They were warned baseball doesn't fly in Quebec. Now the Capitales are celebrating 25 years

Anthony Quirion was just a teen when he first set foot on the diamond of Quebec City's Canac Stadium. Fifteen years later, he's one of the latest additions to the team he grew up watching.

On Tuesday, he took to the field in the Quebec Capitales uniform for the team's first home game this season after they took home the Frontier League Champion title in 2023 and 2022.

"It's pretty special to be able to play in your backyard," said Quirion.

"Playing for them like all these years later, that's pretty cool ... I'm kind of feeling the butterflies."

As the Quebec baseball team celebrates 25 years this season, its players say baseball is continuing to evolve and grow in popularity in Quebec — inspiring kids, who are now joining the very Capitales they once cheered on.

Marc-Antoine Lebreux would sit in the yellow stands at the stadium as a kid and dream about one day playing for the Capitales.

In 2022, the 25-year-old Quebecer joined the team.

"It's an honour," said Lebreux, standing on the field hours before fans entered.

"It was a goal for me to play professional baseball and playing for the Caps is just … a cherry on the sundae."

He says Quebec has a unique fan base.

"[It's] just electric. Every time we play here it's packed," said Lebreux.

Claude Gaudreau has been a fan since day one, and Lebreux is his new favourite player.

Gaudreau became a season ticket holder when he retired in 2004, witnessing the recent rise of the team in the Frontier League when they snagged two consecutive wins.

"They're the ones who make baseball evolve in Quebec. It's the main baseball city in the province," said Gaudreau.

He even met a long-time friend at the game. "We've been together ever since," he said.

For the past two years, Montrealers