# Québec Capitales

The Québec Capitales (French: Capitales de Québec and often referred to as the Caps) are a professional baseball team based in Quebec City. The Capitales compete in the Frontier League (FL) as a member of the North Division in the Atlantic Conference. The club is owned by Jean Tremblay, Pierre Tremblay, and Marie-Pierre Simard, a ownership group that owns several professional sports teams in the city, while the team's broadcasting rights are split between CHYZ-FM and CHOI-FM.
The club was founded in 1999 as an expansion team in the Northern League, but then moved to the Northeast League in 2003, Can-Am League in 2005, and the Frontier League prior to the 2020 season. Since 1999, the Capitales play at Stade Canac, which was formerly known as Stade Municipal.
Québec has won the most championships in all independent baseball teams, with a total of ten championships since its existence, and have made the playoffs 19 times. The club is known as one of the most popular independent baseball teams in North America, and have been extremely successful from 2009 to 2013 with five league championships in a row. These successes were followed by an extended championship drought, which at 25 seasons, is the longest in franchise history. The Capitales have rivalries with the Ottawa Titans and the Trois-Rivières Aigles.
Several individuals who hold an association with the club have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Six players have had their numbers retired by the Capitales, including the first in independent baseball history.

## History

In 1999, the Capitales joined the Northern League (East Division) as an expansion team. Today, the Capitales are now one of the three Canadian teams in the Frontier League.
As of 2019, the Capitales were the most known and successful team in the Can-Am League on and off the field, having won the league’s championship more times (7) than any other team and being among the tops in attendance every season averaging over 3,000 fans per game since 2000.
In 2006, the Capitales won their first championship in team history. Although the team had the second-worst record in team history they still qualified for last postseason spot with a 44–44 record. They defeated the top seed North Shore Spirit in dramatic come from behind fashion winning the last two games to win the series 3 games to 2. In the championship series, the Capitales took a 2 games to none advantage before the Brockton Rox came back to even the series. In the final and decisive game, the Capitales defeated the Rox on their home field by coming from behind and won by a score of 5–4 to win the Can-Am League Championship 3 games to 2.
In 2009 the Capitales became the first franchise in the reborn Can-Am League to win multiple championships and the fourth team in the entire history of the Northeast/Can-Am League to win more than one championship (joining the New Jersey Jackals, who won two Northeast League and two Northern League championships, the Albany-Colonie Diamond Dogs, who won the first Northeast League Championship and one Northern League Championship, and the Adirondack Lumberjacks, who won one Northeast League and one Northern League championship). The Capitales won the 2nd half regular-season championship and finished the season with the 3rd best overall record (53-41). The Capitales eliminated the Brockton Rox 3 games to 1 in the opening round. In a rematch of the 2005 championship, the Capitales got revenge by eliminating the Worcester Tornadoes 3 games to 1. In 2010, the Capitales obtained a second consecutive championship, passing by the Pittsfield Colonials 3 games to 1. In 2011, the Capitales won their third championship in a row (fourth in all) by defeating the New Jersey Jackals 4 games to 1. In 2012, the team again defeated the Jackals 4 games to 1, thus winning their fourth championship in a row. A fifth championship in a row materialized in 2013, the Capitales defeating again the New Jersey Jackals 4 games to 3. In 2017, the Capitales captured their seventh championship in franchise history by sweeping the Rockland Boulders 3–0.
In 2020, the Capitales moved to the Frontier League following the merger of the Can-Am League with the Frontier League. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and extended closure of the Canada–United States border, the league announced that the Capitales (along with the Trois-Rivières Aigles) would be unable to compete for the 2020 season (which was later cancelled). The club later announced they intended to organize a separate league in the province of Quebec for the summer as an alternative, but these plans were eventually scrapped by both clubs.
The continued closure of the Canada–United States border, unfortunately resulted in pushing the Capitales’ first game in the FL to the 2022 season. Ottawa, Québec, and Trois-Rivières were replaced on the 2021 schedule by Équipe Québec. Équipe Québec used the Canadian players from the Ottawa Titans, Québec Capitales and Trois-Rivières Aigles to craft the base of their roster and spent the first half of the season on the road, before returning to Canada in late July. Équipe Québec split home games between Stade Canac in Quebec City and Stade Quillorama in Trois-Rivières.
On July 30, 2021, 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.
On September 12, 2021, Équipe Québec qualified for the playoffs, and then faced the Washington Wild Things in the best-of-five Frontier League Division Series. The crowd of 3,750 gathered at Stade Canac during Game 3 at home represented more than 900 people than the number allowed due to sanitary measures, and Québec were able to pull a 3–2 win over the Wild Things. They however lost Game 4 and 5 at home, which made an end to their very unique season. Équipe Québec finished the season 1st place in the Atlantic Division with a record of 52 wins and 44 losses with an average of 2,288 fans in 24 home games, including the playoffs. A full reset was done by the front office to immediately shift focus to the 2022 season.
In 2022 in their first season in the Frontier League as a local Quebec team, the Capitales are taking their first steps in this new league.
On September 18, 2022 during Game 4 of the FLCS, the Capitales won their 8th championship in franchise history over the Schaumburg Boomers, in front of their fans thanks to a walk-off sacrifice-fly in the bottom of the 9th inning by Ruben Castro. Noise levels in the stadium allegedly reached as high as 110 decibels when runs were scored by the Capitales, most notably, when Ruben Castro hit a walk-off double in the bottom of the 9th inning the previous day during Game 3 when 4,428 fans were crammed into the stadium.
On September 17, 2023, the Capitales won their 9th championship in their history over the Evansville Otters. The 2023 season was also notable for the Capitales drawing 166,916 people to its ballpark for an average of 3,035, the highest total in franchise history.
In the 2024 season, the Capitales won another division title and made it to the FLCS for the third consecutive year. They’ve sold out 21 out of their 48 home games and set a franchise record for the most consecutive sellouts, with 16 in a row.
On September 14, 2024 in front of a sold out crowd of 4,297 at Stade Canac, the Capitales won their 10th league championship and third in a row by defeating the Washington Wild Things 3 games to 1 with a walk-off grand slam home run by Anthony Quirion. The Capitales' president Michel Laplante stated that it was the stadium's loudest moment since its existence, reaching deafening decibel levels for several minutes after the win.

## Team culture
### Team identity

The official colours of the Québec Capitales are navy blue, gold and white. The primary logo consists of a white baseball diamond with navy blue pinstripes. The "Capitales" wordmark is superimposed over the diamond in navy blue outlined in gold. The wordmark is underlined by a navy blue ribbon with the word "Québec" centred on it in white, with the French word "de" centred in between. A navy blue fleur-de-lis is centred above the wordmark, with a stylized depiction of home plate centred below.
The Québec Capitales uniforms are traditional in design. The caps are navy blue throughout with the scripted "Q" cap logo centred on the front in gold with a white centre incorporating a navy blue fleur-de-lis and red baseball threading. The home jerseys are white with navy blue pinstripes, with the "Capitales" cursive script wordmark centred across in navy blue with gold outline. The alternate jersey is navy blue with gold piping with the cap logo centred on the left-side chest.

### Fan base

The price of a Capitales home game ticket is the lowest amongst any team in the FL. Stade Canac holds 4,297 seats for Caps games, with 3,500 reserved for season ticket holders. Because of the demand for season tickets, their sale is limited to the 2,300 people on the waiting list. As of August 2024, Caps' season tickets saw a renewal rate of 99.5 percent, a rate that would require more than 130 years to clear the existing waiting list. As of 2024, the Capitales came first in ticket affordability in the Frontier League.
Caps fans are known for their dedicated support and notable loyalty to the team despite their performance. They are considered to have one of the loudest and largest fan base in the FL.
Despite their loyalty, there have been several instances where the fanbase voiced their displeasure with the club. In the 2019 season, fans threw Caps jerseys onto the field to show their disapproval of the team's poor performances during the 2019 season, when they were ranked last in the Can-Am League for the entire season. Similarly, during the early season of the 2019, which overlaps with the playoffs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's Quebec Remparts, fans were heard sarcastically chanting "Let's go Remparts!" and clapping alongside the chant as a sign of their farcical shift in priority from an under-performing team to the more successful playoff-bound 2019 Quebec Remparts season.
In addition to Quebec City, many fans live throughout the province of Quebec and Ontario, including the Ottawa Valley and Gatineau, Greater Montreal, and the Mauricie. As a result, Caps' away games at the Ottawa Stadium in Ottawa, and Stade Quillorama in Trois-Rivières host a more shared crowd. This is due in part to the Caps fans in those areas, and those cities' proximity to Quebec City.

### Rivalries

During their 25 years of existence, the Capitales have had several rivalries with some Can-Am or Frontier League franchises during the regular season, and continuing into the playoffs. Today, the Capitales have an intense rivalry with the Ottawa Titans and Trois-Rivières Aigles. In addition, the Capitales have had a significant rivalry with the New Jersey Jackals from 1999 to 2015, as well as a minor geographical rivalry with the Ottawa Rapidz in 2008.

#### Ottawa Titans

The rivalry between the Ottawa Titans and the Capitales is the fiercest in the FL, featuring two clubs that were active since the last Can-Am League expansion in 2015, when the Titans were formerly known as the Ottawa Champions. Since 2022, the rivalry was an embodiment of a larger culture war between English Canada and French Canada. The Titans have won 49 games over Québec, while the Capitales have won 76 games against Ottawa, respectively.
The rivalry started in 2015 when the Ottawa Champions were introduced in the Can-Am League as an expansion team. Both teams played for five seasons against each other, with eight series of three to four games per season. After the 2019 season, the Can-Am League merged with the Frontier League, and the Ottawa Champions were not invited to take part. The club was then inactive for 11 months, without any ownership. However, in September 2020, The Frontier League decided to expand to Ottawa, and an ownership group led by Sam Katz, the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group, finally bought the team. Following a contest, the franchise was renamed to the Ottawa Titans. The rivalry became intradivisional once again in 2022 when the Titans were introduced in the FL. The Titans and the Capitales both played in the East Division from 2022 to 2024, playing four series of three games every year.
Both teams have already faced each other twice in a playoff series, in 2022 and 2024. Québec defeated Ottawa 2 games to 1 in the Frontier League Division Series, both times. Due in part to the number of Caps fans living in Ottawa and Gatineau, and in part to Ottawa's relative proximity to Quebec City and the province of Quebec, Capitales–Titans games at Ottawa Stadium in Ottawa typically hold a high amount of Caps fans.

#### Trois-Rivières Aigles

The modern Trois-Rivières Aigles entered the Can-Am League in 2013, which sparkled a significant rivalry for the Capitales. The rivalry, also known as the Battle of Quebec, is mainly due to the 92-kilometre distance between the two home fields (Stade Canac and Stade Quillorama, respectively). They are the only two FL teams located in the province of Quebec. The teams compete in the same division and meet frequently during regular season games. The rivalry has been described as one of the Frontier League's top rivalries. Due in part to the number of Caps fans living near or in Trois-Rivières, and in part to Trois-Rivières' relative proximity to Quebec City, Capitales–Aigles games at Stade Quillorama in Trois-Rivières typically hold at least 70 percent of Caps fans.

#### Ottawa Rapidz (2008)

The Capitales have had a significant rivalry against the Ottawa Rapidz. Even though the Rapidz played in the Can-Am League for only one season, it was still a significant rivalry due to both teams playing in the same country and the closeness of both provinces of Ontario and Quebec. During that time, the Rapidz were the Caps' closest team in distance, with both stadiums standing at 374 kilometres apart.

#### New Jersey Jackals (1999–2015)

The New Jersey Jackals and the Québec Capitales have had a strong rivalry from 1999 to 2015. Both teams started operations in 1999, and have faced each other often during the regular season and playoffs. They are both one of the two Can-Am League teams to have won the most championship titles in league history. Between 1999 and 2023, the two teams played in six postseason series against one another, including three consecutive championship series (2011, 2012 and 2013). The Capitales defeated the Jackals in five playoff series in franchise history. After 2014, the rivalry between the two teams began to cool down, as the Can-Am and Frontier League had a major expansion. The Jackals moved to the East Division, while the Capitales moved in the North Division for the 2025 season as part of the Frontier League 2025 expansion and realignment, which makes the two teams to see each other only three series per season.

## Season-by-season record

As of September 14, 2024
| Season | League | Division | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Post-season |
| Season | League | Division | Wins | Losses | Win% | Finish | Post-season |
| 1999 | Northern | North | 43 | 43 | .500 | 3rd | did not qualify |
| 2000 | Northern | North | 48 | 37 | .565 | 2nd | Lost Opening round (Adirondack Lumberjacks) 3–1 |
| 2001 | Northern | North | 44 | 47 | .484 | 2nd | did not qualify |
| 2002 | Northern | North | 52 | 38 | .578 | 1st | Lost Opening round (Adirondack Lumberjacks) 3–2 |
| 2003 | Northeast | North | 49 | 40 | .551 | 3rd | Lost Opening round (North Shore Spirit) 3–0 |
| 2004 | Northeast | North | 58 | 34 | .630 | 1st | Lost Opening round (North Shore Spirit) 3–2 |
| 2005 | Can-Am | North | 59 | 33 | .552 | 1st | Won Opening round (Brockton Rox) 3–0 Lost Championship (Worcester Tornadoes) 3–0 |
| 2006 | Can-Am | none | 44 | 44 | .500 | 1st | Won Opening round (North Shore Spirit) 3–2 Won Championship (Brockton Rox) 3–2 |
| 2007 | Can-Am | none | 49 | 45 | .521 | 5th | did not qualify |
| 2008 | Can-Am | none | 58 | 36 | .617 | 1st | Won Opening round (Atlantic City Surf) 3-1 Lost Championship (Sussex Skyhawks) 3–0 |
| 2009 | Can-Am | none | 53 | 41 | .563 | 3rd | Won Opening round (Brockton Rox) 3–1 Won Championship (Worcester Tornadoes) 3–1 |
| 2010 | Can-Am | none | 57 | 37 | .606 | 1st | Won Opening round (New Jersey Jackals) 3–0 Won Championship (Pittsfield Colonials) 3–1 |
| 2011 | Can-Am | none | 64 | 26 | .711 | 1st | Won Opening round (Brockton Rox) 3–0 Won Championship (New Jersey Jackals) 3-1 |
| 2012 | Can-Am | none | 66 | 34 | .660 | 1st | Won Championship (New Jersey Jackals) 4–1 |
| 2013 | Can-Am | none | 56 | 42 | .571 | 1st | Won Championship (New Jersey Jackals) 4–3 |
| 2014 | Can-Am | none | 46 | 50 | .479 | 3rd | did not qualify |
| 2015 | Can-Am | none | 54 | 42 | .563 | 2nd | Lost Opening Round (New Jersey Jackals) 3–2 |
| 2016 | Can-Am | none | 56 | 44 | .560 | 3rd | Lost Opening Round (Rockland Boulders) 3–2 |
| 2017 | Can-Am | none | 65 | 35 | .650 | 1st | Won Opening Round (Sussex County Miners) 3–0 Won Championship (Rockland Boulders) 3–0 |
| 2018 | Can-Am | none | 58 | 44 | .569 | 2nd | Won Opening Round (Rockland Boulders) 3–1 Lost Championship (Sussex County Miners) 3–1 |
| 2019 | Can-Am | none | 36 | 59 | .379 | 6th | did not qualify |
| 2020 | Didn't play due to COVID-19 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2021 | Did not play. See note | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2022 | Frontier | East | 62 | 34 | .646 | 1st | Won Divisional Round (Ottawa Titans) 2–1 Won Championship (Schaumburg Boomers) 3–1 |
| 2023 | Frontier | East | 60 | 35 | .646 | 1st | Won Divisional Round (New Jersey Jackals) 3–0 Won Championship (Evansville Otters) 3–2 |
| 2024 | Frontier | East | 64 | 32 | .667 | 1st | Won Divisional Round (Ottawa Titans) 2–1 Won Championship vs. (Washington Wild Things) 3–1 |
1: In 2021, Équipe Québec, a combination of the Capitales, Trois-Rivières Aigles and the Ottawa Titans playing in the Frontier League. With a record of 52–44, they finished first in the Atlantic Division, and lost the Division Series to the Washington Wild Things 3-2.

## Broadcasting and stadium entertainment

Capitales games can be heard on CHYZ-FM, and through the streaming platform FloSports under Quebec Capitales, their play-by-play broadcasters are Pierre Blais and Marc-André Lord. At many home games, the fans are entertained both outside and inside Stade Canac with myriad entertainers – live music, DJ music, giveaways and promotions. Between innings, the entertainment varies with on-field contests with their mascot Capi, youth games, t-shirt giveaways, promotions and many more. The team's public address announcer is Sébastien Dubois-Bergeron, and their stadium’s DJ is Daniel Sylvain, better known as “DJ Dan” as his stage name. DJ Dan brings 16 years of experience as the DJ of the Capitales, and he is also the DJ of the Quebec Remparts since 1999. He keeps the fans loud and entertained no matter what if the team win or loses. He works in collaboration with the press box crew, along with the team’s in-game host Yannick Tremblay, also known as “Pee-Wee”.

## Notable alumni

* Mitch Lyden (1999)
* José Núñez (2001)
* Darryl Motley (2002)
* Jeff Harris (2003–2004)
* Juan Melo (2004)
* Marty Janzen (2005)
* Éric Cyr (2006, 2008)
* Éric Gagné (2009)
* Pete Laforest (2009, 2010–2012)
* Andrew Albers (2010)
* Troy Cate (2010)
* Steve Green (2010)
* Max St. Pierre (2012)
* Jonathan Malo (2012–2019)
* Kalian Sams (2015–2018)
* Yordan Manduley (2015–2019, 2022)
* Jorge Reyes (2016)
* Yurisbel Gracial (2016–2017)
* Marcus Knecht (2016–2017)
* Jordan Lennerton (2016–2018)
* Matt Marksberry (2017)
* Lázaro Blanco (2017–2018)
* Josh Vitters (2018)
* Tyson Gillies (2019)
* Dustin Molleken (2019)
* Jonathan de Marte (2019)
* Scott Richmond (2019)
* Andrew Case (2021–2022)
* Gift Ngoepe (2021)
* Evan Rutckyj (2021, 2023)
* Jared Mortensen (2021)
* Tristan Pompey (2022)
* Greg Bird (2023)
* Jesmuel Valentín (2023–present)
* Juremi Profar (2023–2024)
* Brandon Marklund (2024)

## Attendance

As of August 29, 2024
| Season | Games | Total | Average |
| 1999 | 41 | 110,559 | 2,697 |
| 2000 | 39 | 127,303 | 3,264 |
| 2001 | 45 | 148,419 | 3,298 |
| 2002 | 44 | 152,121 | 3,457 |
| 2003 | 43 | 152,153 | 3,538 |
| 2004 | 47 | 156,899 | 3,338 |
| 2005 | 46 | 156,663 | 3,406 |
| 2006 | 42 | 138,376 | 3,295 |
| 2007 | 49 | 161,789 | 3,302 |
| 2008 | 44 | 140,933 | 3,203 |
| 2009 | 46 | 164,009 | 3,565 |
| 2010 | 45 | 147,978 | 3,288 |
| 2011 | 49 | 149,330 | 3,048 |
| 2012 | 49 | 152,663 | 3,116 |
| 2013 | 47 | 141,396 | 3,008 |
| 2014 | 42 | 121,305 | 2,888 |
| 2015 | 51 | 130,510 | 2,559 |
| 2016 | 53 | 146,946 | 2,773 |
| 2017 | 50 | 141,923 | 2,838 |
| 2018 | 53 | 126,483 | 2,386 |
| 2019 | 50 | 119,060 | 2,381 |
| 2020 | DID NOT PLAY DUE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DID NOT PLAY DUE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DID NOT PLAY DUE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC |
| 2021* | 10** | 22,882 | 2,288 |
| 2022 | 51 | 130,414 | 2,557 |
| 2023 | 55 | 166,916 | 3,035 |
| 2024 | 48 | 164,925 | 3,436 |
*played with limited capacity (2,800 people)
**only counts Équipe Québec games played at Stade Canac