(Courtesy River City Rascals, Photo Credit: Paul Baillargeon)
The Rascals welcome the heralded Cornbelters starter, Tyler Lavigne, who over the span of four consecutive seasons became the most tenured starter in franchise history. The twenty-five year old workhorse now brings his talented arm to River City, where manager Steve Brook is more than ecstatic to add the veteran All-Star to the rotation. When speaking with Tyler this offseason, his commentary seemed to revolve around two general speaking points: the remembrance of his amazing career in Normal and excitement for his new opportunity with River City.
As the longest tenured member of the Cornbelters, Tyler professes that he “always liked both the organization and the town.” During his four-year stay with the relatively new Frontier League franchise, he truly became a part of the Normal community by enrolling in Illinois State University, where he is currently finishing his efforts to obtain an undergraduate degree in Sociology. As far as his life after pitching goes, Tyler wants to stay involved in baseball. He even hints at the desire to become a Frontier League pitching coach should the opportunity present itself after his illustrious career on the mound one day comes to its end.
Tyler’s ties to the city of Normal run deep. Aside from studying at Illinois State University, and spending four years playing professional baseball there, the local community college has also become his home for offseason baseball workouts. When discussing the great generosity of the local community college baseball program, he notes: “They’ve been amazingly welcoming and have offered up both their gym and baseball field for my offseason workouts. It’s been awesome to get to know the coaches and even some of the players who I’ve met over the years. I even practice with the team as they prepare for their spring season, which is great because that means I always have someone around to catch my bullpens.” While Tyler prepares to leave his new home and join Steve Brook’s Rascals here in early May, his reluctance quickly becomes burning excitement, which every ballplayer feels as Spring Training approaches.
Lavigne was more than ready to report to his new manager Steve Brook. When asked about leaving Normal and coming to River City, Tyler says, “I feel mixed emotions. But I’m definitely excited to play for Steve Brook and have a change of scenery. Ideally I would have liked to end my career where I started it. But if there was any other place I was going to play, I wanted it to be River City.” Regardless of environmental or physical factors, Tyler promises to “give Steve one-hundred and ten percent every time [he] takes the mound.” This workhorse mentality has become more of a psychological mantra than just a rote response for the righty, who knows the importance of “thinking right” while on the field. “I approach every game like I want to pitch a complete game and have my team win; but if I can’t throw a complete game, I want to at least put my team in the best position to win. I’m always willing to do whatever it takes, so pitch-count never even crosses my mind when I’m out there pitching.”
For a man who loves baseball with every bone in his body, Tyler also enjoys spending time during the offseason relaxing, playing golf, hanging out with friends, and going to movies. The only downside to his storied career, as Tyler himself jokingly admits, is that he’s “lost too many girlfriends to count over the years” to his intimate relationship with the sport. The past is just that, the past, and Tyler knows he must embrace his blank slate here in River City. What the future holds is uncertain, but no matter what is thrown Tyler’s way, he’s going to take pride in anything he does!
