| Trois-Rivières Aigles | |
| Founded: | 2012 |
| City: | Trois-Rivières, Quebec |
| Ballpark: | Stade Quillorama |
| Cap Logo: | Trois-Rivières Aigles cap logo.svg |
| League: | Frontier League (2020–present) |
| Division: | East Division |
| Former Leagues: | Can-Am League (2013–2019)[1] |
| Colours: | Red, black, white |
| League Champs: | 1 (2015) |
| Division Champs: | 0 |
| Owner: | Emmanuel Turcotte, Michel Côté, Miles Wolff, Marc-Andre Bergeron, Éric Gagné |
| General Manager: | Simon Laliberté[2] [3] |
| Manager: | Matthew Rusch |
| Mascot: | Grand Chelem l'Aigle (in English: Grand Slam the Eagle) |
| Media: | Le Nouvelliste, 106,9FM, CFOU 89,1FM |
The Trois-Rivières Aigles (French: Aigles de Trois-Rivières) are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Trois-Rivières, Quebec. They are members of the Frontier League, and play their home games at Stade Quillorama.
The Aigles are named to honour the previous Trois-Rivières Aigles, which called the same ballpark home from 1971 until 1977 as a member of the Eastern League as an affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. In addition, a team in the Ligue de Baseball Junior Élite du Québec bore that name, winning the 2007 pennant. The Aigles' mascot is Grand Chelem l'aigle (English: Grand Slam the Eagle).
After various attempts to place a franchise in Trois-Rivières (including various exhibition games), the Can-Am League finally announced the Aigles' membership on October 3, 2012. Notable co-owners include 2003 National League Cy Young Award winner Éric Gagné and Carolina Hurricanes defenceman Marc-André Bergeron.[4]
On November 14, it was announced that Pierre-Luc Laforest would serve as the Aigles' inaugural manager. Laforest is best known for his time among the Aigles' provincial rivals the Québec Capitales, winning the Can-Am League MVP award in 2009 and serving as player/hitting coach in 2011 and 2012 (Laforest has been a member of all four of the Capitales' four consecutive Can-Am league pennant winners).[5]
In 2015, the Aigles qualified for the playoffs for the first time in the franchise's history. On September 13, 2015, the Aigles defeated the Rockland Boulders in Game 5 by a score of 7–2 and won the opening series 3 games to 2 and advanced to the championship for the first time in franchise history. They played the New Jersey Jackals and defeated them 3 games to 2 to win the 2015 Can-Am League championship, their first in franchise history.
The team joined the Frontier League for the 2020 season when that league absorbed the Can-Am League in a merger. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and extended closure of the Canada–United States border, the league announced that the Aigles (along with the Québec Capitales) would be unable to compete for the 2020 season (which was eventually cancelled).[6] The club later announced they intended to organize a separate league in Québec for the summer as an alternative, but these plans were eventually scrapped by both clubs.
In 2021, the Aigles again had their season cancelled due to the ongoing closure of the Canada–U.S. border. Canadian players signed by the Titans and the Aigles had the opportunity to join the Québec Capitales, who started the season as a travelling team, known as Équipe Québec (playing exclusively in the U.S.). While non-Canadian players signed by the Titans and the Aigles were subject to a dispersal draft among the 13 U.S.–based teams. They started the season as a traveling team, and as of July 30, 2021, they have played a total of 21 home games including 10 at Stade Canac, and 11 at Stade Quillorama. On July 30, Équipe Québec hosted the New York Boulders at Stade Canac and won the game 10-8 in front of a full house of 2,800 spectators, the maximum number allowed during sanitary measures. The Aigles intended on returning to competition for their inaugural season in 2022.
| Trois-Rivières Aigles | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | W–L Record | Win % | Finish | Playoffs | |
| 2013 | 43–56 | .434 | 4th/5 in Can-Am League | Did not qualify for playoffs | |
| 2014 | 37–58 | .474 | 4th/4 in Can-Am League | Did not qualify for playoffs | |
| 2015 | 50–46 | .521 | 4th/6 in Can-Am League | Won Opening Round over Rockland Boulders 3–2 Won Championship over New Jersey Jackals 3–2 | |
| 2016 | 35–65 | .350 | 8th/8 in Can-Am League | Did not qualify for playoffs | |
| 2017 | 39–61 | .390 | 6th/8 in Can-Am League | Did not qualify for playoffs | |
| 2018 | 53–49 | .520 | 4th/8 in Can-Am League | Lost Opening Round to Sussex County Miners 3–2 | |
| 2019 | 58–37 | .611 | 2nd/9 in Can-Am League | Lost Opening Round to New Jersey Jackals 3–2 | |
| 2020 | — | — | — | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 | |
| 2021 | Did not play. See note | — | — | -- | |
| 45–50 | .474 | 7th/8 in FL East | Did not qualify for playoffs | ||
| 2023 | 38–57 | .400 | 7th/8 in FL East | Did not qualify for playoffs | |
| Totals | 450–523 | .463 | — | 12–13 | |