Montreal Jets | Eric Gagné returns to the mound for one evening

Known for his fearsome endings to games, it was rather on the starting lineup of the Montreal Jets that former relief pitcher Éric Gagné made his entrance on the baseball field, Friday. And it was under a standing ovation of more than a thousand people that he left the mound, for the last time, in Montreal.

“I was surprised by how good I felt,” said the Mascouche native, after completing two and a third innings on the mound at the Raymond-Daviault ballpark in east Montreal. “I felt better than I thought.”

“But now, I’m done!” assured the player with a laugh. If the fans were hoping that Éric Gagné would return more than once to the LBMQ, the 48-year-old athlete confirmed that his return to the mound was exceptional.

After an impressive first inning, which was sealed by three consecutive outs, Gagné made his last quick attempts at the top of the third inning, after allowing a home run to the opposing team, the Acton Vale Castors.

“All 1,100 tickets have been sold, it’s packed,” said Sébastien Richer, general manager and coach of the Montreal Jets La Cave. According to the organization, 150 to 200 people usually fill the stands.

Within the team, which is composed of players aged 23 to 44, some had followed the athlete’s career at the time, while others only knew the player once he had accomplished his feats. It was Jets receiver Kevin Young, with whom he trains, who had the idea of ​​bringing him to the Quebec Major League Baseball.

The Cy Young Trophy winner not only participated in three MLB All-Star games, but he is also the first Quebecer to have won the World Series, with the Red Sox in 2007.

“It’s quite special for the players [des Jets] to prepare with Éric Gagné!” confided the GM before the start of the match.

The pitcher still holds the MLB record for consecutive saves, with 84.

Although the athlete struck out a total of 139 batters during this stretch, he never allowed a runner who reached the base to score a point.

The Los Angeles Dodgers, the team with which he accomplished this feat, also highlighted the 20^e anniversary of this record in early July.

Of the relief

On Monday, second baseman Émilien Pitre, a native of Repentigny, was selected in the second round of the MLB draft by the Tampa Bay Rays. Since 2007, no Quebec player has been chosen so early in the draft.

“I saw him yesterday, we talked about it,” said Gagné, who was honoured Thursday by his former junior team in Repentigny. The number 38, which he wore in the LBJEQ, has been retired by the team.

The pitcher is certain of the love that Quebecers still have for baseball to this day, especially when he watches the Quebec Capitales. The player, who lives in Arizona, was also present at the Frontier League All-Star game at Canac Stadium in Quebec City earlier this week.

“It’s definitely not the same since the Expos left. But that’s why it’s super important for me to be present everywhere when I come to Quebec,” assured Éric Gagné, honoured by all the compliments he’s received since the beginning of the month.

A second Quebec player, Louis-Philippe Langevin, was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the fourth round on Monday.

Supporters attic

By 6 p.m., hundreds of fans were already there to get the player’s signature. This was the case for Sébastien Houde, a proud fan, who had brought a frame immortalizing the star pitcher’s records.

“We came to bring our chairs yesterday!” exclaimed Réjean Turenne with a laugh. Behind home plate, he and his wife, Reine Robitaille, probably had the best seat in the audience to see Éric Gagné’s rapids up close. “Our grandson, Tristan Aspeck, is a shortstop for the Jets,” added Mr. Turenne.

In attendance were families, but also entire baseball teams, young and old.

“The kids are really happy to see Éric Gagné pitch. They don’t know him, but the dads do!” said Julie Villeneuve, mother of a young player. Her son and his teammates, who play on a pee-wee AA team in Laval, were right next to home plate to watch the LBMQ game.

And some, to their great delight, were even able to benefit from Gagné’s valuable advice on fastball pitches, in the pitching pen, at the end of the game.