Charles LeBlanc: When the Improbable Becomes a Reality (Chronicle by Mark…

When someone from our region reaches the top of their game, we have something to be proud of. Charles LeBlanc’s story has been the talk of the town for the past two weeks, but have you stopped for a moment to consider just how close to zero his chances of ever making it to major league baseball are? Furthermore, Charles has maintained an impressive .829 power and presence average along with a .333 batting average in 15 games with the Marlins thus far. (at the baseball average of .710).

In the United States, there are approximately 16 million baseball players, with just under 500,000 enrolled in a high school baseball program. Of that number, only 9% end up in a college program, and of those 9%, only 2% go on to NCAA Division 1. So getting drafted by a Major League Baseball team is a feat in itself. About 30% of Major League Baseball players come from countries other than the United States, which doesn’t leave much room for those who, at age 12, can dream of playing in the MLB.

Back to Charles. A man from Laval whose father shared his love for the sport. This is the key point here. Love his sport. You can be great at a sport, enjoy playing it, but to cross the jungle like Charles did, you have to be passionate about it.

Drafted by the Brewers in the 33rd round in 2013 out of his Georges-Vanier high school, LeBlanc’s clan wisely decided it would be best to develop into the university ranks, in addition to playing with the Canadian junior team, which he did admirably. By being drafted in the 4th round by the Texas Rangers in 2016…