Shortstop Alfredo Angarita (.393) was one of Division 1’s most dangerous hitters last year. Unfortunately for Savigny Lions, the Venezuelan won’t be back in 2022.
So who will they bring in to replace him? That’s a secret the Lions are keeping to themselves—perhaps until opening day.
Savigny isn’t the only team with a few surprises up their sleeve.
The Montigny Cougars, for example, have announced they’ll be calling on a foreign pitcher to replace former Los Angeles Dodgers prospect Alexander Santana, who made a BIG-TIME difference (6-0, 1.38 ERA) when he joined the club midway through the 2021 season. But who exactly will they bring in?
Good question…
However, as Le Baseblog noted recently, some of the new foreign recruits have been made public. So far, we’ve introduced five of these players. Here are two more, one of whom is technically returning to Division 1, but after several years away.
Allan Bellen-Fagnoni
For some reason, French baseball has a few curious links to Argentina, one of them being Agustín Tissera, who will join the Montigny Cougars this season.
But did you know that Division 1 also has a few ties to Argentina’s giant Lusophone neighbor? We’re talking, of course, about Brazil, home of Pelé, samba, caipirinhas, and… Allan Bellen-Fagnoni!
Like Tissera, the hulking 30-year-old (he stands two meters tall) will play for the Cougars this season. Plus, the two South Americans crossed paths two years ago in Germany, where they both played for the Mannheim Tornados.
That might be part of what drew Bellen-Fagnoni to Montigny. Another big selling point is the presence of his Brazilian national team teammate Gabriel Do Carmo, who has played for the Cougars since 2018 and had a strong year last year (.320 average in 15 games).
That’s right, Montigny won’t have just one but two Brazilians!
Interestingly, this won’t be Bellen-Fagnoni’s first foray into French baseball. The muscular Brazilian already spent a season here in 2015, when he posted an impressive .410 (with 2 home runs and 14 RBIs) for Stade Toulousain.
The two Brazilians, Do Carmo (left) and Bellen-Fagnoni
« I’ll bring some experience gained around the world throughout my career, » Bellen-Fagnoni said in a recent interview with the Montigny Cougars. « I’ll give my all against the best teams, I’ll do what I do best: hit hard, hit for contact, drive in runs to help the team win, » he added.
Samuel Granoff
Since joining Division 1 in 2019, when the league—now composed of 10 teams—expanded from eight to 12 clubs, the Metz Cometz have relied heavily on foreign recruits to stay competitive. This year will be no exception, especially with the added challenge of competing in a completely different group during the regular season.
Le Baseblog has already written about two of the team’s newcomers: Markus Melendez and Trevor Rogers. Additionally, the Cometz are also calling on starting pitcher Sam Granoff, who played NCAA Division 1 college baseball in the United States for not one but two different schools: the University of San Francisco and Duke.
We’re talking about Sam Granoff, who made a remarkable recovery from shoulder surgery during his college career and is now making a sort of comeback—after three years away from the game.
Granoff, originally from Naples (Florida, not Italy), feels good about his chances, especially given his pitching style, which he describes as « crafty. » In other words, he’s never been a power pitcher but has instead succeeded by mixing his delivery and pitch speeds.
« Honestly, I think this time off was actually a good thing for me—physically: rest, after all those years of pretty intense work. But also mentally, » Granoff recently told the Metz Cometz. « It allowed me to step back. To put things in perspective and see the true value of things. »
With the USF Dons (Credit: Christina Leung)
Depending on how things go, the story might end up appearing in the pages of a book. Granoff says he plans to work on a baseball novel this summer before starting a PhD program in the fall. Multi-talented, he also plays drums and guitar.
The pitcher’s first challenge, however, will be to dust off his pitching talents and get ready for the season opener on April 10, when the Cometz host a doubleheader against Paris UC.
Benjamin Witte
