PHowever, he never played a single game in major league baseball and even believed his career was over after he was released after his only season in the Chicago White Sox branches.
But now, instead of ending up in a cul-de-sac, the road in front of him would open up and take him to where few Quebecers have had the chance to go. The journey of a loyal and loyal employee.
“Conquering the 2003 World Series with the Marlins [de la Floride] is the biggest highlight of my career. When I look at myself in the mirror, I am proud of my career. I did not do anything stupid, I did what was asked of me with respect and loyalty, ”he said in an interview given while he was taking advantage of a week’s leave before returning to the country of France. Frontier League team, Friday.
Arsenault did not expect to have such a summer when he agreed to join the Capitals of Quebec this spring. Originally, he thought he could combine business with pleasure by spending the summer in the area while giving manager Patrick Scalabrini a helping hand.
The COVID-19 however changed the situation, forcing the team to merge with the Eagles of Trois-Rivières to type a disputed calendar entirely on the road, until this weekend, when the Quebec team meets the amateurs at Quebec as well as those of Trois-Rivières, as of Tuesday.
Arsenault had just passed
19 seasons with the Marlins, including the last 10 as a professional scout, when he lost his job in the whirlwind of the pandemic. After 15 years with the Expos, he joined them in 2002 as an instructor in the bullpen at the invitation of former owner Jeffrey Loria.
“I was criticized for my decision to leave the Expos, but the future of the team was not rosy in time, there was talk of a possible merger between the Expos and the Minnesota Twins. Jeffrey Loria, who had just become the Marlins’ owner, offered me the same position I held in Montreal. There was uncertainty around the Expos, and I understand that they had many priorities before me, but I had to think about my family and my future, it was my job that was at stake. that I was with the Expos because I was from Quebec, it was flattering to see the Marlins coming to get me for my skills and certainly not because I spoke French, ”explains the 57-year-old baseball man.
His adventure began in 1987, when he was invited to start a batting exercise with the Expos. He had just been released from his only professional contract as a player in the White Sox branches and won a championship in the IBL, Ontario.
BUCK RODGERS
“I owe everything to Ron Piché and Jim Fanning, they marked my life and it is thanks to them if I was able to spend 34 years in the major leagues”, admits this holder of a bachelor’s degree in sociology at the University Concordia.
The first player to receive his offerings was shortstop Hubie Brooks, who was then recovering from a wrist injury. It will launch again the next day and every day thereafter.
As he was a receiver, he was also asked to lend a hand to Mike Fitzgerald and Dave Engle, just to spare their knees during the warm-up of the relievers. He will become the instructor in the pen in 1991 under the rule of Tom Runnels, Felipe Alou and Jeff Torborg.
“The first manager I had as a catcher in the pen was Buck Rodgers. I couldn’t ask for better, he “educated” me well in the role of a backstage employee and gave me good life lessons, ”says the one who also did radio before the President Claude Brochu offers him to lead the bullpen after Rodgers’ dismissal.
“I learned the trade by watching and listening. I had to make sure that the relievers were ready, that we followed the game plan, that everyone knew their role well. I was also throwing the batting exercise. I made it to Vladimir [Guerrero], Larry Walker and other big names, both Expos and Marlins. Unpretentious, I was a good thrower of batting practices, I made the players feel comfortable. But I throw less well now, because of a shoulder injury, ”said this former receiver for the LaSalle Cardinals in junior baseball.
After doing the same routine for almost 10 years with the Marlins, a hip discomfort took him off the field and showed him a different side of the middle by becoming one of their professional scouts. He was watching all the players in the Toronto, Cleveland and Pittsburgh organizations, just to have a report on each in preparation for a trade or the signing of a free agent.
YANKEE STADIUM
He’s still relishing the 2003 conquest against the New York Yankees, led by pitchers Josh Beckett and Dontrelle Willis, then rookie Miguel Cabrera and others.
