The Blue Jays will host the Reds in "exhibition games April 3-4 at Olympic Stadium," and the team "hopes to duplicate the frenzy" around last season's two-game exhibition series against the Mets that drew 96,530 to the Montreal venue, according to Bill Beacon of the CP. Last year's turnout "was spurred mostly by the fans' wish" to bring MLB back to Montreal. Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos said that he "hopes to play at the Big O every year until Montreal lands its own team." Beacon noted the event will "include tributes" to Baseball HOFers and former Blue Jays players Roberto Alomar and Tony Perez, as well as former manager Cito Gaston. The Blue Jays had "several requests from teams interested in being their opponents at the Big O." President & CEO Paul Beeston said the "Votto Factor" around Canadian-born Reds 1B Joey Votto was part of the decision to play the Reds (CP, 11/4). Anthopoulos said of last year's games in Montreal, "I think everyone agrees that the reception we got was unbelievable. The reception was amazing and the players all raved about it. So much so, that when we were done playing, the texts and emails I got from other executives on teams was through the roof." MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm noted Montreal has been "open about its desire to once again be home to a Major League team, and Beeston thinks the best way to accomplish that is to continue supporting these types of events." There are "no immediate plans for Montreal to get a team, but that remains the city's long-term goal." Beeston said that the April games "will be another opportunity for that goal to be heard loud and clear throughout the baseball world" (MLB.com, 11/4).
