PHILADELPHIA – Rheal Cormier, the player who spent 16 seasons in major competitions and played especially at the Olympics before and after playing in MLB, passed away on Monday. He was 53 years old.
The Philadelphia Phillies confirmed that Cormier died of cancer at his home in New Brunswick, Canada.
Cormier has a prominent place in Phillies history with winning ground in the last Philadelphia game he won at Veterans Stadium in 2003 and also won the Phillies’ first win when they moved to Citizens Bank Park in 2004.
In his career, he was 71-64 with two saves and a 4.03 ERA with the St. Paul Cardinals. Louis, Boston Red Sox, Montreal Expos, Philadelphia and Cincinnati Reds. A member of the Canadian baseball Hall of Fame, Cormier has released 683 games – among his compatriots, only Paul Quantrill (841) has more adult games.
Cormier had other notable appearances on the mound.
Three years before making his MLB debut, he played for Canada at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. In 2008, a year after his last major league game, he played for Canada again at the Beijing Olympics. – He entered the tournament playing in the men’s major league.
“Rheal was one of the most vibrant people I had the pleasure of meeting,” said his former teammate and Hall of Famer Jim Thome in a statement released by the Phillies. “He loved baseball, but he always put his family first.”
Cormier made his cardinal debut in 1991 and was a starter at the beginning of his career. He launched his only closing in 1996 with Expo.
He is survived by his wife, Lucienne, son Justin and daughter Morgan.