The claim can be made (and we will be among those who make it) that Steve Rogers was the greatest Pitcher in franchise history when the Washington Nationals were in Montreal as the Expos.

Rogers played his entire career with the Expos (1973-85), and he got off to a great start as the runner-up for the Rookie of the Year.  The Expos were not a good team in the 70s, and he twice led the National League in Losses, but most of that could not be put on his shoulders.  Rogers, who was an All-Star in 1974, was again one in 1978 and 1979, and as Montreal improved, the baseball world took notice of their ace.

In 1982, Rogers was an All-Star again, winning the ERA Title (2.40) and finishing second in Cy Young voting.  Rogers was third for the Cy Young the year after, and he was an All-Star for the fifth and final time.  Injuries and arm fatigue caught up with him, and he retired in 1985.

Notably, Rogers was also a respectable hitter, who might have had a low Batting Average (.138), could bunt people over, and he actually led the NL in Sacrifice Hits in 1983.

Rogers retired with a 158-152 record with 1,621 Strikeouts. 

Jack Powell may have posted a losing record over his career (245-255), but regardless of the era, isn’t anyone who won these many games have to be considered good?

Brett Butler was only an All-Star once, but don’t let that fact mislead you into what was one hell of a baseball player.

Playing from 1981 to 1997, Butler came up through the Atlanta Braves organization and won the first of his four Triple Crowns in 1983, his last year in an Atlanta uniform.  The speedy Centerfielder had 38 Stolen Bases that week, and while he never finished first in that stat, that season began a 13-year streak of at least 25 SB.

Butler was traded to the Cleveland Indians, where he again won the Triples Title (1986), but he returned to the NL with the Giants in 1988.  That season, he began a five-year run of MVP votes, led the NL in Runs, and was first in Hits in 1990.  After three seasons with the Gants, he moved south to the Dodgers in 1991, where he was finally an All-Star and would later have two more first-place finishes in Triples.

Butler played until 1997, where he finished his career with 2,357 Hits, 558 Stolen Bases, and a .290 Batting Average.

Darryl Strawberry was at one time the most feared hitter in the National League, and a case could be made that he was also the most recognized.

Drafted first overall in 1980, Strawberry debuted with the Mets in 1983, winning the Rookie of the Year.  The electric Outfielder was an All-Star in 1984 and would be again the next six seasons in New York.  Strawberry was one of the reasons that Mets fans came to the park, hoping to see one of his Home Runs, and every year as a Met, he delivered at least 25 of them, including a league-leading 39 in 1988.  That season, he was second in MVP voting, losing to Kirk Gibson of the Dodgers, though Strawberry likely should have won.

The Mets won the 1986 World Series, and he was on top of the world, finishing in the top ten in MVP voting three other seasons.  The two-time Silver Slugger was exceptionally popular and well-known and was on top of the world, or so it seemed.

During this elite period as a Met, he was not exactly angelic.  He had fought openly with teammates, was abusing drugs, and was known to be selfish, often showing up late.  Needing a change of scenery, Strawberry signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers as a Free Agent in 1991, and he was again an All-Star with 28 Home Runs.  As it turned out, this was the end of his dominance.

Injuries and off-field issues reduced him to a shell of his former self, but despite this, he consistently found work throughout the 1990s, most notably winning three World Series Rings in a reduced role with the New York Yankees.  He retired with 335 Home Runs and 1,000 Runs Batted In, but it felt like he should have so much more.