Two interviews with President Thierry Raphet in two sports media outlets follow the French Baseball Federation’s General Assembly on March 19th.
The latter did not draw the crowds, marking the clubs’ disinterest in its governing body. Less than 50% of members voted, yet it was an electronic vote organized 15 days before the AG. As for physical presence at the venue (INSEP), it was even weaker.
In the A Coup Sur interview, the question is raised whether there is a rift between the Federation and the clubs. It’s clear that animosities exist, as in any community of men and women. Clubs engaged in regional championships are less affected by the federal bodies, more by their league. For other levels, the impact is significant since the federation’s sports, refereeing, and scoring commissions are directly involved. Rule violations lead to financial penalties, and many clubs pay to participate, lacking here an umpire, here a scorer, here a forfeit…
This even leads to the notion that the federation’s financial problems have been partly reimbursed by club sanctions over the past ten years. This feeling is surely false, but it contributes to this rift.
President Raphet also discussed the federation’s projects. He envisions his term through increasing the number of licensed players. For this, baseball5 has been chosen as the main weapon: bringing people to baseball through baseball5. Mediatization will also come through this new sport thanks to sports results and the eventual choice to broadcast baseball5 matches, notably on the Sport en France media.
During the interview with Patrick Chêne on Sport en France, it’s disheartening to see that the interview is still in the tone of a sport where the rules are complicated, or where low mediatization and non-adaptation to French culture are insurmountable obstacles. The rules are not more complicated than rugby, and yet the French people understand them. Game times are not always longer than in other sports (equestrian, marathon, pentathlon, triathlon, some volleyball matches…).
The energy our president puts into defending the strengths of our sports is, however, noteworthy. The season has already restarted for regional clubs, and from weekend to weekend, national championships are resuming. The notoriety of our sports has already marked time through the female side with Mélissa Mayeux, with the fleeting visit of Bruce Bochy at the helm of the French team. The president has made it clear that this notoriety in France will not come through the broadcasting of Division 1 matches. Clubs can make efforts in this area; the federation will not help but will not hinder these developments.
It will therefore be necessary to find more media stunts to permeate French media. Which one will it be? Gaetan Alibert’s book « Histoire populaire du Baseball » is a first source in this year 2022…
Then the other projects are far off: the MLB’s visit to Paris in 2025 at the Stade de France, the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar in 2026 for baseball5…
Let’s be patient…
Interview on A coup Sur to listen to in Podcast on:
Apple: here
Spotify: here
Podcast Addict: here
