Baseball is back in Montreal, if only for a weekend.

And right before the first of two exhibition baseball games started between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Boston Red Sox Friday, Mayor Denis Coderre announced a 10-year action plan to grow amateur baseball and solidify his claims that Montreal is a baseball city.

Coderre said he wants to build baseball from the ground up. The city has already allotted $11 million to improving conditions at baseball fields, and added another $15 million that will also go towards infrastructure and help attract more baseball events, such as the 18U Baseball World Cup.

Montreal will invest $32.1 million over 10 years to help foster grassroots support for the sport. The plan includes:

  • Improving children's access to the sport
  • Highlight Montrealers, such as Blue Jays catcher Russell Martin, who play the game at the national, international and professional level
  • Attract more baseball events to the city.

The mayor is as optimistic as ever that baseball will return one day to Montreal, but the how and the how much, are still unexplained. In the plan, acquiring a team is mentioned as a way to increase the number of people who play baseball.

Fans flock to Olympic Staidum

About 106,000 fans are expected to attend two games over the weekend. There were more than 52,000 people on hand to watch the Blue Jays fall to the Red Sox 4-2 in 10 innings.

Michael Gagnon grew up in Florida but was born in Montreal. Despite what people say about the Big O, he has very fond memories of the Expos’ former home.

“You get in the stadium and you hear the echo on the PA system, ‘Larry Walker, Walker, Walker,’ and then white smoke when you're walking in… I mean, it’s big and the stadium to me was like the colosseum. I love it,” he said.

Tim Raines and Pedro Martinez were honoured on the field before Friday’s game.

"It's like I'm back at home," said Martinez, who won the first of his three Cy Young awards with the Expos in 1997.

"I can tell you one thing tonight: Montreal is a baseball city. ... Please MLB, return to Montreal."

Raines, whose last chance to make it into the Hall of Fame is next year's vote, was visibly emotional on the field and also mentioned he'd like to see baseball return to Montreal.

Former Expos GM and manager Jim Fanning, who died last April, will be honoured before Saturday's game.