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Team USA is already in the semi-finals of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) after a 5-3 win over Canada. Pete Crow-Armstrong and Brice Turang contributed a pair of hits each for the victory, however, one player who stole more of the spotlight than them was Phillipe Aumont, the 37-year-old Canadian veteran pitcher who was brought out of retirement to pitch in the tournament.
The former MLB player said goodbye to baseball in 2020 to take up farming. As a farmer in Quebec, the player was called upon to represent his team in the 2023 WBC. Everything seemed to indicate that this was definitely the end of his cycle with the king of sports, but he was called up for the 2026 edition and accepted to return to the mound.
He participated in the quarter-final game against the Americans. If there was one baseball player who enjoyed that game, it was Aumont, who continues to give himself the opportunity to be close to a sport he loves.
What was Phillippe Aumont's time in MLB like?
He was selected in the first round of the 2007 Draft by the Seattle Mariners. He was later traded to the Philadelphia Phillies, with whom he made his Major League debut in 2012.
He was also part of organizations that signed him to Minor League contracts: Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers. In the case of the Blue Jays, it was in two stages, the second being his retirement in 2020.
His MLB career numbers were as follows:
- He played mainly as a reliever.
- He played in 46 Major League games.
- He recorded 42 strikeouts in 43.2 innings pitched.
Phillippe Aumont, the atypical baseball player with low MLB contracts
Unlike most Major League Baseball players, the Canadian was never able to surpass the million-dollar mark in his transfers. His signing with Seattle in 2007 was for $1.9 million, a figure that went down and with intermittency in the following years.
- 2012. Philadelphia Phillies. 480,000
- 2013. Philadelphia Phillies. 490,000
- 2014. Philadelphia Phillies. 500,000
- 2015. Philadelphia Phillies. 507,500
Overall, his total career earnings likely exceed $3 million, including bonuses.