The start of the French D1 baseball league is still a month away, but for many of the competition’s top players—those called up to join the France national team—the offseason is over… now!
In fact, Les Bleus are gathering as we speak and flying off to the Canary Islands, where starting this Sunday, they’ll play six games in six days in a tournament called the Tenerife Spring Cup 2022.
This is the first chance for the squad to take the field since their disappointment last September at the European Baseball Championships in northern Italy.
The French side won just two of their six games in that competition and finished 15th out of 16 teams. France has thus been relegated from the European « Pool A, » meaning they won’t automatically qualify for the next European Championships in 2023.
Instead, they’ll have to fight their way through the competition via a series of qualifying matches in July in Bulgaria, against the national teams of Bulgaria, Ireland, Slovenia, and Georgia.
The upcoming Tenerife Cup won’t count toward France’s goal of returning to the top tier of European baseball. But it will give the team a chance to assess where they stand as a group and, hopefully, build some much-needed momentum.
Keino Perez and Boris Rothermundt
Standing in their way at the Tenerife Spring Cup are the Tenerife Marlins, one of Spain’s top club teams, and the Czech national team, which finished 5th at the last European Championships and is currently ranked 14th in the world (according to the WBSC).
The governing body of French baseball, the FFBS, recently published the full list of French players for the event. As at last year’s European Championships, the group will be managed by former Rouen Huskies skipper (and pitcher) Keino Perez.
Notable absences include Andy Paz, who led Les Bleus in hits last September, as well as Paolo Brossier and Léo Jiminian, who are both playing for U.S. college teams at the moment.
Additions to the squad include Victorien Roze of Metz Cometz, Hugo Blondel of Rouen, and Kenny Esposito, who played for Montpellier Barracudas in 2021 but will join Toulouse Tigers this year (along with teammate Nolan Soliveres).
For the full list of players, click here.
The France national team plays Sunday and Monday against the Marlins, followed by three straight games (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday) against the Czechs. They’ll play their final match on Friday, March 18th, against Tenerife.
Go, Les Bleus!
Benjamin Witte
