5 pitching bWAR was fifth best in the NL and seventh best in the majors in 1982.

8 Rogers had averaged 260 innings in each full major-league season prior to 1984 (1974-80, 1982-83). (He made his big-league debut in July 1973, and the Expos played only 108 games in the strike-shortened 1981 season.) Rogers began to feel better in the latter portion of the 1984 season and had a 2.54 ERA in his final 10 starts.

9 Peter Hadekel, “Rogers Named Expos’ Starter for NL Opener,” Montreal Gazette, April 4, 1985: D-1.

10 Rogers was the Opening Day starter for Montreal from 1976 to 1983. He was on the disabled list with a shoulder injury when the 1984 season began; Charlie Lea got the Opening Day start. As of 2026, Dennis Martínez and Max Scherzer were tied for second with six Opening Day starts for the Expos/Nationals franchise. Liván Hernández and Stephen Strasburg were tied for fourth with four Opening Day starts. Ian MacDonald, “New-Look Expos Will Scratch for Runs,” Montreal Gazette, April 3, 1984: F-1.

11 Rogers’s contract finished at the end of 1985, although there was a team option for one additional year. In December 1984 the Expos had traded away future Hall-of-Famer Gary Carter to the New York Mets because frustrated owner Charles Bronfman did not want to pay him roughly $2 million per season. Jonah Keri, Up, Up & Away: The Kid, The Hawk, Rock, Vladi, Pedro, Le Grand Orange, Youppi!, The Crazy Business of Baseball, & the Ill-fated but Unforgettable Montreal Expos (Toronto: Random House Canada, 2014), 206-09; Peter Hadekel, “Rogers Wants Contract Extension Before He Joins Astros,” Montreal Gazette, April 30, 1985: F-1.

12 The Houston Chronicle reported that the trade was Rogers for 25-year-old pitcher Julio Solano. According to the collective bargaining agreement, Rogers earned the right to veto the trade because he had spent more than five years with the Expos and more than 10 years in the big leagues. Neil Hohlfeld, “Astros’ Scott, Solano Glad Rogers Deal Is Off,” Houston Chronicle, May 4, 1985: 3-7.

13 Fanning also managed the Expos from September 8, 1981, to the end of the 1982 season and for the last month of the 1984 season. He was with the Expos until just before the start of the 1993 season, when he resigned after the organization tried to slash his salary by 50 percent. Michael Farber, “Game Over for Fanning, an Expos Original,” Montreal Gazette, April 13, 1993: 1. 

14 Larry Wood, “The Arm is Older Than Its 35 Years,” Calgary Herald, June 5, 1985: E-1. The four games Fanning referred to were between October 2, 1981, and October 16. Rogers’ two-hit shutout of the New York Mets on October 2 lowered the Expos’ magic number to clinch the second-half division title to one with two games to play. He then out-dueled Steve Carlton to win Game One and the winner-take-all Game Five of the NL Division Series. Rogers capped the outstanding string by out-pitching Jerry Reuss in Game Three of the best-of-five NLCS, moving the Expos to within one game of the World Series. Rogers went 4-0 with a 0.50 ERA in those four key games.

15 Elliott, “Fans Won’t Remember Rogers for this Stint with Trappers.”

16 Canadian Press, “Rogers Starts Sunday,” Moncton Times-Transcript, June 8, 1985: 29.

17 The Expos were on the hook for the remaining $860,000 of Rogers’ contract. Norm Cowley, “Back to the Basics with Mr. Rogers,” Edmonton Journal, June 10, 1985: C-5.

18 “Happy to be a Trapper: Rogers Hopes Visit Brief,” Red Deer (Alberta) Advocate, June 5, 1985: 18.

19 Bob Dunn, “Rogers No Mickey Mouse in Start,” Montreal Gazette, June 10, 1985: C-3.

20 Dennis Feser, “Canadians Slip into Second Place,” Vancouver Sun, June 8, 1985: C-2. Vancouver finished second in the North Division in the first half of the season, one-half game behind Calgary. The Canadians won the second-half division title with a 41-30 record. They swept Calgary three-games-to-none in the first round of the playoffs. Vancouver repeated the feat against the Phoenix Giants in the final round to win the PCL playoff championship.

21 Norm Cowley, “Limited Duty for Rogers in Debut,” Edmonton Journal, June 9, 1985: C-4.

22 Trebelhorn skippered Vancouver for just one season. He managed the Milwaukee Brewers from 1986 to ’91 and the Chicago Cubs in 1994. Leary’s stats were taken from the Vancouver Canadians’ game program, pictured below.

23 Leary was called up by the Brewers in September 1985 and remained in the big leagues until 1994, his final professional season. The Brewers traded him to the Los Angeles Dodgers in December 1986. Leary won 17 games for the Dodgers in 1988 and pitched three scoreless innings in Game One of the World Series, leading to Kirk Gibson’s famous walk-off pinch-hit homer. Los Angeles went on to defeat the Oakland Athletics in five games.

24 Dunn, “Rogers No Mickey Mouse in Start.”

25 UPI, “Rogers Toiling in Minors,” Bridgeton (New Jersey) Evening News, June 10, 1985: 13.

26 The only player in Vancouver’s starting lineup to never appear in the big leagues was the designated hitter, Wes Clements. The other eight starters were center fielder Mike Felder, shortstop Juan Castillo, right fielder Doug Loman, first baseman Carlos Ponce, left fielder Bob Skube, second baseman Randy Ready, catcher Mike Martin, and 21-year-old third baseman Dale Sveum.

27 Dunn, “Rogers No Mickey Mouse in Start.”

28 Norm Cowley, “Rogers Brings a Taste of Bigs,” Edmonton Journal, June 10, 1985: C-1.

29 Ramos was the Expos’ backup catcher in 1978 and 1980-84. He appeared in 99 games for Montreal and was Rogers’ batterymate 12 times. Only Gary Carter (274 games) and Barry Foote (76 games) caught Rogers in more big-league contests. One of Ramos’s career highlights came during his brief stint with the New York Yankees in September 1982: Ramos hit a game-tying two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning against Jamie Easterly of the Milwaukee Brewers.

30 Cowley, “Rogers Brings a Taste of Bigs.”

31 The dialogue may have been relayed from Rogers to Montreal Gazette correspondent Bob Dunn in a postgame barbeque at Dunn’s home in Vancouver. The pair became friends when Rogers was pitching for the International League’s Winnipeg (Manitoba) Whips in 1971. Dunn, “Rogers No Mickey Mouse in Start”; Bob Dunn, “The Expos Pitcher and His Friend,” Fort Francis (Ontario) Times, May 24, 2023, https://fftimes.com/features/columnists/bob-dunn-distant-replay/the-expos-pitcher-and-his-friend/.

32 The author deduced that Ponce hit a leadoff single from the box score.

33 Cowley, “Rogers Brings a Taste of Bigs.”

34 Dennis Feser, “Rogers Shows His Stuff with Edmonton Trappers,” Ottawa Citizen, June 10, 1985: B-1.

35 Cowley, “Rogers Brings a Taste of Bigs”; Canadian Press, “Rogers Returns to Minors with Sharp Mound Effort,” Victoria Times-Colonist, June 10, 1985: B-4.

36 Feser, “Rogers Shows His Stuff with Edmonton Trappers.”

37 Bryden pitched the sixth inning and, based on the box score, faced at least two batters in the seventh – he was charged with both earned runs scored by Vancouver. It is unclear which batter reliever Dave Smith faced first when he entered the game with nobody out in the seventh.

38 Loman must have grounded into a double play, because he was not credited with an RBI in the box score.

39 According to the game program, Lesley came into the game with a 0.47 ERA in 19 innings pitched. He finished the regular season with a 2.24 ERA in 56⅓ innings. Lesley had gone 0-3 with a 3.27 ERA and six saves in three major-league seasons with the Cincinnati Reds. He went 1-0 with a 9.95 ERA in five relief appearances with the Brewer at the end of the 1985 season. It was the last time he appeared in the majors.

40 The author deduced that West’s sacrifice fly scored the game’s final run from the box score.

41 Rogers’ previous minor-league win was in the International League for the Peninsula (Virginia) Whips on July 12, 1973. UPI, “Pawtucket Red Sox Split, Bomback in Eighth Win,” Fall River (Massachusetts) Herald News, July 13, 1973: 24.

42 Dunn, “Rogers No Mickey Mouse in Start.”

43 Norm Cowley, “Rogers Roughed Up as Beavers Put Trappers on Ropes,” Edmonton Journal, June 16, 1985: C-2.

44 The Trappers averaged 3,227 fans per game in 1985. Norm Cowley, “Jury Still Out on Rogers,” Edmonton Journal, July 2, 1985: D-4; “1985 Edmonton Trappers Statistics,” Stats Crew, https://www.statscrew.com/minorbaseball/stats/t-et11373/y-1985, accessed May 19, 2026.

45 Rookie Urbano Lugo was moved from the Angels’ bullpen to the starting rotation on June 11. He went 3-1 with a 2.00 ERA in his first four starts. The other four members of the Angels’ rotation (Mike Witt, Ron Romanick, rookie Kirk McCaskill, and veteran Jim Slaton) lowered their ERAs during Rogers’ stint in Edmonton. In Lugo’s six starts after the Angels released Rogers, Lugo went 0-3 with a 6.60 ERA and was sent back to the bullpen. Shortly after falling out of first place, the Angels traded for 40-year-old Don Sutton on September 10. They finished a game behind the eventual World Series-champion Kansas City Royals.

46 Norm Cowley, “Rogers Can’t Crack Angels,” Edmonton Journal, July 3, 1985: F-1.

47 “Bisons Add Rogers to Staff,” Buffalo News, August 9, 1985: C-1.

48 “Laga Single Rallies Sounds Over Bisons, 4-3,” Buffalo News, August 31, 1985: C-3.

49 Alan Adams (Canadian Press), “Mr. Rogers Retires,” Winnipeg Sun, January 27, 1986: 23.