The Quebec Major Baseball League (QMBL;
French: ''Ligue de Baseball Majeur du Québec'', LBMQ) is a senior (23 and over) amateur baseball league in the
Canadian
Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...
province of
Quebec
Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
. It is the highest level of non-professional baseball in the province of Quebec.
History
The league is the result of the 2002 amalgamation of several men's senior elite level baseball teams in the province of Quebec. The league from
Montreal
Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
, the ''Ligue de Baseball Senior de Montréal'', merged with those of the
Quebec City
Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...
and
Trois-Rivières
Trois-Rivières (, ; ) is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...
areas. There were originally ten teams, five from the Montreal area, four from Quebec City and one from Trois-Rivières. A year later, the senior-level league teams from the
Estrie
Estrie () is an List of Quebec regions, administrative region of Quebec that comprises the Eastern Townships. ''Estrie'', a French neologism, was coined as a derivative of ''est'', "east". Originally settled by anglophones, today it is about 90 pe ...
and
Bas-Saint-Laurent
The Bas-Saint-Laurent (, 'Lower Saint-Lawrence) is an administrative region of Quebec located along the south shore of the lower Saint Lawrence River in Quebec. The river widens at this place, later becoming a bay that discharges into the Atlan ...
leagues joined bringing the total up to 15. In 2009, the league became the sole senior elite baseball league in Quebec when the ''Ligue de Baseball Senior Majeur du Québec'' folded, and its four teams joined the LBEQ.
In 2004, the LBSEQ became the first in Quebec to use wooden
baseball bat
A baseball bat is a smooth wooden or metal Club (weapon), club used in the sport of baseball to hit the Baseball (ball), ball after it is thrown by the pitcher. By regulation it may be no more than in diameter at the thickest part and no more t ...
s exclusively. Other competitive levels of play in Quebec have since followed suit (senior, junior and midget).
In its seven years of existence, the LBSEQ has represented Quebec in the
Baseball Canada Senior Men's Championship each year and has earned four medals. These were a bronze in 2002, a gold in 2003, a bronze in 2004 and a silver in 2008.
The LBSEQ a well traveled league has also participated in various tournaments outside of Quebec. In 2008, they played in the
4 Nations Cup
The 4 Nations Cup is an annual women's ice hockey tournament, held between four major national teams in the sport; currently, these are Canada, the United States, Sweden and Finland. Until 2000, when Sweden joined, the tournament was the 3 Natio ...
in
Liège
Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...
against professional teams from
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
and
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. In 2009, the LBSEQ participated in a tournament in Rouen, France hosted by the local team the
Huskies, along with teams from Germany, the USA and the
French national team. In 2008, the league participated in and won the
Vintage Base Ball World Series in
Massachusetts
Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
.
It competed against the
Intercounty Baseball League
The Intercounty Baseball League (IBL) is a Canadian baseball league, comprising teams of college players and others from North America and beyond. The teams are located in Southern Ontario.
The league was formed in 1919 and has enjoyed much succ ...
of
Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
in the
2010 New Era All-Star Classic.
In 2013, with the league's growing caliber and reputation, the league's leaders made the decision to rename it the Ligue de baseball majeur du Québec (LBMQ).
Teams
Champions
*2024: Victoriaville Cactus
*2023: Acton Vale Castors
*2022: Thetford Mines Blue Sox
*2021: Shawinigan Cascades
*2020: Victoriaville Cactus
*2019: Thetford Mines Blue Sox
*2018: Thetford Mines Blue Sox
*2017: Acton Vale Castors
*2016: Thetford Mines Blue Sox
*2015: Thetford Mines Blue Sox
*2014: Thetford Mines Blue Sox
*2013: Thetford Mines Blue Sox
*2012: Thetford Mines Blue Sox
*2011: Acton Vale Castors
*2010: St-Jérôme TPX
*2009: Sherbrooke Expos
*2008: Trois-Rivières Vertdure
*2007: Victoriaville 4*44
*2006: Rivière-du-Loup Ciel
*2005: Rivière-du-Loup Ciel
*2004: Sherbrooke Indiens
*2003: Montreal
*2002: Laval
See also
*
Baseball awards#Canada
References
External links
LBMQ.ca
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ligue de Baseball Senior Majeur du Quebec
Summer baseball leagues
1
2002 establishments in Quebec
Sports leagues established in 2002