Describer Jacques Doucet will finally be able to enter the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum next summer.
Doucet had been elected to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2020, but was unable to attend the ceremony due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Doucet described major league baseball games in French for four decades. In all, he described over 5,500 Major League Baseball games during his career.
In 2004, he was the recipient of the Jack Graney Award, presented annually by the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame to a member of the media, in addition to being a finalist for the Ford C. Frick Award from the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown in 2020 .
“I am deeply honored to be inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. Despite the Jack Graney Award received in 2004, I could not, in all honesty, say that I was a full member of the Temple. This news, along with the Medal of Honor from the National Assembly of Quebec, are the two highest honors I have received,” Doucet said in a statement Wednesday morning.
Doucet will be inducted along with former Montreal Expos pitcher Denis Boucher.
PHOTO BERNARD BRAULT, PRESS ARCHIVES
Denis Boucher
After four minor league campaigns, Boucher made his first major league start with the Toronto Blue Jays on April 12, 1991. The 54-year-old Quebecer then struggled for a few seasons before being traded to the Expos. in 1993.
He then made his first start with the Montreal squad on September 6, 1993 at Olympic Stadium, before returning to make 10 more appearances with the Expos in 1994. In total, Boucher pitched for 10 professional seasons and racked up 87 wins, all posting an earned run average of 3.99 in 263 games.
“It’s an incredible honor to be elected to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame,” said Boucher. I am very honored and proud to see my name listed among the best baseball players in the country. »
After his playing career, Boucher joined the Canadian team as a pitching coach in 2003. He notably participated as a coach at the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004 and Beijing in 2008, at the four World Classics baseball and at the 2011 and 2015 Pan American Games, where Canada won gold medals.
He also became a scout for the Washington Nationals from 2004 to 2009, before serving in the same role with the New York Yankees from 2009 to present.
The Quebecers will be joined in this vintage by former Oakland Athletics right-hander Rich Harden, former Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Jesse Barfield and former Blue Jays first baseman John Olerud. Alongside them, veteran Baseball Manitoba coach and executive Joe Wiwchar will also be honoured.
“Each of the inductees has had a significant impact on baseball in Canada in their own unique way,” said Jeremy Diamond, Chairman of the Hall’s Board of Directors. This cohort will be inducted in a ceremony to be held on the Temple grounds in St. Mary’s, Ont., on June 17.