The Trois-Rivières Aigles (

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

: ''Aigles de Trois-Rivières''), officially Le club de baseball des Aigles, are a professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

team based in

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 ...

. The Aigles compete in the

Frontier League The Frontier League (FL; French: ''Ligue Frontière'', LF) is a professional baseball league in North America composed of 18 teams – 15 in the United States and 3 in Canada. The FL is one of the eight independent baseball leagues in North Ame ...

(FL) as a member of the North Division in the Atlantic Conference. The team plays its home games at the 4,000-seat

Stade Quillorama Stade Quillorama is a baseball stadium in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada. It is primarily used for baseball, and is the home of the Trois-Rivières Aigles of the Frontier League (FL). The ballpark has a seating capacity of 4,000 people, and a sta ...

, which opened in 1938 as ''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 The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

as a Double-A affiliate playing in the Eastern League. In addition, a team in the

Ligue de Baseball Junior Élite du Québec The Quebec Junior Elite Baseball League (QJEBL; French: ''Ligue de baseball junior élite Québec'', LBJEQ) is the top-level amateur summer baseball league in the Canadian province of Quebec. It is composed entirely of junior elite players - the ...

bore that name, winning the 2007 pennant. The Aigles have made three playoff appearances, and won the 2015 Can-Am League Championship against the

New Jersey Jackals The New Jersey Jackals are a professional baseball team based in Paterson, New Jersey. The Jackals compete in the Frontier League (FL) as a member of the East Division in the Atlantic Conference. The team was founded in 1998 by Floyd Hall and is ...

in five games.

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 The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (baseball), National League (NL). The award was introduced in 1956 by Commissioner of Baseball ( ...

winner

Éric Gagné Éric Serge Gagné (; born January 7, 1976) is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher who played 10 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), most notably for the Los Angeles Dodgers. After signing with the Dodgers as a free agent in 1995 ...

and

Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Hurricanes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Con ...

defenceman

Marc-André Bergeron Joseph Marc-André Bergeron (born October 13, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played ten seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) before spending the later years of his career with the ZSC Lions of the Natio ...

. On November 14, 2012, it was announced that Pierre-Luc Laforest would serve as the Aigles' first

field manager In baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of ...

. Laforest is best known for his time among the Aigles' provincial rivals, the

Québec Capitales The Québec Capitales ( French: Capitales de Québec and often referred to as the Caps) are a professional baseball team based in Quebec City. The Capitales compete in the Frontier League (FL) as a member of the North Division in the Atlantic Confe ...

, winning the Can-Am League MVP award in 2009 and serving as player/hitting coach in 2011 and 2012. He was a member of all four of the Capitales' four consecutive Can-Am League pennant winners. The Aigles played their inaugural home opener on May 28, 2013, and won the game 10–1 against the

St. Paul Saints The St. Paul Saints are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and have played their home games at CHS Field since 2015. They previ ...

in front of a near-capacity crowd of 3,784. However, the attendance numbers steadily declined from there, except for a modest increase in August. By the end of the season, Trois-Rivières had the lowest average attendance in the league, averaging 1,643 fans per game, and have not qualified for the playoffs. Stade Quillorama 01

On August 28, 2015, a stadium record crowd of 6,022 invaded the Stade Fernand-Bédard as former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

pitcher

was the starting pitcher for one game in a Aigles uniform, and the Aigles were able to pull a 5–3 win against their provincial rival Québec Capitales. At the end of the season, the Aigles qualified for the playoffs for the first time in the franchise's history, and have defeated the Rockland Boulders in the semifinals in five games. They advanced to the Can-Am League Championship Finals and have played the

to defeat them 3 games to 2 to win the 2015 Can-Am League Championship. The 2015 season was also notable for the Aigles for drawing 96,997 people to its ballpark for an average of 1,865, including several sellouts of 4,000 people or more during the regular season. The team joined the

for the 2020 season when that league absorbed the Can-Am League in a merger. However, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and extended closure of the

Canada–United States border The international border between Canada and the United States is the longest in the world by total length. The boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Canada' ...

, 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

, unfortunately resulted in pushing the Aigles’ first game in the FL to the 2022 season. Ottawa, Québec, and Trois-Rivières were replaced on the 2021 schedule by a travelling team named ''Équipe Québec''. Équipe Québec used the Canadian players from the

Ottawa Titans The Ottawa Titans (French: ''Titans d'Ottawa''), officially ''Ottawa Titans Baseball Club'' (Club de baseball des Titans d'Ottawa), are a professional baseball team based in Ottawa. The Titans compete in the Frontier League (FL) as a member of t ...

, Québec Capitales and Trois-Rivières Aigles 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 Stade Canac is a Ballpark, baseball stadium in Quebec City, Quebec that is currently the home of the Québec Capitales of the Frontier League (FL). Originally opened in 1939, it has a seating capacity of 4,297 and is located within the boundaries ...

in Quebec City and

in Trois-Rivières. On July 30, 2021, Équipe Québec hosted the

New York Boulders The New York Boulders are a professional baseball team based in Pomona, New York. The Boulders compete in the Frontier League (FL) as a member of the East Division in the Atlantic Conference. The team plays its home games at Clover Stadium, a s ...

at Stade Canac and won the game 10–8 in front of a full house of 2,800 people, the maximum number that was allowed due to the

Government of Quebec The Government of Quebec (, ) is the body responsible for the administration of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. The term is typically used to refer to the executive of the day (i.e. Minister of the Crown, mini ...

's public health restrictions. On September 12, 2021, Équipe Québec qualified for the playoffs, and then faced the

Washington Wild Things The Washington Wild Things are a professional baseball team based in Washington, Pennsylvania The team competes in the Frontier League (FL) as a member of the Midwest Division and is owned by Stu and Francine Williams. They play their home games ...

in the best-of-five Frontier League Division Series (FLDS). The capacity crowd of 4,287 gathered at Stade Canac during Game 3 represented nearly 1,500 more people than the number allowed due to public health restrictions, and Québec were able to pull a 3–2 win over the Wild Things. They however lost Game 4 and 5 at home, which made an end to their very unique season. Équipe Québec finished the season first place in the Atlantic Division with a record of 52 wins and 44 losses with an average of 2,198 fans in 24 home games, including the playoffs. A full reset was done by the team's front office to immediately shift focus on the 2022 season.

Rivalries

Québec Capitales

The Trois-Rivières Aigles' main rivalry is against the

. It is also sometimes referred as the ''Battle of Quebec'', following the old rivalry between the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...

and the

Quebec Nordiques The Quebec Nordiques (, pronounced in Quebec French, in Canadian English; translated "Northmen" or "Northerners") were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The Nordiques played in the World Hockey Association (1972–1979) an ...

which had the same name. The teams compete in the same division and meet frequently during regular season games. Although they have never faced each other in a playoff series, the rivalry remains significant due to the 85-kilometre distance between the two home fields (

and

, respectively), and that they are the only two FL teams located in the province of Quebec. The rivalry began before the FL existed, as the

Quebec Athletics The Quebec Bulldogs () were an ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The team was officially known as the Quebec Hockey Club (), and later as the Quebec Athletic Club (). One of the first organized ice hockey clubs, the club debuted in 1878 with ...

and Trois-Rivières Royals competed in the Provincial League. Quebec City and Trois-Rivières teams first competed against each other in 1939 in the minor

Quebec Provincial League The Provincial League, sometimes known as the Quebec Provincial League, was a minor league baseball league based in the Canadian province of Quebec. It went through a number of incarnations during the 20th century, spending time as both an independ ...

. As of the end of the 2024 season, Québec leads the regular season record 106–81.

Ottawa Titans

The rivalry between the former

Ottawa Champions The Ottawa Champions (French: ''Champions d'Ottawa''), officially ''Ottawa Champions Baseball Club'' (Le club de baseball des Champions) and colloquially known as the Champs, were a professional baseball team based in Ottawa. The Champions compe ...

and the Trois-Rivières Aigles and later, the contemporary

began before the

, as both teams played in the

Can-Am League The Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball, commonly known as the Can-Am League, was a professional baseball league with teams in Eastern Canada and Northeastern United States. Founded in 2005 in Dayton, Ohio, the league was for ...

beginning in 2015. The teams first played each other on July 23, 2015, with the Champions defeating the Aigles 9–8. Since 2022 in the Frontier League, The Aigles and the contemporary Titans face each other often as they both compete in the North Division. Fueling the rivalry is the cities' proximity to each other. There is only a three-hour drive from Ottawa to Trois-Rivières via

Quebec Autoroute 40 Autoroute 40, officially known as Autoroute Félix-Leclerc outside Montreal and Metropolitan Autoroute/Autoroute Métropolitaine within Montreal, is an Autoroutes of Quebec, Autoroute on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River in the Provinces ...

and

Ontario Highway 417 King's Highway 417, commonly referred to as Highway 417 and as the Queensway through Ottawa, is a 400-series highway in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. It connects Ottawa with Montreal via Quebec Autoroute 4 ...

, plus some bus connections. The current Ottawa Titans' first game against Trois-Rivières was held in Ottawa on June 7, 2022, where the Titans beat the Aigles 5–3. As of the end of the 2024 season, Ottawa leads the all-time regular season record 54–53.

Season-by-season records

*In 2021, Équipe Québec, a combination of the Ottawa Titans, Québec Capitales and Trois-Rivières Aigles, played in the Frontier League. With a record of 52–44, they finished 1st place in the Atlantic Division, but lost the Division Series to the

3 games to 2.

Current roster

Notable alumni

* Pete Laforest (2013) * Pedro López (2015) *

(2015) *

Jerry Gil Jerry Bienvenido Gil Manzanillo (born October 14, 1982) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher. Gil made his MLB debut in with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Gil played almost exclusively shortstop in the minor leagues until when he became ...

(2015) * Andrew Taylor (2015) * Ryan Bollinger (2014–2016) *

Danny Richar Danny Adam Richar (born June 9, 1983) is a Dominican former professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball for the Chicago White Sox and Cincinnati Reds, Richar had a .229 batting average, six home runs, and 18 runs bat ...

(2016) * Andrew Chin (2017) *

Bubby Rossman Charles Irvin "Bubby" Rossman (born June 29, 1992) is an American-Israeli professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He played college baseball for Cerritos College and California State University, Dominguez Hills. He was selected in the ...

(2019) * Oscar Hernández (2023) * Jesen Therrien (2023–present) *

Mario Feliciano Mario Javier Feliciano (born November 20, 1998) is a Puerto Rican professional baseball catcher for the Rieleros de Aguascalientes of the Mexican League. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers. Career ...

(2024)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Trois-Rivières Aigles Sport in Trois-Rivières Baseball teams in Quebec Baseball teams established in 2012 Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball teams Frontier League teams