A Crock of Gunt: Michel Provost

December 21, 2022: Somewhere off the coast of Curacao: Aboard a luxuary cruise ship in the southern Caribbean, The Aurora Borealis are hosting a winter fan cruise, and KOA-Aurora Baseball radio team Mark Gunter and George Crocker are there and are broadcasting live in anticipation of the start of today’s Winter Meetings at PEBA Headquarters in Asheville, North Carolina. In this installment they talk with Aurora ace, and two-time Golden Arm winner, Michel Provost.

Crocker: Buenos… Dias… Muchachos…, Donde… estas… George… Crocker…

Gunter: George, you are right next to me, and our audience speaks English. Hey Fans, welcome to the show, we’ve had an excellent time so far on this cruise, and we’ve met a lot of rapid Borealis fans who are just so pumped to be here.

Crocker: Me… llamo… pumped… además…

Gunter: George, after all that time you spent in South America and Mexico, you’d think your Spanish would be better. Anway, as the Winter Meetings get underway, we’ve got a very special guest for you today – and as you know, he’s kind of a private guy – in the public eye…

Crocker: Private guy… Public eye… tu… esta… uno… rhym-mero!!!

Gunter: (rolls his eyes)… Any… Way… We’ve got Michel Provost here for a bit. Mike, how’re you doing?

Provost: I’m doing well, enjoying the cruise, the sights… The fans have been awesome. It’s good to have some… more or less down time with the fellas. It’s been a blast, eh?

Crocker: Oui, comment est votre sentiment bras d’or?

Gunter: George…? You didn’t tell me you spoke… French…?

Crocker: Oh, Georgiana taught me back in my All-Star days at Bogata. She thought it would help me barter with the Parisian jewelers on road trips.

Gunter: Ah…

Provost: George, I think you are confused, I’m from Alberta, not French Canada. Je ne parle pas français.

Crocker: Huh? Oh… le salle de bain est là pour la droite et la gauche. 

Provost: Ah… right…

Gunter: I think George was asking something about your winning the Golden Arm Award. Your second time. How does that feel?

Provost: Well, it certainly is an honor to be recognized – there certainly were a number of outstanding candidates in the league this year – Francisco, Manuel…

Crocker: (in falsetto voice) Et ‘Tugboat’ aussi!!!

Gunter: Yes, George, and ‘Tugboat’, too…

Provost: Yeah, Randy was pretty amazing – has been pretty amazing since the trade. To be perfectly honest, I don’t know where we’d be without him. I think without a doubt he’s been our MVP. Finishing the Golden Arm voting with him as the first runner-up was very sweet for us all. I don’t think it’s happened many times – I know Garza and York did it last year for Florida. Hancock and Benjamin a few years back. It was definitely special for us, eh?

Crocker: Lo… apodo… comieron… la… comida… para… gatos…?

Gunter: What?? George, please, en Inglés, por favor…

Crocker: Alright… You guys are no fun… Speaking of ‘Tugboat’, all the big guys in the league have nicknames – ‘Mayor’, ‘Fireworks’, ‘Snacks’ – What’s your nickname?

Provost: (laughs) You know, that’s actually a funny question. Growing up in a small town, with little baseball history – and lots of hockey history, I never really had one. When I signed with Aurora originally, and found myself immediately at AAA Thornton, some of the guys – I think it was Ray Graham and Mike Lovell, started calling me ‘Money’, but I think that one’s been taken (as he shoots a rye glance at Gunter)…

Gunter: … Funny… Funny guy…

Crocker: Dinero, Dinero, Dinero…

(silence)

Crocker: DINERO!!! 

Provost: Well… Back at the start of September, when we had started to pull away from Yuma…

Crocker: Dinero, Dinero, Dinero…

Provost:  the GM over in Lupin (Ron Collins) had made a comment about our upcoming series…

Crocker: DINERO!!!

Provost: We get it George… Our upcoming series with the Cliff Hangers – a series I was slated to start game 2. In reference to our club, he said “The train keep arollin’, all night long…”… After we won game 2, 9-0, and I threw a complete game, 5-hit shut-out, a couple of guys started chanting ‘Train Arollin’, Train Arollin’’, kinda bee-boppin’ around my locker.

Gunter: So the guy’s started calling you ‘Train Arollin’’, in reference to Collin’s comment?

Provost: Well, it’s a little more complicated than that. You see, growing up in Alberta, long winter nights would often be passed by a group of us who had a band, and I’d play the bass guitar. This was back in… I don’t know, ’07, ’08. Anyway, we loved Aerosmith – LOVED Aerosmith, and we’d play covers of their stuff.

Crocker: Ah, that Steven Tyler es… la… mucho… gran… bomba!!!

Provost: Right? Anyway, as you guys know, starting pitchers choose the clubhouse music on game days, so that day we were grooving to some Aerosmith – just letting the playlist shuffle, and right before we headed out the song ‘Train Kept A Rollin’’ pops up, and that got the guys all riled up!

Gunter: So, the comment, the song, and the performance all add up to a nickname?

Provost: I guess so. It certainly has stuck, though I think it’s pretty silly.

Crocker: Qué… gringos… patatas… son… deliciosos…?

Gunter: What??

Provost: Que se passe-t-il??

Crocker: (looking annoyed) Who were the guys who started calling you that, getting their groove on post-game?

Provost: Oh… That would be Foster and Giles. Man… Have you ever seen those boys dance? John dances like a white boy, and Nick? Yeah… For a brother, he dances like a white boy, too. He’s definitely our dancing queen.

Gunter: I can see that bean pole body looking all awkward. So with the Winter Meetings starting up, what sort of Christmas present do you think Will Topham is going to bring home for the club?

Provost: I don’t know. I do know that this club is awfully special and after two titles with essentially the same group, we are all looking forward to working together on a three-peat – now that would be sweet!

Crocker: uno… dos… tres… en punto… de la… roca… un threepeat serait magnifique!!

Gunter: Indeed it would. Thanks to Michel Provost for taking the time for a visit with us, and after a commercial break we’ll be back with young second-baseman Pedro Medrano, who is just back with the club after a stint at winter ball, working on his skills at third base. George, Provost, amazing season, eh?

Crocker: Ja, aber wie eine dumme Spitznamen…

Gunter: George, you never cease to amaze me…