Quebec receiver Guillaume Morin is a fan of sports films, but he wrote his own script in the last week when he reached professional baseball at age 30 with the Aigles de Trois-Rivières, in the Frontier League.
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“The last few days have been quite spectacular,” agreed Morin in the TVA Sports podcast “Les buts filled”, recorded on Wednesday.
Morin has mainly evolved with the Pirates of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, in the Major League Baseball of Quebec [LBMQ], since 2015.
It was on Thursday, May 26, in Trois-Rivières, that the athlete from Saint-Hubert, on the South Shore of Montreal, realized this old dream that slumbered in him. Despite a loss for the Eagles that night, he took advantage of his baptism as a professional to hit his first hit and produce the first point for the Trois-Rivières team.
“The moment I hit the ball, it felt like that’s when I put a stamp on it and felt like I had achieved something,” Morin described.
Since then, the Quebecer has taken part in a second game on Saturday, then head coach Matthew Rusch has shown interest in the rest of the Eagles’ season.
The story may not be as grand as that of former pitcher Jim Morris, played by actor Dennis Quaid, in the film The Rookie, released some 20 years ago. It is, however, a lesson in perseverance and hard work.
“I’ll be honest: in the last few years, I didn’t necessarily believe that I was going to play professional baseball one day,” Morin admitted. I showed up with the Pirates [de Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu] and it was as if, for me, I was playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers. I was involved in it, I took it seriously and the opportunity to play with the Eagles presented itself. I jumped on it.”
“It’s been a Russian montage of emotions,” the receiver also described the past few months.
Before his recent recall, Morin had actually participated in the Eagles camp in the spring. However, he was released on the last day of training camp. If he had left a good impression, the Quebecer had to give way to pitchers, since there was a lack of depth in this position.
“There are few elected officials and there is a lot of movement of personnel in professional baseball”, then understood the receiver, who had logically experienced a disappointment.
“The chapter should not be written, was finally able to mention Morin, earlier this week, on social networks. I’ve never been the best player on my team, I’ve never been the most talented. Dreaming of professional sport, yes certain, but achieving it is beyond absurd. The work never stopped. The old childhood dream has come true.
Baseball coach and physical education teacher, Morin hopes that other chapters will be written for him with the Eagles. Along the way, he also intends to use his story to inspire a few young people.
“It is a challenge for me to teach young people to work, to focus on the process and not just on the result,” he summed up.
The message may also be good for other LBMQ veterans who would still dare to dream.
