Winter is winding down, and with just three weeks until Opening Day of the French D1 baseball season, news about the league’s new foreign « import » players continues to trickle in.
In our series on overseas recruits, Le Baseblog has so far introduced seven players, including a pair from countries (Brazil and Argentina) that don’t necessarily come to mind as sources of top-tier baseball talent.
Next up, we turn our attention to two more imports: a catcher and a pitcher. Both hail from the United States, and both are headed to teams that have made a habit, in recent years, of meeting in the championship final.
Thomas Greely
The Sénart Templiers, with 18 wins against just two losses in the regular season, boasted the best record in D1 last year as well as its most powerful offense. And of all their hitters, no one performed better than Oakland Athletics alum Andy Paz, who went on to win league MVP honors.
However, for the second straight season, the team fell to the Rouen Huskies in the final. And during the offseason, Sénart also lost Paz, who decided for personal and professional reasons to take a break this year.
Needless to say, the star catcher is irreplaceable, and given his importance, Paz will be missed not just by Sénart but by French baseball as a whole. Yet the Templiers have no choice but to try to fill his shoes, as the saying goes, and to that end, they’re thrilled to welcome a proven catcher from the « Golden State. »
Thomas Greely played two seasons at San Joaquin Delta College in California’s Central Valley, batting .333 in his first year, 2018, and .294 in his second.
The now 24-year-old then took his talents to California State University Long Beach (CSULB), in NCAA DI (the highest level of American college sports), where he hit .333 during the COVID-shortened 2020 season. Last year, he batted .167 in very limited action (Greely had just 18 at bats).
This won’t be the first time the Templiers have tried their luck with someone from Long Beach State, as the school is also known. In 2019, his CSULB teammate Daniel Jackson had a sensational season at Sénart, leading the league in hits (52, tied with Ariel Soriano), doubles (17), and total bases (84).
Greely received several offers to play in Europe this season but ultimately decided that Sénart was the best fit.
« First of all, I’m excited to meet and get to know new people, » he told the team in a recent interview.
« If baseball is my number one passion, I also enjoy meeting people and sharing moments with new faces. As for the baseball part, I expect to win and win a lot! »
William Moscato
Compared to CSULB, with a student population of nearly 40,000, Macalester College is tiny. Only about 2,000 people attend the liberal arts college. Located in St. Paul, Minnesota, it also lacks the sunshine of Southern California. And its sports teams don’t compete at the highest level of college competition, but in the NCAA’s third division.
What Macalester does have is a proven track record, in France, of being a true source of pitching talent.
French baseball fans may recall the exploits of pitcher James Murrey, who had a long and impressive run in D1 starting in 2011, when he went 6-2 with a 1.11 ERA for Stade Toulousain. His last season came in 2019, again with the Toulouse Tigers, when the right-hander posted an excellent 1.34 ERA with 92 strikeouts in just 74 innings. In between, he played several seasons for Paris UC.
James Murrey
Now, the reigning champions, the Rouen Huskies, are set to bring in their own Macalester pitcher: William Moscato, a 21-year-old right-hander who also happens to have some skills, it turns out, in the classroom.
The Franco-American dual national is currently in his final year at Macalester, where he studies applied mathematics and statistics. He won’t be available to Rouen until the end of the academic year, likely late May.
The good news is that he’s just coming off the college season, and thus has the fortune of being in good form.
But there are also question marks surrounding Moscato, who is attempting a sort of comeback after missing the 2020 season due to the COVID crisis, then also sitting out last year, in this case due to injury.
So far this year, the Scots, as Macalester’s team is known, have struggled. They’ve won just two games, against eight losses, but haven’t yet played at home.
Moscato was their starting pitcher on Opening Day, but lasted less than three innings and took the loss.
He and the Scots still have a month and a half to turn things around. And with a bit of luck, the young Franco-American will be in top form for his arrival, perhaps just in time to help the Huskies in the Challenge de France tournament (May 26-29).
Benjamin Witte
