Laboy batted seventh in the inaugural game of the Montreal Expos versus the New York Mets on April 8, 1969, going 1-for-5 with 3 RBIs in the 11-10 win.

He tied for second place with Al Oliver for the 1969 National League Rookie of the Year Award, which was won by Ted Sizemore.

Anxious to prove that his rookie year was not a fluke, Laboy worked out in the off-season but injured his knee in his first game of the Puerto Rican winter league season.

At 33 years old and with essentially only two full seasons behind him it was hard to come back, particularly with the primitive state of orthopedic surgery at the time.

Laboy returned to his native Puerto Rico and got a job with the government, where he served for 27 years, eventually becoming director of the Commonwealth's athletic programs.