The Capitals promise circuits and fireworks for their return

The head coach does not hide having prioritized the offensive, this winter, by assembling the 2022 version of the Capitals.

I feel a little bad for the branches of the old trees in Victoria Park over the left field fence, but we’re going to break some of them. We have several big guys who have a history of hitting the long ball and we should produce a lot of pointslaunched Scalabrini with a smirk, Thursday noon, at a press conference.

The latter admits to having been influenced by his experience last summer at the helm of the defunct Team Quebec. A formation whose offensive prowess has often redeemed see-saw performances on the mound, leading to spectacular comebacks.

It was very exciting and I got a lot of talk about it. People like that, offense and home runs, so I put the emphasis on that.

A quartet of home run hitters

So it’s no surprise that Team Quebec’s two leaders in RBIs last season, local star David Glaude and Dominican receiver Jeffrey Para are back on the Capitals roster.

Added to this are two new power hitters. After a few years in affiliate baseball, American Josh McAdams hit 22 homers last season in the Atlantic League. The imposing first baseman will combine the positions of player and batting coach with the Capitals this summer.

An offensive dynamo with Team Quebec last season, David Glaude will finally be able to wear the uniform of the team of his childhood, the Capitals.

Photo: Philip Hoops Jr.

The Dominican Pedro Gonzalez, meanwhile, will try to use this season in Quebec as a springboard to return to affiliate baseball. In 2019, at 21, the giant format outfielder had hit 23 home runs at level A in the organization of the Rangers from Texas.

It’s dangerous to make predictions. There are people who thought Cole Caufield was going to score 40 goals this season with the Canadiensjoked Patrick Scalabrini, Thursday. But we have at least four guys who should hit about 15 home runs.

Not to mention the two Cuban hitters who have not yet arrived in Quebec.

The future of the Capitals assured

Alongside Scalabrini, Michel Laplante admitted to living an emotional day. It’s been hard, but we’re proudlaunched the president about the last two years during which his organization has gone out of his way to ensure the future of the Capitals in the Frontier League.

It would have been very easy to say that there was nothing to do, leave the league and let the 12 American cities play against each other. But when we would have tried to re-enter the circuit this year, we would probably have been told that it was going well without us and we would have found ourselves without a league.

Michel Laplante, President of the Capitals of Quebec

Photo: Radio-Canada / Jean-Philippe Martin

In this sense, last season’s bet, the formation of a Quebec team that spent the first eleven weeks of the season on the road south of the border, has paid off. The Capitales, the Trois-Rivières Aigles and the Ottawa Titans now form a trio of Canadian teams in a 16-team Frontier League. A number that makes it the largest independent baseball circuit in North America.

No doubt, assures Michel Laplante, the future of the Capitals is now assured. Especially since the team signed a record number of partnerships this winter, and the number of young people registered in minor baseball in the greater Quebec City region is at its highest in decades.

The Capitals begin their training camp Friday at Henri-Casault Park in Charlesbourg, weather permitting, or in the dome of Stade Canac. The team begins its season on May 13 in Illinois. The home opener in Quebec City will take place on May 24.