The City of Moncton is set to celebrate the life and legacy of Rheal Cormier, a hometown baseball hero, this weekend at the Paul “Tubby” Melanson Tournament by naming a street in his honour. The crack of the bat will carry extra meaning at the tournament on Sunday, as the New Brunswick baseball community remembers Cormier, the former MLB pitcher from Cap-Pele, who passed away in 2021 after a battle with cancer. Randy Steel, a coach with the Capital District Islanders U13 team from Prince Edward Island, said the tournament is special. “It’s an outstanding tournament. It’s been running for a lot of years and there’s a big ceremony for Rheal Cormier this weekend.” The street naming is a tribute to Cormier’s impact on the sport. “I think the kids look up to see that a player from Atlantic Canada made it to the top league,” Steel said. Cormier spent sixteen seasons in the major leagues, playing for teams like Philadelphia, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Montreal, and Boston. However, his journey to the big leagues began in New Brunswick. Ralph Chambers, founder of the Moncton Mets, a longtime teammate, coach, and friend, recalls Cormier’s rise from senior baseball in Moncton in ’86 to the majors. “You knew he was going to be a good one,” Chambers said. “We had a coach in Rhode Island who was able to help and actually got down to the Rhode Island Community College… and from there he got signed by the St. Louis Cardinals.” Chambers noted that Cormier, who also represented Team Canada, never forgot his roots. “It was so special in the baseball community, especially in New Brunswick, because here was one of our own making it to the top. And then to stay there and have the remarkable career that he did, it was just fantastic.” Chambers remembers Red Deer Chambers shared a specific memory of Cormier’s talent on display for the Moncton Mets during the senior national tournament in Red Deer, Alberta in 1987: “The tournament was a little different. 2 or 3 team divisions, [Rheal] pitched one of the games and he didn’t have his outing that we all thought he was capable of…. He was disappointed. I was coaching that year and he asked for the ball back that very next game, and he took it and he was incredible…He had the best stuff that we saw, he ended up winning the bronze medal game for us and pitched a complete game…When he was dominating we knew he was at a level that we don’t see around here too often.” Moncton Minor Baseball says many of Cormier’s family and friends will attend the street sign unveiling. Chambers hopes the street naming will inspire young players. “Those kids that drive on that street every time they’re going to the ballpark, some of them may not know who he is. Once they see and start asking their parents and grandparents, they will certainly know who Rheal was and what he meant to baseball.” For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
