After experiencing the ups and downs of professional baseball within the Miami Marlins organization, Charles Leblanc will get a chance to prove he can play full-time in the Majors with the Los Angeles Angels.
This opportunity comes at an important time in Leblanc’s career and he is highly motivated by the organization that presents itself before him.
“It’s been a long time since I had fun training like that,” said Leblanc during his interview with our colleague Daniel Richard.
For the first time in his life as a high-level athlete, Charles Leblanc faced the unknown after the 2023 season. A free agent, he did not really know what the future had in store for him. A phone call from the Angels organization brought a smile back to the Quebec infield player.
“I have a bit of the same motivation as when the Marlins came to get me the first year. A new start, with new faces. When you arrive in a new organization, you don’t necessarily know your competition. You have a bit of I-don’t-care attitude. I’m here to make my place,” admitted the 27-year-old athlete.
Leblanc lost some of his good humor during the 2023 season. After playing his first 48 games in major league baseball in 2022, he believed he had left a good enough impression to get a more serious audition at the start of the last season.
Finally, he will have spent his entire 2023 season with Jacksonville, at the AAA level, where his statistics took a hit compared to the excellent season he had the previous summer.
“It hurts my pride, because I think I had a good interview in the major leagues in the time I was there. I didn’t see it coming and I was disappointed, but the hardest part was returning to the Marlins organization, in the minors,” admitted Leblanc.
In 94 games in Jacksonville, Leblanc had an average of .253, in addition to hitting 12 home runs and producing 34 runs, well below his average of .302 at the AAA level and .263 in the majors in 2022.
Leblanc is especially relieved to no longer have to deal with the persistent back pain that slowed him down at the AAA level last summer, where he increased his batting average to .298 in the final two months of the season.
“If your back hurts, you won’t be able to move like you did before,” admitted Leblanc. That’s what was difficult last year. It was why, why, why and instead of trying to find answers, it was questioning all year long. When I realized that I could no longer put myself in that position because of my back, I had to find another way to perform anyway. »
Charles Leblanc received authorization from a physiotherapist to train without the slightest restriction. He will head to Arizona to the Angels training site at the end of January, about three weeks before the start of training camp, at the dawn of his 8th professional season.
2023-12-21 21:02:00
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