New Fisher Cats manager looking forward to new season

MANCHESTER, N.H. – As the New Hampshire Fisher Cats prepare to open their 2025 season, incoming Fisher Cats Manager Brent Lavallee took time with the media on Tuesday to share his expectations and thoughts on the upcoming campaign.

A native of British Columbia, Lavallee brings 15 years of experience as a player, coach and manager at the University of Louisiana – Shreveport before spending two years managing the Toronto Blue Jays Florida complex league team and three years managing the High-A Vancouver Canadians. During his stint in Vancouver, he was named 2024 Northwest League Manager of the Year, reaching the league finals in all three years and winning the pennant in 2023.

Despite this, Lavallee realizes that Double-A is a large step forward in competition compared to what he’s seen so far in his career.

“The margin for error is bigger down in the lower levels, where here the window of opportunity doesn’t open as wide and the mistakes aren’t as prevalent,” he said.

Still, in the end it is the same game that he and all of his players have played since they were children and he says everyone is ready to get onto the field following Spring Training and all of the waiting over the winter months.

While player development is the central purpose for the members of the Fisher Cats, just like any other minor league team, Lavallee also wants to develop a sense of competitive spirit in his players as well, as well as a sense of camaraderie and team work in the clubhouse and on the field.

“Hopefully we can connect as a group, and that covers communication, respect, everything there. Hopefully (the team) is a tight-knit group of players who like to go to battle win or lose with each other and then be ready to go again tomorrow,” he said. “We’re just here to do our jobs and pick each other up and win baseball games.”

Lavallee also hopes that he and other members of the Fisher Cats franchise can help represent the team and the sport of baseball in a positive light among members of the community, and sees building those connections as a duty of his position.

“I’m all about growing this game, and as I’ve told other members of the Fisher Cats’ staff earlier, we’re here to promote baseball this area and get kids to come to this park and have people in this area to come back and be proud of the New Hampshire Cats here in Manchester. We also need to give them a good product: homers and heaters never turned anyone away.”

The Fisher Cats begin their season with a homestand against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, the Double-A affiliate of the New York Mets. First pitch in the first game of the series is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. on Friday, April 4.