Rheal Cormier, the former left-handed pitcher who played with the Phillies for six seasons, heartbreakingly passed away on Monday. The cause of death was pancreatic cancer.
Cormier was 35-years-old when he played his first season with the Phillies in 2001. Before arriving in Philadelphia, he played with the St. Louis Cardinals for four years, the Boston Red Sox for three years, and the Montreal Expos for two years.
In six seasons with the Phillies, he posted a 3.62 earned run average and a 28-21 record. The six seasons he spent with the Phillies was the most he ever spent with a team in his Major League Baseball career that lasted for sixteen years.
In July of 2006, the Phillies traded him to the Cincinnati Reds. Rheal Cormier would go on to play for the Reds for less than one calendar year after he was released by the organization. He was signed by the Atlanta Braves in May of 2007 but was granted free agency in October of the same year.
He retired from Major League Baseball following the 2007 season. The Canada-born pitcher was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2012.
It’s a sad loss around the baseball community as he was regarded as one of the kindest and respected individuals one ever had the pleasure to meet.
Cormier was just 53 years old.
Photo by Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire
