It’s a scorching summer in the southern hemisphere. The Australian baseball championships are heating up. Baseball TV France caught up with two French players who have moved abroad to play thousands of miles from their homeland: two pitchers, Nicolas Antoine and Quentin Moulin.
Nicolas Antoine
BTVF: Which club and division do you play in, and how is the championship going?
In Adelaide’s State Division 1. At the start of the season, we had one game per week, but now it’s two on Tuesday evenings and Saturday afternoons for nine-inning games.
BTVF: What’s the level of play like?
The level of play is really high. There are more teams in Division 1 here than in France. There are especially a lot more strong hitters. In a lineup, almost every player can hit a home run. That’s different from France, where once you’ve faced the foreigners and the top French players, the lineup weakens. Here, from the first to the ninth batter, the level is solid. There are also quite a few players who play for the Australian national team, spread across all the teams, which raises the level even more.
BTVF: What are the facilities like: stadium, stands, concession?
The fields are decent, with natural surfaces, always with stands and canteens for players and spectators. We probably have several fields in France of better quality, but here, within a 35-minute radius, there are around fifteen fields. It’s more suitable for training and having many matchups.
BTVF: What are the differences with France?
What stands out to me is the number of good players, the ability to play midweek games, and having minimal travel time.
BTVF: Tell us about the All-Star experience
Well, I train every week with my club and also with the Adelaide Giants, the city’s pro team. It’s better facilities, I train with even better players, better coaches. Thanks to that, I was called up to the All-Star team. I got to meet other Europeans, I found five players who had participated in the Euro in the Czech Republic, coming from Germany, Belgium, and Great Britain. It was a great experience to be on the same team.
I don’t see any other French players; Quentin Moulin, who is in Sydney, plays in another championship. There are 15 hours of travel between our two cities.
Quentin Moulin
BTVF: How’s life in Australia treating you?
Very well, great welcome from my coach, teammates, and host family. I’m trying to make the most of every moment; there are so many differences in life and the championship compared to France. I work outside as a sports coach in a college and do private coaching on the side.
BTVF: Can you describe the championship?
Like in France, two games per week. One on Wednesday and one on Saturday, and all games are played at night. Each club has four teams: 18U and 3rd, 2nd, and 1st grade. I play in 1st grade. The other three teams play their games on Saturday before ours.
BTVF: What are the player profiles like?
It’s a championship with a lot of promising young players, prospects. Many bridges between the different levels from 18U to 1st grade. There are also many experienced players: former ABL players, imported players who have played at a very high level in other countries. And before the pro season starts, we’ve seen many ABL pros come play with us.
BTVF: How are the fields?
All fields are equipped with lights to play at night. The pro stadiums are very nice, the others are good too.
BTVF: Are the games broadcast?
An app called GameChanger (NDLR: not available in Europe) allows you to watch all Australian games (ABL and 1st grade), we also have a YouTube channel for our team: YouTube Channel.
BTVF: How do you feel in this championship?
Better and better. We started with five losses, including my first start which wasn’t very good. My second start allowed me to give my team their first win of the season. Since then, we’ve been stringing together victories. I’m improving quite well, quite quickly, thanks a lot to the coach and also to the advice of former ABL players and experienced teammates. In my second-to-last game, I was between 87 and 89 mph over five innings with a new win. In last night’s game, I struck out 16 and had no walks in 7.1 innings. We have the team to win the season, I hope it works out.
