Left-hander Rhéal Cormier (Cap-Pelé, N.B.) made his MLB debut 34 years ago today.

August 15, 2025

By Kevin Glew

Canadian Baseball Network

Thirty-four years ago today, there wasn’t a seat to be found at the Goal Post Pub in Cap-Pelé, N.B.

Local supporters had packed the bar to watch the pride of their hometown, Rhéal Cormier, make his major league debut for the St. Louis Cardinals against the New York Mets at Busch Stadium on the big screen.

And the 24-year-old left-hander didn’t disappoint.

Cormier started and allowed just one run in six innings to earn the win in the Cardinals’ 4-1 victory.

“It’s the Acadian holiday [National Acadian Day] back home and to be the first Acadian to win a major league game makes it special,” Cormier told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch after the game. “Hopefully, I’ll be able to continue to do the job and win a few more games before the season is over.”

Cormier, who became the first New Brunswicker to toe the rubber in the big leagues since Billy Harris with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1959, pitched on three days’ rest after being recalled from triple-A Louisville.

In total, he scattered seven hits and tossed 96 pitches, 59 of them for strikes. Cormier fanned Mets first baseman Dave Magadan, the second batter of the game, for his first big league strikeout. He then got slugger Howard Johnson swinging to lead off the second inning for his second K.

Veteran Tom Pagnozzi caught Cormier who employed a fastball, forkball and changeup to defeat the Mets. At the plate, Pagnozzi contributed two doubles and an RBI.

In the field behind Cormier was Hall of Fame shortstop Ozzie Smith who also contributed three hits.

First baseman Gerald Perry’s two-run triple in the fifth inning was the big blow for the Cardinals.

The only run Cormier surrendered came in the fourth inning when Gregg Jefferies led off with a single and stole second and scored on a double by Johnson.

“It was like he had done this before,” Cardinals manager Joe Torre told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch of Cormier’s performance. “I really liked his poise. He’s going to stumble, most people do. But he has the pitches to keep teams off balance and he handles himself well in tough situations. That’s why he’s going to be a good pitcher.”

Cards pitching coach and former Blue Jay Joe Coleman was also impressed.

“I was pleased with his stuff,” Coleman said after the game. “He threw 96 pitches and he started getting high at the end, but it was a good debut.”

Cormier said nerves were not an issue for him in his first major league start.

“I didn’t feel any butterflies or extra pressure,” he told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “Then after I got through the first inning, I told myself, ‘I can pitch here.’ After that, I just tried to throw strikes and keep it close.”

And he succeeded in doing that — much to the delight of his fan club at the Goal Post Pub in his hometown. Among those at the pub were his mother, Jeannette, his grandmother and his brothers. His father, Ron, was a truck driver and could not be there because he had to drop off a load of furniture in Maine.

“I wanted him to do well and stay in the game,” Cormier’s mother told The Times-Transcript, a Moncton newspaper. “I did a lot of praying tonight.”

To celebrate the occasion, the pub sold t-shirts that read, “I saw Rhéal Cormier’s major league debut” for $12 each. They sold out of them.

“Obviously, it’s a big day,” Cormier told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch after the game. “I’m the first one from my hometown to pitch in the major leagues. I was pitching for them and pitching for myself.

“I know a lot of people back home were supporting me and I know they’re proud of me. I just thank them for sending all the messages and good wishes.”

Glew: Cormier made MLB debut 34 years ago today