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Welcome to MTL Baseball!

That’s me with the goofy grin up there. My name is Jan Sauvé-Frankel and I’m a huge baseball fan. I’m guessing you are too since you’re on this site. Thanks for checking the site out, I really appreciate it.

You’re probably wondering what this site is all about and why I decided to put it together. If you weren’t…well, it’s my site, so I’ll tell you anyway.

I became a fan of baseball back when I was nine years old. When I was seven, my mom signed me up for Little League and that’s when I started playing. I wasn’t happy about it at the time so I became one of those kids who was more interested in picking up grass from the field rather than run to the ball that was headed over my head. Yeah, I was one of those kids. So, after my first season of baseball, I told my mom I didn’t want to play.

Two years later, I started playing pickup baseball with kids on the school playground and started to see why people enjoyed the game. At the same time, the Blue Jays were in the playoffs a year before they won their first World Series, and I watched most of the games on television.

That’s when I fell in love with the game. I’ve been hooked ever since.

I’ve played both Little League baseball and gone through the Baseball Quebec program. I also played for the Concordia Stingers when I was in university. My position of choice was left bench. Seriously, I didn’t play much because I wasn’t all that good. The highlight of my university playing career was getting a single off an Académie du Baseball Canada pitcher at the Olympic Stadium. But, since there’s no proof online of that, you can read all about some random 10-pitch at-bat I had against a Laval pitcher here.

I’ve also coached at the Little League level and had some success in the Notre-Dame-de-Grace Baseball organization. Our 2004 team even came within one win of competing in the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

 

I also served as an assistant coach on the McGill Redmen baseball team for four seasons and even had the opportunity to win a CIBA National Championship with the team in 2010.

I no longer coach, but I still play senior baseball for the Indians in the Baseball West Island Senior League. You can usually see me pitch a few innings every two weeks at Gary Carter field at Pierre-Elliott Trudeau Park in Côte Saint-Luc in the summer. I say every two weeks because that’s about all my shoulder can take these days.

 

So what’s this site all about?

Enough about me, because this site isn’t about my less-than-stellar exploits on the baseball field.

This site is about how baseball still lives in our city, despite the fact that we no longer have a professional team and that Montreal Canadiens hockey will always be the number one sports attraction for Montrealers.

I want to build an online space for people who have a passion for baseball and who want to see the game grow in Montreal. My little baseball story pales in comparison to the countless people in and around our city who have been giving something back to the game that has given them such immense pleasure over the years.

Montreal has a rich baseball history and a strong community of players, coaches and fans who continue to work to build a lasting culture around the sport that we all hold dear.

This site is about those people. It’s about you.

MTL Baseball is for the die-hards who want to attend all local baseball-themed events to show their support for individuals and organizations who grow interest and passion for the game. It’s for the experienced players and coaches who want to hone their skills and the novices who want to learn more about the game.

My goal for this site is to offer engaging content that will appeal to as many people in the Montreal baseball community as possible.

I’ll be adding content in the form of feature articles, interviews, videos and much more as the site grows. You’ll also be able to read my opinion on certain topics related to the game in the Blog section.

I look forward to meeting with you all and engaging with you about this great game that we all love.

Baseball lives in our city.

Jan #20