April 25, 2024

By Melissa Verge

Canadian Baseball Network

There’s a thrill to the game that Sebastien Boucher loves.

The chase, the throw, and the call by the umpire.

His hand closes in a fist. Out.

Moments ago, Boucher, an outfielder for the Quebec Capitales was locked on the summer sky, eyeing a ball that looks like it’s dropping for a base hit.

But he’s quick, and the runner, on the way for extra bases, is now on the way back to the dugout.

Speed and a powerful arm are a winning combination for his Capitales, a deadly combination for the opposition.

“The opportunity to gun guys out from the outfield is always a thrilling thing,” Boucher said.

His speed came in handy in the field and at the plate. Boucher was a key part of the Capitales roster for six seasons, boasting a .319 batting average over more than 1,000 at bats. The outfielder helped the team to five championships in a row from 2009 to 2013.

This summer, he’ll be honoured for his contributions to the team when his number is retired August 18. In the 25 years of the team's existence, he’s only the third player to receive such a huge recognition.

It’s a surprise for Boucher, but not for his manager, Pat Scalabrini. He had a talent for the sport that was rare in independent baseball, Scalabrini said.

Most athletes in the league aren’t five tool players, but Boucher was an exception.

“He had a lot of pop, he could run really well so he got a lot of hits that way, but he also was great defensively, he could do everything on the field,” Scalabrini said.

Whether he was driving a ball at Stade Canac for a base hit, or running down a fly in the outfield, he was a threat to anyone not in a Capitales uniform.

Retiring his No. 18 was a given, he said.

“He's one of the guys who impacted the game in so many different ways that it was a natural choice for it to be him,” he said. “He had amazing years after amazing years.”

Thirty-four years ago, a career in baseball wasn’t even on Boucher’s radar. His journey in the sport was just beginning, picking up a bat and a ball, on his way to play organized ball for the first time.

As an eight-year-old kid growing up in Hull, Que., all he knew was that he wanted to spend more time with his six older cousins. And learning how to play baseball, surrounded by cousins who all had already adopted the sport, was the way he could do that.

What started out as wanting to tag along with his older family members, somewhere along the way, turned into something deeper.

It’s a passion and a gift that he nurtured with hard work. The speedy outfielder was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the seventh round in 2004. He played four seasons in the minors, before joining the Capitales in 2009.

His resume spoke for itself, Scalabrini said, and he knew Boucher was going to be one of the leaders on the team's roster.

“I knew he could be a big guy for us,” he said.

“When he got back here his second year, his third year when he was feeling good, he was confident, he was a really great offensive machine in the league.”

That offensive machine, who now works for the Ottawa Titans as their assistant general manager, will be recognized with his place in Capitales history as part of their 25th anniversary celebrations.

To be honoured by the team and take a place in their history is a privilege for him, Boucher said.

“It's such an honour,” he said. “It's unexpected obviously, you never feel like really anything like that would ever happen to you, and if it did, I didn't think it was going to happen this young or this early.

“But it's extremely special, it's an extremely special honour to have that, and I'm looking forward to that day and really enjoying all the friends, the memories and kind of reliving those years back with them.”