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Originally from Mascouche on the North Shore of Montreal, Éric Gagné was a 30th round pick of the Chicago White Sox in the 1994 draft. Rather than agreeing with the Sox, he decided to join the Seminole State College team. , in Oklahoma, before signing as a free agent with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1995. After ups and downs as a starting pitcher, his rise to major league superstar status began when He was converted to a late-game reliever in 2002.
At the peak of his art between the 2002 to 2004 seasons, the Quebec gunner ruled the roost on the mounds of major baseball. It was particularly in 2003 that he rewrote history by becoming only the second Canadian pitcher to get his hands on the Cy Young trophy awarded to the pitcher of the year in the National League following a harvest of 55 rescues. This mark still places him third in the history of major baseball in this category for a campaign.
The man nicknamed "Game Over" intimidated opposing hitters with his repertoire of devastating pitches, to the point where he established a record that still stands today by achieving a streak of 84 consecutive saves, between August 26, 2002 and July 6, 2004.
Following his successful stay with the Dodgers which ended with a few seasons undermined by injuries, Gagné subsequently worked his way through several major baseball teams, notably with the Boston Red Sox with whom he won the ultimate title: the World Series in 2007.
The only player from La Belle Province to win a major baseball championship, not to mention a Cy Young trophy, Gagné bowed out of his sport at the end of the 2008 season in the uniform of the Milwaukee Brewers.
A true symbol of perseverance during his career in professional baseball, Éric Gagné knows better than anyone the importance of standing out from the competition. Today he is an entrepreneur and involved in several companies in the field of sports, marketing and technology.
