Rhéal Cormier

Although born in Moncton, New Brunswick, Rhéal, the son of Ronald and Jeannette (Goguen) Cormier, grew up in the small rural Acadian community of Saint-André-LeBlanc, near the village of Cap Pelé on the Northumberland Strait. He was initially introduced to baseball in the Cap-Pelé minor system, but after a season or two, one of his coaches, eyeing the promise in the youngster, suggested his game would improve even more if he tried out for minor baseball in the nearby city of Moncton, which Rhéal, with the support of his parents, did. That proved to be a wise decision as he continued to excel there and eventually made the Canadian National Junior team in 1985.

His efforts with the National Junior team eventually led to him being recruited by Rhode Island Community College, where in two seasons he compiled a record of 19 and 1. Those numbers drew the attention of major league scouts, and in 1988 he was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals. Following two and a half seasons in the minors, Cormier made his major league debut on August 15, 1991 against the New York Mets, appropriately on National Acadian Day, a game that saw him give up only one run in six innings. That heralded in a major league career that lasted for sixteen seasons. He suited up for a number of teams, including the aforesaid Cardinals, the Boston Red Sox, Montreal Expos, the team he had rooted for as a youngster, the Philadelphia Phillies, where he found his greatest success, and briefly with the Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds, his final professional team. His career numbers over those sixteen seasons were 71 wins, 64 losses, and an ERA of 4.08.

In addition to his major league career, Cormier represented his country of Canada at a number of international events. Most notable were his appearances, two decades apart, at the 1988 and 2008 Olympic Games. At the latter Games, in Beijing, and by now 41 years of age, he tossed 2 and 1/3 innings of scoreless baseball. In 2012 he was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, and in 2014 was also inducted into the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame.

Cormier, along with his wife and two children, lived in communities in the United States after his retirement, but they maintained a home in Cap-Pelé, as well, where he sadly died after a bout with cancer, at the age of 53. His approach to the world in general was reflected by something he wrote inside the famous outfield wall, the Green Monster at Fenway Park, when he was a member of the Boston Red Sox: “La vie est belle”, translated, “Life is beautiful”.