At the heart of the reconstruction of the Pittsburgh Pirates, a Quebecer will work this season to advance the hopes of the team. Frédérick Rioux, in the role of assistant to player development, will occupy positions which he has already fulfilled since the beginning of his crazy adventure in major baseball, and which fascinates him.
“Player development, I’ve done a bit with the Seattle Mariners, and it has always been close to my heart because you are really lucky to have an impact on these players,” says Rioux, 30 years.
Like that of Quebecers who, before him, rose through the ranks of major league baseball, Frédérick Rioux’s story is one of resilience and determination.
Last year, the pandemic caused him to lose his position with the Mariners, an organization he had worked for since 2018. He did not give up and called on various people he had met since he worked in the MLB.
Because if the world of major baseball may seem vast, it is rather a small world, explains Rioux.
“Everyone knows each other, it’s easy – and important – to forge links with people from other teams,” points out the native of Trois-Pistoles.
Custom plans
It was by reconnecting with contacts he had made with the Pirates that Rioux succeeded in obtaining a position within the organization. Last year he was in charge of video and advanced stats with their AAA-level school club, the Indianapolis Indians.
“I had a meeting with the managers at the end of the season and they really liked the work I did in Indianapolis,” says Rioux. They told me they would like to see me in [le rôle d’assistant au développement des joueurs] This year. “
From Bradenton, Florida, Rioux will therefore work with AA, AAA and even major athletes. He will be called upon to collect and analyze data on players, in order to develop personal plans to help them take them to the next level.
Rewarding and stressful
And it is rewarding, this role. Particularly at the AAA level, where Rioux works closely, in collaboration with his colleagues, with recruits who hope to make the jump in the big club or even, with players who have already tasted the experience of major baseball and who aspire to to go back there.
“This year, we had the pitcher Max Kranick who stayed two weeks with us, who left for two weeks in the majors, and who came back after,” explains the Quebecer. When you turn on the TV, see it on ESPN and it performs well, it’s fun for our whole team. “
To properly guide the players, Rioux works with different technologies. He also learned Spanish, which serves him well now, while in the Dominican Republic working with young hopefuls of the organization.
A long-standing passion
It goes back a long way, the passion of Frédérick Rioux for baseball. Ex-color-bearer of the Diamants de Québec in the elite junior baseball league, Rioux however made a fork in his career before returning to his first love.
“I have a technique in architecture,” says Rioux. I worked for two years in Quebec there. During the second summer, Derek Aucoin told our coach [des Diamants] that he was looking for players to coach at his camp. I had given my name, partly because I had never met Derek and he had played for the Expos. “
Rioux worked as a coach and then kept in touch with Aucoin after the summer was over. It was when the former pitcher was giving camps at Yankee Stadium in New York. Rioux accompanied him there. And it was love at first sight.
“After the camps, I started my own academy in my region of Bas-St-Laurent,” he explains. Then I wondered how I could have a career in major league baseball. “
Agostino, the mentors
The Pistol was aware that he had to improve his English in particular if he wanted to achieve his dream. So he enrolled in Sports Management at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario.
He played on the baseball team and offered his services to the Toronto Blue Jays to be a recruiter on a voluntary basis.
Little by little, he bonded with people involved in major league baseball. Including his compatriot Alex Agostino, scout for the Philadelphia Phillies, whom he considers today as “a mentor”.
“Agostino told me that if I was still interested in recruiting, he could hire me part-time,” explains Rioux. He needed help covering the events in Ontario. “
With the Mariners
After a year with the Phillies, his university degree in hand, Rioux wanted to find a paid internship within an organization, with the ultimate goal of obtaining a full-time position.
“I sent emails to everyone I had met over the past few years. And I went to the Winter Assizes in Orlando where I met seven or eight teams. And finally, it was with the Mariners that it clicked. “
But after three years with the Mariners, COVID-19 came to take away his dream. Temporarily, at least. Because as he has done since the beginning of his career, Frédérick Rioux rolled up his sleeves to continue his crazy adventure in major baseball.
