Montreal Expos — 1969

In 1969 the major leagues crossed a border for the first time. The Montreal Expos were born in that winter’s expansion — the first big-league club ever based outside the United States, named for the Expo 67 world’s fair that had just put the city on the map — and this save replays that inaugural season from the first pitch, run as a full sim with the front office making every roster call. The roster is thin, the farm system is a blank page, and the city could not care less. It has a ball club.

April was rugged (7–15), and then the city’s new ball club learned to win the close ones: a 17–9 May, five straight to close it, and the Expos stood at .500 on June 1 — nobody in Montréal laughing anymore. June brought a long road trip, a 13–18 month, and the club sits 37–42, fifth in the NL East and 9.5 games behind Pittsburgh. Already 37 wins: 15 short of the real 1969 team’s full-season total, with more than half the schedule to go.