Pierre-Luc "Pete" Laforest (born January 27, 1978 in Hull

Hull, Quebec

Hull is the central and oldest part of the city of Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. It is located on the west bank of the Gatineau River and the north shore of the Ottawa River, directly opposite Ottawa. As part of the Canadian National Capital Region, it contains offices for twenty thousand...

, Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

) is a baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

 catcher

Catcher

Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...

 for the Quebec Capitales

Quebec Capitales

The Québec Capitales are a professional baseball team based in Quebec City, in Canada. The Capitales are a member of the Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball...

. He is a graduate of Fort Scott Community College

Fort Scott Community College

Fort Scott Community College is a two-year institution of higher learning based in Fort Scott, Kansas, with satellite buildings in other cities in Crawford County, including Pittsburg and Frontenac, along with sites in Paola and at Fort Scott High School. It is the oldest community college in...

. He was a draft pick of the Montreal Expos

Montreal Expos

The Montreal Expos were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec from 1969 through 2004, holding the first MLB franchise awarded outside the United States. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to Washington, D.C. and renamed them the Nationals.Named after the Expo 67 World's...

, but has also played for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays

Tampa Bay Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays are a Major League Baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays are a member of the Eastern Division of MLB's American League. Since their inception in , the club has played at Tropicana Field...

, the San Diego Padres

San Diego Padres

The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego, California. They play in the National League Western Division. Founded in 1969, the Padres have won the National League Pennant twice, in 1984 and 1998, losing in the World Series both times...

, and the Philadelphia Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...

. He was part of Team Canada at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Baseball at the 2004 Summer Olympics

-Preliminary round:The top four teams advanced to the semifinals. To determine the seed ranking of teams tied in the standings, the result of the two teams' game against each other was used. Japan therefore received first place due to the win over Cuba. In the semi-finals, Japan played...

 and 2006 World Baseball Classic

2006 World Baseball Classic

---------Pool B:-------------Pool C:-------------Pool D:-------------Pool 1:-----------------Pool 2:-------------Finals:-Semifinals:-Final:-Final standings:...

.

In 2003, Laforest missed spring training and the first month of the season due to visa

Visa (document)

A visa is a document showing that a person is authorized to enter the territory for which it was issued, subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry. The authorization may be a document, but more commonly it is a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport...

 problems. Since 1997, he had improperly used a student visa to enter the United States, and in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks he was denied entry to the country until an FBI background check had been completed.

Laforest did not speak English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 until moving to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 to attend community college, as he was raised in Quebec where the main language is French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

.

In winter 2007-08, Laforest played for the Mexicali Eagles in the Mexican Pacific League. In February , he signed a minor league contract with the Florida Marlins, but was released during training camp. He then signed a contract with thee Rojos del Águila de Veracruz

Rojos del Aguila de Veracruz

The Rojos del Águila de Veracruz are a AAA-level baseball team playing in the Mexican League.They play at the Estadio Universitario Beto Ávila in Veracruz, Veracruz....

 a AAA-level team in the Mexican League. In May of the same year, he joins the Capitales de Québec, an independent team in his home province of Quebec.

External links