Trois-Rivières Aigles (2013–)

Trois-Rivières Aigles
Team logo Cap insignia
Information
League	Frontier League (2020–present) (East Division)
Location	Trois-Rivières, Quebec
Ballpark	Stade Quillorama
Founded	2012
League championships	1 (2015)
Division championships	0
Former league(s)	Can-Am League (2013–2019)
Colours	Red, black, white
Mascot	Grand Chelem l'Aigle (in English: Grand Slam the Eagle)
Playoff berths	3 2015 2018 2019
Ownership	Emmanuel Turcotte, Michel Côté, Miles Wolff, Marc-Andre Bergeron, Éric Gagné
Manager	Matthew Rusch
General Manager	Simon Laliberté
Media	Le Nouvelliste, 106,9FM, CFOU 89,1FM
Website	lesaiglestr.com

The Trois-Rivières Aigles (French: Les Aigles de Trois-Rivières) are a professional baseball team based in Trois-Rivières. They compete in the Frontier League (FL) as a member of the East Division, and play their home games at the 4,000-seat Stade Quillorama, which opened in 1938 as the Stade Municipal de Trois-Rivières.

Founded and established by Emmanuel Turcotte, the team is the second franchise in Trois-Rivières to use the Trois-Rivières Aigles name. The original Trois-Rivières Aigles, founded in 1971, were affiliated to the Cincinnati Reds as a Double-A affiliate playing in the Eastern League. In addition, a team in the Ligue de Baseball Junior Élite du Québec bore that name, winning the 2007 pennant. The Aigles' mascot is Grand Chelem the Eagle.

History

After various attempts to place a franchise in Trois-Rivières (including various exhibition games), the Can-Am League finally announced the Aigles' membership on October 3, 2012. Notable co-owners include 2003 National League Cy Young Award winner Éric Gagné and Carolina Hurricanes defenceman Marc-André Bergeron.

On November 14, it was announced that Pierre-Luc Laforest would serve as the Aigles' inaugural manager. Laforest is best known for his time among the Aigles' provincial rivals the Québec Capitales, winning the Can-Am League MVP award in 2009 and serving as player/hitting coach in 2011 and 2012 (Laforest has been a member of all four of the Capitales' four consecutive Can-Am league pennant winners).

In 2015, the Aigles qualified for the playoffs for the first time in the franchise's history. On September 13, 2015, the Aigles defeated the Rockland Boulders in Game 5 by a score of 7–2 and won the opening series 3 games to 2 and advanced to the championship for the first time in franchise history. They played the New Jersey Jackals and defeated them 3 games to 2 to win the 2015 Can-Am League championship, their first in franchise history.

The team joined the Frontier League for the 2020 season when that league absorbed the Can-Am League in a merger. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and extended closure of the Canada–United States border, the league announced that the Aigles (along with the Québec Capitales) would be unable to compete for the 2020 season (which was eventually cancelled). The club later announced they intended to organize a separate league in Québec for the summer as an alternative, but these plans were eventually scrapped by both clubs.

The continued closure of the Canada–United States border, unfortunately resulted in pushing the Aigles first game in the FL to the 2022 season. Ottawa, Trois-Rivières and Québec were replaced on the 2021 schedule by Équipe Québec. Équipe Québec used the Canadian players from the Titans, Aigles and Capitales to craft the base of their roster and spent the first half of the season on the road, before returning to Canada in late July. Équipe Québec split home games between Stade Canac in Quebec City and Stade Quillorama in Trois-Rivières.

On July 30, 2021, Équipe Québec hosted the New York Boulders at Stade Canac and won the game 10–8 in front of a full house of 2,800 spectators, the maximum number allowed during sanitary measures. A full reset was done by the front office to immediately shift focus to the 2022 season.

On September 12, 2021, Équipe Québec qualified for the playoffs, and they faced the Washington Wild Things in the divisional round but lost 4–0 in game 5. The crowd of 3,750 gathered at Stade Canac during game 3 represented more than 900 people than the number allowed due to sanitary measures. Équipe Québec finished the season with a record of 52 wins and 44 losses with an average of 2,329 fans in 24 home games, including the playoffs.

Rivalries

Battle of Quebec: Québec Capitales vs. Trois-Rivières Aigles

The Battle of Quebec is a rivalry between the Québec Capitales and the Trois-Rivières Aigles. The teams compete in the same division and meet frequently during regular season games. The rivalry has been described as one of the Frontier League's top rivalries. The rivalry is because both teams are geographically in the same province of Quebec, and both stadiums are located within a distance of 90 kilometers. When the Aigles were formed in 2013, both teams named their own rivalry the Battle of Quebec, like the former famous Battle of Quebec rivalry between the Montreal Canadiens and the Quebec Nordiques of the National Hockey League. Due in part to the number of Capitales fans living in Trois-Rivières along with the Mauricie region, and in part of Trois-Rivières' relative proximity to Quebec City, Aigles–Capitales games at the Stade Quillorama in Trois-Rivières hold a more neutral audience. As of the end of the 2023 season, Québec leads the regular season record 98–77.

Ottawa Titans vs. Trois-Rivières Aigles (before-and-after COVID)

The Aigles' other rivalry is against the Ottawa Titans. Both teams compete in the same division and meet frequently during regular season games. The rivalry is due to both teams playing in the same country and the closeness of both provinces of Ontario and Quebec. As of the end of the 2023 season, Ottawa leads the all-time regular season record 50–46.

Current roster

Trois-Rivières Aigles roster

Active roster				Coaches/Other
Pitchers 32 Braeden Allemann 44 Shaun Atamanchuk 50 Osman Gutierrez 55 Logan Hofmann 26 Hernando Mejia 27 Michell Miliano  7 Kosei Naito 90 Angel Obando ‡ 29 Harry Rutkowski  8 Tucker Smith 13 Jesen Therrien 12 Yunio Thibo 28 Didier Vargas		Catchers 33 Jacob Carroll 23 Willie Estrada Infielders 18 Dalton Combs 20 Luis Curbelo 14 Brendon Dadson  3 Thomas Green  2 Payton Robertson 16 James Smibert 89 Enrique Valdez ‡ Outfielders 19 Steve Brown  6 Raphael Gladu 15 Rodrigo Orozco 30 LP Pelletier		Manager 22 Matthew Rusch Coaches 50 Osman Gutierrez (pitching) 10 Reed Lavallée (assistant) Disabled list ‡ Inactive list § Suspended list  updated July 1, 2024 Transactions

Notable alumni

• Pete Laforest (2013)
• Pedro López (2015)
• Éric Gagné (2015)
• Jerry Gil (2015)
• Andrew Taylor (2015)
• Ryan Bollinger (2014–2016)
• Danny Richar (2016)
• Andrew Chin (2017)
• Bubby Rossman (2019)
• Oscar Hernández (2023)
• Jesen Therrien (2023–present)
• Mario Feliciano (2024)

Season-by-season records

Trois-Rivières Aigles
Season	W–L Record	Win %	Finish	Playoffs
2013	43–56	.434	4th/5 in Can-Am League	Did not qualify for playoffs
2014	37–58	.474	4th/4 in Can-Am League	Did not qualify for playoffs
2015	50–46	.521	4th/6 in Can-Am League	Won Opening Round over Rockland Boulders 3–2 Won Championship over New Jersey Jackals 3–2
2016	35–65	.350	8th/8 in Can-Am League	Did not qualify for playoffs
2017	39–61	.390	6th/8 in Can-Am League	Did not qualify for playoffs
2018	53–49	.520	4th/8 in Can-Am League	Lost Opening Round to Sussex County Miners 3–2
2019	58–37	.611	2nd/9 in Can-Am League	Lost Opening Round to New Jersey Jackals 3–2
2020	—	—	—	Season cancelled due to COVID-19
2021	Did not play. See note	—	—	--
2022	45–50	.474	7th/8 in FL East	Did not qualify for playoffs
2023	38–57	.400	7th/8 in FL East	Did not qualify for playoffs
Totals	450–523	.463	—	12–13

1: In 2021, Équipe Québec, a combination of the Aigles, Quebec Capitales and the Ottawa Titans playing in the Frontier League. With a record of 52–44, they finished first in the Atlantic Division, and lost the Division Series to the Washington Wild Things 3-2.

External links

• Official website