Josue Peley leaves Quebec Capitales to be Spanish interpreter for Blue Jays
Former catcher talks translation, growing up in Montreal and major league baseball
Josue Peley jumped at the chance to become the Toronto Blue Jays first official interpreter.
In January, Major League Baseball made it mandatory for its 30 teams to hire Spanish translators for this year's season.
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The Venezuela-born, Montreal-grown former baseball catcher immediately saw an opportunity to combine his love for baseball with his knack for languages.
"It's something new of course but it's amazing," Peley told CBC Montreal's Daybreak. "I've been in that world with all the big leaguers and everything that goes with it — it's unbelievable."
Peley, who is fluent in Spanish, English and French, decided to leave the Québec Capitales to pursue this role.
'I lived it'
After playing baseball for farm teams in the United States and four years with the Capitales, Peley leaned heavily on knowing three languages.
Peley moved to Montreal when he was young and could only speak Spanish. He struggled to integrate and learn English and French.
"It's led me to a lot of stuff now. I'm trilingual now. I can read speak, write, I can do everything with my three languages," Peley said.
With the Blue Jays, he is tasked with interpreting and translating for players whose first language is Spanish, a reality he dealt with during his early adulthood.
"I lived it when I went to college in the United States and I didn't speak very good English," Peley said. "It's a struggle when you can't understand."
The language barrier often makes players shy and it can be frustrating both on and off the pitch, said Peley.
He often helped translate for teammates and was key in the Capitales decision to form a roster of Cuban players.
With his new role, the Montrealer hopes his decision to hang up his equipment and work in the major league will be beneficial.
"It can lead to me a lot of things," Peley said. "I can do this job for two to three years and then this can lead me to a lot. I can become a scout or a coach later. And who knows? Maybe you'lll see me in the big leagues as a coach or as a something else."