Vancouver Canadians won’t start playing baseball games for another two months, but Brent Lavallee is already plotting another league title for the team.
The North Delta native will return to manage the reigning Northwest League champions for a third straight summer.
The MLB Toronto Blue Jays made the announcement Monday, Jan. 29, among other moves for its family of minor-league affiliates, meaning Lavallee will once again stand on the top step of the dugout at Rogers Field at Nat Bailey Stadium.
Lavallee said he’s excited to return “home” for another season with what he calls one of the best minor-league teams in the world.
“Coming back to Vancouver has been great, and then some,” he said.
“I grew up going to games at the Nat, so it’s been special for me. It’s all been an absolutely surreal opportunity for me in Vancouver, almost too good to be true.”
In the winter months Lavallee lives with his wife and kids near Tampa, not far from where the Blue Jays have their spring training complex, in Dunedin.
The complex is already buzzing, he reported in a phone call from Florida.
“We’ve been going for awhile here, just camps, catchers in right now,” Lavallee explained. “It’s kind of full-tilt but just selected groups at this moment, and then pitchers and catchers report mid-February for us, a couple of weeks before it gets crazy, ready to get back at it.”
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In Delta more than a decade ago, Lavallee was named Male Amateur Athlete of the Year in 2010 for baseball skills that took him from the parks of North Delta to LSU Shreveport, a Division 1 NAIA School, where he played and coached for many years.
From age six to 17, he was with North Delta Baseball Association, including the Blue Jays of the B.C. Premier Baseball League (PBL).
“I never wore another jersey growing up,” Lavallee noted. “I grew up in one house there and yeah, I’m very much a North Delta guy, a Delta guy, and proud of it.”
He still has family in Metro Vancouver, some still involved in sports. His “semi-retired” father, Wes, reffed hockey games in North Delta for years, and now cares for horses. Brother Reed is a hitting coach for a baseball team in Quebec and is also involved in the White Rock Tritons organization of the PBL. Another brother, Millan, is a Burnaby firefighter.
“The last two years (with the Canadians), I’ve lived at Reed’s place when he takes off for Quebec,” Lavallee explained, “and then my wife and kids come up and join me when school is done. This year I’ll probably be staying in Ladner, and then when my family comes, we’ll move down to the Little Mountain area, closer to the ballpark.”
With the C’s, Lavallee had a 67-win season in 2022 and 77 last year, and needs 56 more to become one of the few managers in team history to reach the 200-win mark.
The season gets going April 5 in Spokane, and opening night at “the Nat” is Tuesday, April 9.
“We fly there on Easter, March 31st,” Lavallee said, “and we’ll have our first workout at the stadium on April 1, I think it is, through that week. We’ll have workouts in Vancouver, a travel day and then a game. It gets going fast.”
With the High-A Canadians, the only affiliated MiLB team in Canada, Lavallee will skipper a crew that includes returning staffers Austin Bibens-Dirkx (pitching coach), Ryan Wright (hitting), Ashley Stephenson (position), Katie Reyes and Raul Pimentel. Other coaches will include former Canadian infielder Deiferson Barreto (bench) and newcomers Carson Phillips (bullpen), Rob Shifrin, Bailey Forst, Zane Hunt, Alexis Maier and Cristian Cordova.
Added Lavallee: “We look forward to showcasing some of the best players that the Blue Jays have coming up through the system and defending our title from 2023.”
For tickets and more information visit CanadiansBaseball.com or call 604-872-5232.