In their quest for a fourth consecutive championship, the Quebec Capitales could well receive a little additional help from Japan in 2025.
Manager Patrick Scalabrini must leave Quebec on Thursday and spend around ten days in the land of the rising sun.
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“I was invited by businessmen to head an independent league there,” summarized Scalabrini, a few days before departure. It’s an interesting market for us. We will see if we are able to find players, but also evaluate the possibility of developing a longer-term partnership.
In the immediate future, a camp will take place in a district of Tokyo, under the eyes of the Quebec manager. Optimistic, Scalabrini does not, however, have excessive expectations regarding this journey.
“We think that Japan may be a market to which other teams in the Frontier League do not give the same importance,” says the manager, citing financial reasons related to work visas in the United States.
“For me, this trip above all demonstrates that Pat has the ability to distinguish himself to develop avenues in the recruitment of our players,” commented Charles Demers, worthy successor to Michel Laplante as president of the Capitals. This quality of Pat helps to make the difference.
“Japan becomes an additional option for the Capitals,” added Demers, in turn moderating expectations. In the short term, do we think we’ll find a gold nugget there? Not necessarily.”
After Kohigashi…
Last year, the Capitals already had a positive experience with a Japanese pitcher, Ryo Kohigashi. Present 35 times on the mound, mainly as a reliever, the left-hander maintained an excellent earned run average of 2.66 in 61 innings of work. First arriving in North America to play in Drummondville in 2023, in the Quebec Major Baseball League, Kohigashi had 87 strikeouts in the Capitals uniform during the regular season.
During the qualifiers, the Japanese did particularly well. On September 8 in Quebec, he gave up only one run in two and two-thirds innings, when he came on as a reliever in this third and final game of the semi-final against the Ottawa Titans. He also stood out when he found himself in a grocery cart, shirtless and with a pink cowboy hat on his head, during the celebrations on the Canac stadium field.
Ryo Kohigashi, last September 8 at the Canac stadium, during the Capitals celebrations at the end of the semi-final.
Photo DIDIER DEBUSSCHERE
“To have seen Ryo like that with his belly in a basket going around the goals, it was worth gold, to recognize Scalabrini while laughing heartily. Japanese people like Ryo are quite shy by nature, they are not that extroverted people.”
The example of Yuhi Sako
Several prospects from the Musashi Bears, who are members of the Baseball Challenge League, should be scrutinized by the manager of the Capitals. If certain players interest Quebec, Scalabrini will obviously be able to sell them the idea of experiencing North American baseball.
“A stay with the Capitals can serve as a springboard,” believes the manager. Affiliate baseball prospects are often promoted. We don’t dangle anything that would be inaccessible. We are honest through all of this, because it is also a way for us to recruit.
Scalabrini cites the example of Yuhi Sako, a reliever with the New Jersey Jackals who, after two seasons with that team, managed to land, at age 25, a minor league contract with the New York Mets organization in December last. He can certainly represent a model to follow for the Japanese and an element of persuasion for Scalabrini and the Capitals.
