The winter season is slowly waking up, and we’re already hearing about baseball again. The Division 1 baseball Opening Day is scheduled for March 19, 2023, exactly two months from now.
The season will be longer as 15 matchdays are planned for the regular season and the playoffs final scheduled for mid-September.
This was a request from the clubs and especially the players, and this wish has been granted by the Federation. Interspersed throughout the season will be the Senior European Cups in June, the 23U in August, and the European Nations Championship at the end of September. Finally, the French Challenge will take place the weekend of May 21, and an All-Star Game is scheduled for July 16.
So, a beautiful year of baseball is in store.
On the club side, we will have a different opposition from last year, still with two pools but different due to the 2022 standings.
Group 1 will consist of La Rochelle, Montigny, Toulouse, and PUC around the French champion Rouen.
Group 2 will consist of Montpellier, Metz, Sénart, and Nice around the French vice-champion Savigny.
The balancing act (mutualizing travel expenses for each club) will be the easiest for Montigny and the most arduous for Nice in terms of kilometers traveled during the regular season.
On the communication side, as always, some clubs communicate more than others, some not at all, and the Federation isn’t talking much yet as the registration files are not yet complete for all the clubs supposed to participate.
However, some preseason transfer news is starting to emerge. Let’s give the palm to the Metz club, which announces two arrivals:
- The Japanese pitcher Kenjiro Siguira, who was with Montpellier last year
- The ace pitcher and pitching coach in his club, Shane Priest, who is leaving Sénart.
Speaking of which, the Templiers Sénart also announce the arrival of two players: a French-speaking Canadian, Jake Mac Donald, at catcher, and Yeixon Ruiz, who comes from Savigny.
Next, the Montigny Cougars announce the arrival of Robinson Maestre Acia, a Venezuelan pitcher who will reinforce a bullpen that has been somewhat struggling, notably with the injuries of Mottay and Kioshi.
The La Rochelle club has so far only announced the signing of a utility player, Denis Brito Medina, a Dominican player, and hinted at the winter return of a catcher from the Division 2 days, namely Ritchie Seritella.
On the Stade Toulousain side, we learn of the return of Randy Perez as the team’s manager. He knows them well as he was a player for Toulouse in the past. We also know that they will be without one of their prospects, Mathias Lacombe, for a large part of the season as he is at Cochise College in the USA. The same configuration for Montpellier, who will be without Mahtis Nayral and Pierre Doat, also at American college, but who retain their ace pitcher, Kevin Canelon.
No juicy news yet for Rouen, Savigny, Nice, and PUC, but that won’t be long in coming. It is highly probable that the clubs will start preparing this year to have more and more European and locally trained players. The 2024 season will likely be more restrictive in this regard. This will therefore lead to a shorter possibility of using foreign players. The current championship configuration, which is more focused on dominant foreign pitchers, will surely change to some extent and lead us towards championships where hitting will be more present. On the spectator side, it’s a matter of taste, but often hitting is more lively than the accumulation of strikes and strikeouts.
In any case, Baseball TV France will be there to study, chronicle, and interview throughout the Division 1 season.
Photo credits: Hiep images
