Leblanc’s international move fuels his dream

Perspective and approach are qualities in life that can lead to success no matter what phase you are in. Those traits could bring the out-of-reach dreams you may never think would be achievable a little closer. For a native of Canada, Charles Leblanc, his perspective and approach led him to not only a different country but also getting drafted and debuting in The Show.

Defying the odds could be a way to describe the Jumbo Shrimp infielder’s journey but the Laval, QC, Canada prospect had his eye set on the diamond. Thanks to some family influence, he eschewed the country's native sport hockey from the jump.

“(With) my dad, growing up, I was pretty much born with an Expos hat on my head,” said Leblanc. “He was just a baseball guy, baseball found me.”

Born in the summer of 1996, Charles was a young eight-year-old on that September 29th, 2004 day when he watched the Montreal Expos play their final game in Olympic Stadium. After suffering a 9-1 loss in front of 31,000 fans to the then-Florida Marlins, little would Leblanc know that 17 years later, he would be a part of that organization that gave his team its final farewell.

“The last memory (about the Expos) I have is being at the game because I was at the last game,” Leblanc said. “I was just asking, hey. if they win are we going to stay... you know just being a kid.”

Since developing his passion for the game at such a young age, the youngster stayed with the sport and eventually had to make some sacrifices to achieve his dream. A native French speaker, when he moved away from his family to the United States, he had to overcome those barriers off the bat.

“It was just different, I first left home when I was 16 to go to Ohio to play travel ball,” said Leblanc. “It was my first time being away from home in the first place, and on top of that, I was with 20-plus guys that only spoke English and I didn’t speak a lick of it.”

Being a teenager in a new school can be hard, let alone moving to a new country and having to learn a new language. However, Charles did what it would take to live up to the Leblanc name.

“I got thrown around the fire and I made a couple of good friends that summer,” Leblanc said. “I went to an English school to learn how to do the whole English school thing and it was tough. You don’t want to get laughed at if you mess up, the grades weren’t great, so you know the whole school side of things was a struggle.”

Leblanc attended Georges-Vanier High School but did not play baseball there. He was drafted in the 33rd round by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2013 MLB Draft. Leblanc was one of just 16 players from Canada drafted in 2013 and was the youngest player to be chosen. He opted to not go pro and won a bronze medal with the Canadian National Team at the 18U Pan American Championship in Summer 2014.

Overcoming that adversity was something that made Charles stronger in the long run and led him to the University of Pittsburgh to play Division I college baseball. In a legendary career, he wound up becoming the first-ever Panther to earn First Team All-ACC honors.

“Eventually I got to college and settled in,” said Leblanc. “I had a great time in college, made my best friends there to this day. It was a lot of lows, but at the end of the day, a lot of highs.”

His aspiration to learn English and execute what needed to be done ultimately led to being drafted in the fourth round of the 2016 MLB Draft by the Texas Rangers.

After rising to the Triple-A level in the Rangers’ organization Leblanc was selected in the Minor League Phase of the Rule 5 draft by Miami. He got off to a scintillating start to the 2022 campaign with Jacksonville before making his major league debut on July 30, 2022 for the Marlins. He finished off the year in Miami batting .263/.320/.404/.724.

It was a successful first season with the Marlins, one in which he conquered several challenges.

“I think just new faces and new environment,” said Leblanc. “Everything kind of helped me grow as the player I want to be. I feel like it doesn’t matter where you play, eventually, you kind of get marked as one kind of player. So going into a new organization, (where I) didn’t know anybody and all that stuff, I was like, that tag is off my back now. (I can) just go there (and) play the best I can and make my mark with the Marlins.”

After revamping his swing and getting adjusted, Leblanc was able to find his groove and player identity no matter where he played in the field.

“My idea of a ballplayer is to be a ballplayer,” Leblanc said. “If skip needs you at second one night, well you gotta be able to play second. If our shortstop just went down and nobody else can play short, can you fill in? Yeah, I can, so just being a ballplayer, being able to play multiple positions, not being a liability out there is huge.

“What keeps you in the lineup at the end of the day is how well you can play both sides of the ball. So that’s kind of what my focus is on, just trying to be the best ballplayer I can.”

The purposeful, intentional, and reserved ballplayer uses his goal at hand to help shape the man he wants to be. The 27-year-old looks to get back down south to South Florida. He continues to make that little Expos fan's dreams come true.