Pitcher Vincent Ruel, just 24, will have to remove his number 10 shirt at the Stade Canac on Thursday night. Still, it’s an honor usually reserved for slightly older athletes.
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“I was surprised when it was announced to me,” agreed Ruel, who is hailed by the Diamonds of Quebec organization in the Quebec Junior Elite Baseball League (LBJÉQ) before a game against the Charlesbourg Alouettes. At the same time, I’m excited to experience this while my memories of the Diamonds are still fresh. It’s a great honor.”
Ruel, a left-handed pitcher, will have played in three LBJÉQ playoff championships with the Diamonds in 2014, 2015 and 2019. If he was just a youngster from the Canonniers program when he joined the team during the 2014 playoffs, the youngster will have been at the heart of the other two conquests.
“More than any stats, these are the leagues I’m most proud of, especially the ones I’ve really played a role in,” said Ruel, who has played five full seasons with the team under head coach Dominik Walsh. I have also enjoyed every season. Often our player pool has changed, but every year we have given ourselves a chance to win.
Stunning stats
On the hill for the Diamonds, Ruel was also credited with 38 wins on his tally, just in the regular season. In his senior year 2019, he had gone 11-1 with a 1.51 ERA before posting eight more wins without losses in the playoffs.
“I’ve always put accuracy above strength, I’ve never been the toughest pitcher,” remarked Ruel humbly, who has already hit 87 mph with his fastball. I think my strength lay between the two ears.
Ruel is good with numbers, well beyond the baseball field, he who recently graduated from Laval University with an actuarial degree. At Beneva’s job, he doesn’t hide the fact that he might one day be drawn to the adventure of advanced statistics in the world of baseball.
A bad wound
Throughout his sporting career, Ruel still plays occasionally with the Victoriaville Club of Quebec’s Major League Baseball. However, after a Frontier League stint with Team Quebec in 2021, the gunner suffered a partial ligament tear in his left elbow and had to undergo a rehab program.
In any case, the pitcher will already have had enough success to see his jersey retired by a team. Regarding the number 10, Ruel points out that he had previously worn the 9 but had to change when he arrived with the diamonds as that jersey had already been retired in honor of Jean-Philippe Roy. Following Roy and Ruel, another former Diamonds whose identity has not yet been revealed will be honored during a third shirt retirement in club history on July 21.