Le Gros Chat (The Big Cat)

Expos fans of a certain vintage will immediately spot the resemblance the first time they see Alex Real play first base or hit at Royal Athletic Park. Based on the way he moves around the diamond and his body type, he's a dead ringer for a young Andres Galarraga. It's downright spooky that they both have the jersey number 14 in common as well.

Appearances aside, Alex Real is an extremely gifted ballplayer. In his first two games with the HarbourCats, Real has gone five-for-seven with a pair of doubles and two walks -- that's a .714 batting average and a .778 on-base percentage. On Wednesday night, he was on both ends of a slick 3-6-3 double play and made a couple of fine catches in foul territory.

Baseball fans would be wise to come on down to RAP this summer as much as possible to watch "Le Gros Chat" prowl the field -- he just might be one of those guys you'll watch on TV in the big leagues in a few years, and you'll want to be able to say that you saw him play in Victoria when he was in college.

Alex Real photo by Victoria HarbourCats Baseball Club