The French Division 2 baseball championship kicks off this Sunday, March 31st. 14 matchdays of doubleheaders will unfold until September 15th across two pools. A Play Off/Play Down session in seven pools during October will conclude with a best-of-three final on October 26th and 27th for the top two teams in the final standings.
Two pools will compete in the regular season. The first with eight teams and the second with six. It will be a complicated, unbalanced championship, with two types of teams: those aiming to stay up and those gunning for promotion to Division 1.
Pool A
Division 2 has been dominated in recent years by three teams battling fiercely for the French championship title: Béziers, Clermont, and Valenciennes. None have reached Division 1, either by choice or by failing to secure promotion after defeating the Division 1’s bottom team. Expect them to clash again this season. However, the two teams relegated from Division 1 to keep that league at eight teams – PUC and Nice – are sure to shake things up. Three of these teams (Béziers, Clermont, and Nice) are in Pool B, while the other two (PUC and Valenciennes) are in Pool A, which has eight teams in total, making their task more challenging. The other teams will fight to survive in Division 2, though Sénart’s and Rouen’s second teams could also challenge the favorites, alongside Ronchin, Thiais, and Meyzieu.
Pool B
Clubs are struggling to maintain two teams in the top two divisions. After Montpellier, PUC, and Montigny left Division 2 in 2023, La Rochelle is the latest casualty. Sénart and Rouen are the last holdouts in this regard. La Guerche, Eysines, and Anglet are now more accustomed to this championship and will surely make their presence felt during the regular season. As for the newcomer, Bréal sous Montfort, replacing the relegated Boucaniers de La Rochelle, let’s give them time to adjust to this new competition, even though they did taste it in 2022. All these teams will be subject to the same new rules as Division 1, including local player quotas and new extra-inning regulations. Some weekends will feature up to seven games, while others will have only four or three.
On the player front, social media hasn’t been very forthcoming this year with information about foreign recruits. Perhaps a trend towards more French players? Here’s the schedule for this Sunday, March 31st.
The Sénart vs. Rouen match has been postponed due to the Quebec pro team tryouts being held at Rouen’s field.
Photo Credit: Hiep Images
