Northern Expos-ure

In a bold / audacious move the Expos traded former pitching ace Steve Renko and pinch hitter Larry Biittner for a young powerhouse named Andre Thornton.  The Cubs were willing to give up on Thornton who appears to be a free swinger who has found trouble finding the fences in the friendly confines of Wrigley Field.

Steve Renko, who’s lifetime record with the Expos was 68-82 with a 3.90 ERA pitched for mostly second division teams and never really got much in the way of run support.  Renko’s best years with the Expos were 1971 and 1973, where he won 15 games in each of those seasons.  Last year (1975) he fell to 6-12 while battling through various arm injuries.  Renko is an “original” Expo having appeared in 18 games in the franchise’s inaugural season (1969).

Larry Biittner, who arrived in Montreal from Texas in 1974, played mostly in a part time capacity.  In 1975 he got into 121 games and hit .315, but only had 3 round trippers, which is way too low a number for a corner outfielder / first base type.  With a plethora of young outfield talent Biittner was used mostly as a pinch hitter this season.  As of this trade he is hitting a paltry .167 in just 12 AB’s.

Thornton leaves Chicago with a .216 average and 2 homers in limited use.  After having rock solid campaigns in 1974 (.261-10-46) and 1975 (.293-18-60), Thornton took a huge step back in the first month and a half of this season, which facilitated the need for a scenery change.