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The end of March — and just like olden days, when Expos ruled and the seductive, resin-coated aroma of baseball filled the air — baseball, real baseball, baseball dressed in Toronto Blue Jays’ blue, is returning to the Big O, albeit for just one weekend.

But they are not alone — for further west, in Dorval, a lesser-known outfit called Dorval Pickup Baseball is also getting underway. And don’t despair if you’ve never heard the name. For this modest organization — some call it a little gem — sits at the opposite end of the baseball continuum. Its purpose is to open the game up to kids who otherwise would miss out.

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Dorval Pickup Baseball is the brainchild of local resident Chris Chartier, an unapologetic believer in all things Expos. You might know him better as the driving force behind the Montreal Expos Fan Group on Facebook.

As a child, Chartier suffered from juvenile arthritis, a condition serious enough to keep him off the baseball diamond. He vowed that someday he would find the means to enable other kids, similarly limited by circumstance, do what he couldn’t, play baseball and have fun.