Hall of Famer Rheal Cormier passes away
Rheal was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2012 along with Rusty Staub, Doug Melvin and the 2011 Baseball Canada Pam-Am gold medal winning team.
“We are deeply saddened by the passing of Rheal Cormier,” said Scott Crawford, the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s director of operations. “Not only was he was one of the greatest major league relief pitchers ever to come from Canada, but he was a wonderful and charismatic guy who was proud of his Canadian roots and loved his family deeply. That was clear at his induction ceremony in 2012. I can’t recall another inductee who had more family in attendance at their ceremony. We would like to extend our deepest condolences to his wife Lucienne, son Justin and daughter Morgan at this difficult time.”
Born: Moncton, New Brunswick April 23, 1967
Died: March 8, 2021
Rheal’s Canadian pitching rankings:
2nd games pitched with 683 (Paul Quantrill 1st with 841)
2nd in years pitched with 16 (tied with Ryan Dempster; Fergie Jenkins 1st with 19)
8th wins with 71
10th in strikeouts with 760
11th in innings pitched with 1221.2
12th in games started with 108
Rheal’s Canadian and Hall of Fame teammates:
1995 Red Sox Matt Stairs
1996 Expos Vladimir Guerrero, Pedro Martinez, Derek Aucoin
1997 Expos Vladimir Guerrero, Pedro Martinez, Mike Johnson
1999 and 2000 Red Sox Pedro Martinez
2001 Phillies Rob Ducey
2006 Phillies Scott Mathieson
2007 Reds Joey Votto
MLB Career – 1991-97, 1998-2007
St. Louis, Boston, Montreal, Philadephia, Cincinnati
71 W, 4.03 ERA, 683 G, 108 GS, 7 CG, 1221.2 IP, SO 760
*Best season was in 2003 with Philadelphia: 8 wins, 1.70 ERA, 65 games, 84.2 innings pitched and 67 strikeouts
Baseball Canada Career:
1985 Youth National Team
1987 Pan Am Games in Indianapolis
1988 Olympics in Seoul
2006 World Baseball Classic
2008 Olympics in Beijing.
We send our sincere condolences to Rhéal’s his wife Lucienne, son Justin and daughter Morgan.
