Friday Trivia: Better late than never

Expansion teams provide wonderful opportunities for marginal players trying to keep alive their careers — either by reviving the careers of older, experienced but downward trending players or jumpstarting the careers of younger, inexperienced but trending nowhere players simply needing a chance to compete at the highest level.

Sometimes, you get a player who neither is terribly old nor woefully inexperienced.

Which brings us to today’s edition of Friday Trivia.

One of these such players finally gets his opportunity in 1969 to play in the major leagues.

This player is stuck in the minors for 10 seasons, toiling in 1,118 games before finally getting his chance after the expansion draft in mid-October 1968 stocks the major leagues’ newest teams in – using alphabetical order – Kansas City, Montreal, San Diego and Seattle.

A few months later, in April 1969, this player makes his long-awaited major league debut at 28 years, 278 days old.

And the name of that player?

We will wait.

And wait.

And then wait just a little longer until you come up with the name of Jose “Coco” Laboy of the Montreal Expos, who select Laboy from the St. Louis Cardinals with the 54th pick of the 1968 expansion draft.

Laboy, after a decade in the minor leagues first with San Francisco and then St. Louis, makes his major league debut on April 8, 1969 at Shea Stadium as the Expos’ Opening Day third baseman against the eventual World Series champion New York Mets.

Laboy goes 0-for-3 against future Hall of Famer Tom Seaver before striking out against Mets reliever Cal Koonce.

Laboy’s first hit in the major leagues comes in his final at-bat of the opener as he launches a three-run homer to deep left field off reliever Ron Taylor, giving the Expos an 11-6 lead in the eighth inning of a game they eventually win 11-10.

Laboy plays in 157 of Montreal’s 162 games in 1969 and remains the Expos’ everyday third baseman before losing his job to Bob Bailey in 1971.

Laboy then splits the next two seasons between Montreal and the minors before retiring after the 1973 season at the age of 32.

Laboy remains the franchise’s oldest position player to make his major league debut until 2020, when the team – now the Washington Nationals after the Expos move to D.C. in 2005 – promotes 32-year-old outfielder Yadiel Hernandez to the majors.

Coco Laboy batting for the Expos against the Mets on Opening Day 1969