No respite for Charles Leblanc

Revue de Web

Rob Wilson, Bobr Times, October 16, 2022

Quebecer Charles Leblanc reached major league baseball in the Miami Marlins uniform, but his goal is to stay there.

That's why the hard worker is currently in the Dominican Republic, where he wears the colors of the Tigres del Licey starting this weekend in the winter league.

“He could have gone home, sat down and been happy with what he did, but Charles being Charles, he understood the importance of going to the Dominican Republic to go and polish his game, says his agent Jethro Supré, who speaks of the Marlins player with great affection and pride. Going there, the goal is to work and make sure he arrives ready for the next training camp.

Leblanc, 26, appeared in 48 games with the Marlins this past season. If he did rather well with a batting average of .263, the athlete from Laval was able to experience the obligatory passage surrounding the debut of a player in major league baseball. He admits to having been very stressed, having a lump in your throat and weak legs.

“The reality is that you were never prepared to go play against your childhood idols , nor to play in front of 40,000 people who are screaming like crazy, said Leblanc, in a long interview given before his departure for the Dominican Republic. Until you've experienced it, you don't know how you're going to react. You just have to do it and get used to it.”

Building every batting presence
At such a level, Leblanc still needs to perfect his batting approach by adapting to pitchers with a larger arsenal and developing a strategy to defend himself well against the various shots. You also have to show mental toughness even within a turn at bat or between two appearances at the plate.

“I want to try to polish my game inside the game, summarized Leblanc. I have adjustments to make at the bat, to properly follow or adapt my plans when I face a pitcher. The idea is to build my batting presence a little better.”

The stay in the Dominican Republic will certainly help Leblanc improve on these details that can make all the difference.

Small batting approach 101 course with Charles Leblanc – @baseballquebec #enweilledonc pic.twitter.com/SanIoYZXAk

— Goals fulfilled (@EnweilleDonc) October 15, 2022

A new experience

By wearing the colors of the Tigers, in Santo Domingo, it will also be a new experience for the Quebecers within a different culture.

“The league of the Dominican Republic is the best winter league, summarized Supré. There are a lot of major league players there. It allows Charles to rub shoulders with these guys. We feel that it is an experience that will bring him a lot, especially with players with a Latin culture who are many, like him, to play in the infield.”

“The sample he presented to us this season with the Marlins suggests that he can play major league baseball regularly and that he has that potential,” added the agent. Now, nothing is certain.”

Sudden popularity

Charles Leblanc will have spent very little time in Quebec between the end of his season with the Miami Marlins and the start of that with the Tigres del Licey, in the Dominican Republic, but it was enough to allow him to see that the way others look at him has changed quite a bit.

“I'm starting to understand a bit of the impact I had in Quebec,” said Leblanc.

In the last week, before heading to the Dominican Republic on Friday morning, Leblanc is particularly aware of this growing popularity. While visiting a field on Wednesday in Repentigny, he saw a crowded bus disembark with young people from a baseball sports-study program who were particularly happy to see him.

Hard, hard to hit tours in Miami

The home of the Marlins, in Miami, is not the one that allows the most powerful hitters to shine. Far from it.

“It’s not easy to hit home runs in major league baseball, especially in Miami. The ball doesn't travel much at the Marlins stadium. There are at least three or four balls hit in Miami, where I thought they were going to go over the fence, but no. That's how it is, it's part of the game.”

“To see a guy like Aaron Judge, hitting over .300 batting average and hitting 62 home runs, it’s really impressive. They look like numbers from a video game.”

Leblanc, for his part, hit four long balls in 48 games, including three at home.

“My home run in Oakland was particularly pleasant, I pinched it pretty good,” he said, with a smile, of a long shot over 400 feet hit in the second inning of the Marlins' 3-0 win over the Athletics on July 22. last August.

A curious baptism

In his first game in major league baseball, on July 30 in Miami, Charles Leblanc said he was surprised to see how much the visitors, the New York Mets, counted on many supporters.

“There is no one who prepares you for times like the ones you live [in your debut in major league baseball], said the Marlins player. Even if you've played baseball all your life, you don't expect, for example, to play at home with lots of fans from the other team. Fans of the other club are kicking you while you're playing at home.”

Quebecer Charles Leblanc, of the Miami Marlins, reveals some details from his major league baseball debut against pitcher Carlos Carrasco and the New York Mets. – with @benrioux and @sylvainrondeau #enweilledonc

Revue de presse publiée par Jacques Lanciault