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GO NORTHEAST, YOUNG MAN!
CANADA’S BRIGHTEST YOUNG STAR MOVES TO BOSTON

In July of 1896, Gilles Joubert was signed out of high school by the London Monarchs to plenty of fanfare. He was considered the best teenage position player prospect in Canada’s young baseball history, and by the start of the next year he established himself as London’s everyday first baseman as a 19-year-old. He immediately became one of the best batsmen in Canada, and over the next four years Joubert was clearly the Canadian Baseball League’s best hitter:

His oWAR for the 1900 CBL season: 7.1 in 126 games. During the four seasons shown above, he won two CBL Batsman of the Year awards, one Golden Glove at first base, and was in the CBL Team of the Year all four times. Even though he was playing in Canada, Joubert was clearly an incredible talent:

(Ratings relative to MLB-equivalent league on a 20-80 scale)

Like other pro leagues the CBL allowed for Free Agency after four years, so as the 1899 season drew to a close it led to a very important question for Joubert, the London Monarchs, and the Canadian Baseball League itself: Would Joubert take the route of dominant Quebec City pitcher Cecil Richards and sign an extension to stay in Canada, or would he take a big-money, higher-profile deal in one of the two American Baseball Association leagues?

Joubert became a Free Agent in the first week of October and took his time to decide, as he was torn between staying in Canada and moving to the United States to ply his trade at the highest level. There was precedent for a star CBL position player moving to the APBL as shortstop Patrick Henry, winner of two of the first three CBL BotY’s and MVP’s, signed for the Brooklyn Knights ahead of the 1897 season and has since been a solid fixture in their lineup.

After six weeks of talks with various teams in CBL, APBL, & MWBA, Joubert signed a huge contract with the Boston Shamrocks on November 23rd: $5,000 a year for eight years for a grand total of $40,000. He would be getting double his London pay, and he would be playing first base for one of the APBL’s more historically successful teams.

Joubert was about to enter the APBL as the league’s most talented first baseman, and he would also enter as the league’s best young position player since he’d only just turned 23. By the end of his contract, Joubert’s $5,000 per year could end up being considered a steal for the Boston front office.