Brent Lavallee Ready To C's The Day

When C’s manager Brent Lavallee delivers the lineup card at Nat Bailey Stadium on April 19, his path from the top step of the dugout to home plate will complete the last part of a circle whose starting point began three decades ago in North Delta, BC. The former North Delta Blue Jay flew south to Louisiana State University Shreveport, where he roosted for 15 years as a player, then a coach, then a manager at the center of the Pilots’ baseball program. Two years after the start to his professional managerial career was aborted – he was set to skipper the C’s in 2020 – he has returned to the place where his love for baseball took root. As a boy, Lavallee would come to games at The Nat with is family. Now, it’s his family coming to The Nat to watch him.

Canadians: Before we get into it, we have to talk about your mom Tammy. She’s on her way to becoming the number one C’s fan!

Brent Lavallee: [Laughs] You’d be hard pressed to find a runner-up for that one. She’s a baseball woman. She loves it. She’s always trying to get the inside scoop as to who’s coming up there. She’s always really excited for the season, even without me, so me being the manager is the icing on top.

C’s: 2022 is your first season managing a full season club after 54 games at the helm for the Florida Complex League Blue Jays last year. What are some of the changes you’ve been preparing for?

BL: It’s going to be a fun challenge. You’re going from having 50 to 60 players working on fundamentals every day then competing [in limited action], and now you’re working with guys who have been in the system for a couple years and are competing to win every night. These kids are not too far away from the big leagues. It’s a little different in that regard, but I’m not apprehensive about anything. There are going to be some challenges with the [extended] family being there early on, so I’m focused on doing my job well and getting better every day.

C’s: What’s your coaching philosophy?

BL: My philosophy is "play to everyone’s strengths." Every guy isn’t going to bang the ball around, every guy isn’t going to steal 40 bases, so my philosophy is to let the player be himself and not force him to fit a mold he doesn’t fit. Let the bangers bang and let the runners run. [Laughs] I like to let the players be who they are and make their own mold for what they want their career to be. They can’t all be one type of player, and I want to encourage them to fit their own mold and not be someone they're not.

C’s: We’re talking about a week before the Blue Jays announce our Opening Day roster. Can you give us any hints as to who might break camp with the Canadians?

BL: Our organization is filled with talented position players at this level and in Double-A, so I think we’ll be seeing a few very high level position players, maybe even a group of really talented infielders coming here to start. There is really good depth behind the plate with some young catchers too. I think the [roster’s] strength starting out will be the position players, but that’s really just because there’s a lot of competing going on for Double-A spots among the pitchers right now so we don’t yet know where the chips are going to fall. We should have quite a bit of talent to start the season and if we’re doing our jobs well and developing, the hope is to have a completely different roster from the beginning to the end of the season.

I definitely think as coaches, we’re going to be spoiled up in Vancouver. It’s a good problem to have. Even after the start and once we move these guys on, I’m very confident in the guys coming behind them from Dunedin.

C’s: Who are some of the people that shaped you as a player, coach and manager?

BL: I look up to everyone I compete against and look across the field at as managers and leaders of people. Everyone has so many different backgrounds and experiences levels that if we aren’t learning from each other, I think we’re missing a lot. I have a wide lens; I look up to and take bits and pieces from everyone I see on the field. My college coach Rocke Musgraves had a huge impact on me and I still talk to him quite a bit. Ari Mellios, the high school coach I played for, he's responsible for Jeff Francis, Justin Morneau, a lot of names that made it pretty far and were very successful. Countless college coaches, a lot of whom I played against and have bounced ideas off. It’s a fraternity of people you trust and have gotten to know and compete against. My parents of course. And in our org? Charlie Montoyo. He spent so many years in the minor leagues – over a decade – and had the perseverance to stay with it. [2019 C’s manager] Casey Candaele, he’s our “coaches coach” and our guy to go to. [2018 C’s manager] Dallas McPherson. The previous two C’s managers are huge mentors of mine. I’ve picked their brains about their experiences up there.

C’s: As a younger manager, what’s your relationship with the players like and how do you keep guys who don’t see the field every day motivated to get better?

BL: I treat every player the same, regardless of what their prospect ranking might be or what their role is. Every player is trying to get better. You have to coach your best player the same way you coach the last guy on the roster. If you do that, you’re giving your players all the means necessary to improve. Players know they can trust you when you trust them. It’s important to be clear about their roles and expectations and give them the attention they deserve; that’s all our work every day. If you’re up front, your roles and expectations for each player are clear, you give each guy his due and the time they need to get the work done then I think it’s easier for guys to understand why they’re not on the field as much as some others.

C’s: You’ll have nine people on your staff this season. With a group that large, how do you keep everyone on the same page?

BL: It boils down to trust and communication, and the fact that I’m surrounded by professionals. Everyone might have different opinions on something, but that’s probably to our advantage. Allowing your people to do their jobs and trusting that everyone – again, all pros in their field – can do their respective jobs. Give them the means to do their jobs then just let them do it. As far as managing people, you have to make sure they respect each other and be mindful of everyone’s lanes/responsibilities. When you’re surrounded by pros it’s easier to let them do their job and keep things flowing towards the same goal. That’s through and through with the Blue Jays. Whether you’re Triple-A staff or DSL staff, we are all driving towards the same goal. [Toronto] Leadership has done a great job bringing everyone in and making our objective clear to us. Everyone’s pulling the rope in the same direction, even though we’re doing it from different areas. It’s a pretty cool feeling to sit in staff meetings and see the many different areas of expertise that are pulling the same way for the players and the organization. Everything we are trying to do is built to last and sustain. We have a lot of things rolling in the right direction.

C’s: Tell us a little about your thoughts on where baseball in Canada has come from and where the sport is headed here.

BL: There is a ton of support. It goes back to the parents, Little League, minor baseball associations, they’re all doing a great job. That’s a credit to why I kept playing. I’m at this point in my career because of my family and the community I grew up in. The baseball seasons were always so memorable, and what they do really well is develop young players. You have the Baseball Canada Cup with the top players from every province at 13 years old, though I never made the teams because I wasn’t good enough [laughs]. Growing up in BC, you have the BCPBL, which is a tremendous league, and players grow from there. It’s a cool path to see. We don’t have as many people playing the game but that doesn’t mean Canadian baseball players can’t compete with anyone on the planet. Francis, Morneau, Larry Walker, those guys have shown that Canada can compete with anyone. They love the game, and they paved the way for a lot of us. You see the classes before you and all they did, you strive to be like those guys when you’re coming up. The game is growing and it’s in good hands with the people up here.

Lavallee, his staff and the 2022 Canadians Opening Day roster will start the season on April 8 in Spokane then travel to Pasco, WA to take on Tri-City before returning to Vancouver for the C’s home opener on Tuesday, April 19.