Season on the road

What almost was, and maybe still could be. Also, 7 other things worth your time.

In 1992, a 22-year-old Canadian baseball player named Michel Laplante, who’d grown up in a town called Val d’Or, Quebec—maybe an eight-hour trip northwest of Quebec City (which is already pretty far north)—was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball.

From what I can tell, Laplante gave it his all. He played year after year after year i…