Jean Claude Marc Raymond (born May 7, 1937) is a former pitcher for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

(1959),

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Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

(1961–63, 1967–69),

Houston Colt .45's The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division, having moved to the div ...

(1964–67) and

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

(1969–71). He was one of the few baseball players to wear glasses during that era and as he came from the province of

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

was nicknamed "Frenchy".

Playing career

Raymond pitched in three games for Chicago in early 1959. Although he was traded from the

National League West The National League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was formed for the 1969 season when the National League expanded to 12 teams by adding the San Diego Padres and the Montreal Expos. For purpose of keeping a re ...

-leading Atlanta Braves to the expansion Montreal Expos in 1969, Raymond remarked this was one of the happiest moments of his life as he was able to play for his home province. In 12 seasons he compiled a 46–53 record, appeared in 449 games, started 7 games, recorded 2 complete games, 270 games finished, 83 saves, 721 innings pitched, 711 hits allowed, 338 runs allowed, 293 earned runs allowed, 75 home runs allowed, 225 walks allowed, 497 strikeouts, 28 hit batsmen, 32 wild pitches, 3,048 batters faced, 54 intentional walks, 4 balks and a 3.66 ERA.

Post-playing career

After his playing career, Raymond worked as a French-language broadcaster with the Expos from 1972 to 2001. During the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, Raymond was the public address announcer for baseball. The

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

required that announcements at Olympic venues must also be made in French, which made Raymond, who had previously pitched in Atlanta, well-suited for the job. He was also an Expos English-language broadcaster in 2004, their last season in Montreal. Raymond joined the Expos staff as a roving coach in 2002 and served until the team left Montreal after the 2004 campaign to become the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

Honours and awards

Raymond was named to the 1966 National League All-Star Team. Raymond was inducted into the

Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (french: Temple de la renommée du baseball canadien) is a museum located in St. Marys, Ontario, Canada. The museum commemorates great players, teams, and accomplishments of baseball in Canada. His ...

in 1984, in its second year of operation. In June 2019 Raymond was appointed a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

References

External links

Canada Sports Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raymond, Claude 1937 births Atlanta Braves players Atlanta Crackers players Baseball people from Quebec Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Canadian expatriate baseball players in the United States Chicago White Sox players Evansville Braves players Houston Astros players Houston Colt .45s players Jacksonville Braves players Living people Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Major League Baseball broadcasters Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Canada Members of the Order of Canada Milwaukee Braves players Montreal Expos announcers Montreal Expos coaches Montreal Expos players National League All-Stars People from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu Sacramento Solons players Baseball players from Montreal Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Vancouver Mounties players West Palm Beach Indians players Wichita Braves players