Exciting news from the Blue Jays farm system yesterday, as Vancouver Canadians manager Brent Lavallee amassed his 200th win at the helm of the squad – joining an elite group of three others who have won with a professional baseball team based out of the city (Charlie Metro, Don Long, and Mickey Vernon).

Baseball has been a part of the city of Vancouver, B.C. since 1951, with the Vancouver Capilanos, Mounties, and Canadians as well as the UBC Thunderbirds calling Nat Bailey Stadium home at one time or another. The Canadians, who have been affiliated with the Toronto Blue Jays since 2011, have been playing at the stadium since 2000 under their current umbrella but had a spell as a member of the Pacific Coast League from 1978 to 1999 under the same moniker.

Suiting up as a catcher during his playing days, Lavallee took his talents to LSU Shreveport (NAIA) and ended up staying with the program following his playing days. He started as a graduate assistant coach for the 2011-2012 season and became manager from 2017 through 2019. He earned the Red River Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honour in 2017 and 2019.

Lavallee, who hails from Delta, became the Canadians manager during the 2021/2022 offseason and has been the manager for the Jays affiliate ever since. He was named Vancouver’s manager before the 2020 season but that year was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The following campaign, the Jays had him manage the Florida Complex League squad for a solo season, posting a 25-29 record in his first professional season.

In his first year in the Northwest League, Lavallee guided the Canadians to the Championships while securing the second playoff spot by finishing second in the latter-half standings (behind Eugene, who were already heading to the Championships after winning the first half). With a regular season record of 67-62, the Canadians came up short against a tough Eugene squad, losing the series 3-0.

Looking for revenge, Lavallee guided the Canadians to an early postseason spot by winning the first half of the season, securing home-field advantage against whoever takes the top spot in the second half of the season. With a top record of 77-54, the Canadians carried the momentum into the championships and beat the Everett AquaSox in four games, the first time winning the crown since 2017.

After yesterday’s win against Spokane, Lavallee improved his Canadians record to 200-166 and joined an impressive group of Vancouver managers while looking to take the squad to a third consecutive championship series.