The history of the French team began in 1929 with their first official game against Spain in Barcelona with a 10–6 victory.[2] The team made its debut in competition in 1955 when it played in the finals of the second European Baseball Championship, finishing fifth out of five teams.[3]
The French team has qualified for the World Cup finals three times, the first time in 1994. In order to qualify for the finals a playoff game was played against South Africa. France lost seven games during the competition, and finished in 16th place out of 16 teams.[4] In 2001, as well as 2003, les Bleus (the nickname of the team) made their way into the World Cup finals. During the 2001 edition the French team finished in 15th place, tied for last with the Philippines. They also finished in 15th place in 2003, out of 15 teams.
In the fall of 2012, France participated in their first World Baseball Classic Qualifier. The team played in the Jupiter, Florida, pool alongside South Africa, Spain, and Israel. France lost both its games to Spain and South Africa.
In September 2013, France named former MLB pitcher Éric Gagné new head coach. The team played a series of trial games in Florida in October 2013 and in Phoenix, Arizona, in March 2014 in preparation for the 2014 European Championships. In early September 2014, France hosted the inaugural France International Baseball Tournament. France won the first exhibition game 8–7 vs. Japan before claiming game 1 6–3 over Belgium and game 2 10–5, again over Japan. "Les Bleus" claimed their first-ever victory over the Netherlands with a 12–8 win on 8 September 2014, before falling 3–2 against the Dutch in the championship game the following night.
Every two years, France participates in the European Baseball Championship. France's best result came in 1999 when the team finished third. The French National team finished 6th in the 2014 European Championships, going 4–1 in Regensburg, GER before falling to Czech Republic, Holland and Spain in the Brno, CZ.
In March 2015 French pitcher Owen Ozanich was France's lone representative on Team Europe, which split two contests at the Tokyo Dome against Samurai Japan.
In July 2015 France sent many of its national team players to participate in the 2015 World University Summer Games in South Korea. Rouen manager Keino Perez was the manager for this competition. France finished in 8th place. Once back in Europe, the national team played a series of games in Antwerp, Belgium, 23–24 July against Sweden and the host country, Belgium. With a 2–0 record, France won the Flanders invitational tournament with Belgium coming in second and Sweden third.
In November and December 2015 Ozanich along with Leonel Cespedes represented France on Team Europe during the Asian Winter League held in Taichung, Taiwan. Cespedes had a 4.50 ERA out of the bullpen. Ozanich led the team in innings pitched, strikeouts, and ERA.
The French National Team competed in the 2016 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers held in March 2016 in Panama. In game one, Panama beat France behind long-time MLB catcher Carlos Ruiz's two home runs in front of a crowd of over 11,000. In game two, Cespedes pitched France to a victory over European rival Spain at Rod Carew Stadium. The 5–3 victory marked the first win in four tries at the WBC Qualifiers for the French. In the semi-final game, France, led by offensively by first baseman Rene Leveret's home run in the fifth inning, found themselves tied with Panama in the fifth inning, but were not able to close out the game, falling 7–4, ending their hopes of qualifying for the 2017 WBC.
In April 2016 Kieran Mattison replaced Eric Gagne as French National Team Manager. On 16 July 2016 the FFBS hosted its first-ever All-Star Game in La Rochelle, won by the French League Foreign All-Stars by a score of 12–7 over the French National Team. Prior to the game, French national team shortstop Felix Brown won the first annual home run derby.
In September 2016, the French Federation hosted the second edition of the France International Baseball Tournament (also known as the Yoshida Challenge), featuring France, Germany, Netherlands, and International Stars. France finished in third place behind Germany and the Netherlands. France finished in 7th place in the 2016 European Championships which were held in Hoofddorp, NL. They beat Croatia, Greece, and Sweden, while falling to Italy, Belgium, and Spain. Third baseman Maxime Lefevre hit .500 for the tournament while P/OF Leonel Cespedes posted a 2–0 record with a 0.64 ERA.
French pitchers Owen Ozanich and Marc-Andre Habeck represented France at the 2016 Asian Winter League with Team Europe.
In July 2017 French/Cuban 1B/OF Ernesto Martinez Jr. signed with the Milwaukee Brewers for $880,000, the largest-ever bonus for a French player. The big lefty served as France's designated hitter at just 16 years old in the 2016 WBC Qualifier where he played alongside his father, Ernesto Martinez Sr. a longtime star in the French D1 for Senart. Through the 2023 MiLB season, Martinez, now 24, has hit .255/.362/.420 with 37 HR, 161 RBI and 65 SB.
In July 2017 the French national team again participated in the annual All-Star Game, again held in La Rochelle, falling 5–1 to the All-Star Team made up of the best foreign players.
In August 2017, the French University team participated in the Summer Universiades in Taipei, Taiwan. The team had a surprise win over the highly favored Chinese Taipei, before falling to Korea and Czech Republic. Overall the team, again coached by Keino Perez finished 7th out of 8.
In November 2018 les bleus, managed by Kieran Mattison, headed to South Africa for a 7-game series against the South African National Team where they went 2–5 in the seven contests held in Johannesburg, Durban, and Cape Town. Minor league pitcher Yoan Antonac (Phillies) made his national team debut for France. Jose Paula was named to the all series team where he took home best defensive player for the week, Maxime Lefevre led all players in stolen bases.
The 2019 French season featured a 12-team Division 1, the league previously had 8 teams in the top division prior to this expansion. In late February, the national team held spring training in Tenerife, Spain. Five national team members played in Italy in 2019: Owen Ozanich and Marc-Andre Habeck with Parma (Serie A), Andy Paz with Bologna (Serie A) Leonel Cespedes with Redipuglia (Serie A), and Franklin de la Rosa with Grosseto (Serie B).
In September 2019 the French National Team competed in the 2019 European Championships. Maxime Lefevre led the team with a .435 average, followed by Bastien Dagneau (.429), Andy Paz (.400) and Fred Hanvi (.350). France finished in 7th place, beating Austria, Belgium and Croatia, while falling to Italy, Spain, Israel and Germany. On the mound, Marc-Andre Habeck led France in innings pitched (11.0), Leonel Cespedes logged 7.2, and Owen Ozanich 6.0. Habeck also led the staff in strikeouts (12), ahead of Ozanich (5), Yoann Vaugelade (4) and Franklin de la Rosa (4). Daniel Camou and Lilian Amoros each logged three scoreless innings to lead the staff in ERA.
The FFBS shocked the European baseball community when they announced Bruce Bochy would take over as manager of the national team. The announcement came in late 2019, and confirmed rumors that the future Hall of Fame skipper would lead the team in the 2020 World Baseball Classic Qualifier. Due to the world wide Coronavirus outbreak in March 2020, the WBC qualifiers were postponed to September 2022.
The 2020 French Division 1 season was cancelled on 6 May 2020. French minor leaguers Yoan Antonac and Ernesto Martinez Jr. also had their minor league seasons cancelled due to covid-19. Ariel Soriano (Nettuno) and Owen Ozanich (Parma) played 2020 in Italy. Norbert Jongerius and Robyn Clara played in the Netherlands.[5]
The 2021 French Division 1 season began in June 2021. In early September 2021, the Montpellier Barracudas took home the Challenge de France. In October, the French Series saw Perez's Rouen Huskies beat Senart in five games to win their 16th French Title. Outfielder Martin Vissac took home MVP honors.
The French national team finished a disappointing 15th (out of 16) in the 2021 European Championships held in Turin, Italy. France lost to Great Britain, Israel, Germany, and Greece. They beat Russia and Slovakia. The team struggled under newly appointed interim manager Keino Perez, who took over for Bochy, who cancelled his trip to Europe over covid concerns. Offensively, only Andy Paz (.364) hit over .300 for a team that hit a collective .167 over 6 games. On the mound, the French did slightly better, with the then 32 year-old Ozanich leading the team in innings (10.0) and strikeouts (13) while 17 year-old Mathis Nayral allowed just 1 run over 7.1 IP (1.23 ERA) while punching out 7 batters. Outfielder Jose Paula also contributed on the mound, giving up 2 ER in 5.0 IP, striking out 9.
In July 2022, the French national team headed to Bulgaria for the 'B' pool qualifier. France, which needed to win the qualifier in order to again participate in the 2023 European Championships, did just that, sweeping through the competition. Les bleus won the final against host Bulgaria, in what was former ace pitcher Owen Ozanich's final start with the national team. In a passing of the torch moment, Ozanich was relieved by French flamethrower Mathias LaCombe, who took home the tournament best pitcher award.
The Rouen Huskies, under first year manager Boris Marche, won the 2022 French Series three games to one against the Savigny Lions. With this victory, Rouen clinched a spot in the 2023 European Champions Cup.
In the fall of 2022, Future Hall of Frame manager Bruce Bochy finally debuted in an official competition at the helm of Les Bleus. The World Baseball Classic qualifier, held in Regensburg, Germany saw France lose in the opening round to Great Britain and Czech Republic, both of whom advanced to the 2023 World Baseball Classic. Ivan Acuna was France's top hitter, going 3-for-5 with a home run and 3 RBI in the two games. On the mound, Esteban Prioul and Jose Paula had scoreless outings, while Yoimer Camacho struck out five batters.
The 2023 regular season saw the Montpellier Barracudas dominate from start to finish. The club, under first year player/coach Owen Ozanich and Giovanni Luciani, posted the best regular season record (19-5) before beating Toulouse in the semi-finals and Montigny in the 2023 French Series. Savigny catcher Ivan Acuna had a memorable season, taking home the FFBS award for best hitter. The Venezuelan slugger won the triple crown (hghest average, most home runs and RBI).
Following the Barracudas first title since 1995, the French national team, managed by Keino Perez, headed to Spain for a series of exhibition games prior to the 2023 European Championships. The 2023 Euros, held in several cities in the Czech Republic, saw France finish 3-3, good for 7th place overall. France could have made a run at a medal if not for a late inning comeback by Germany in the quarterfinals against the French bullpen. Milwaukee Brewers top prospect Ernesto Martinez participated in his first European Championships with France, batting .286 with a homer and 3 RBI. Newly signed White Sox pitcher Mathias LaCombe was one of many French pitchers not available (Habeck, Ozanich and Nayral were also not on the roster). Montpellier lefty Ben Couvreur took home the best pitcher award at just 16 years of age. The 2023 French Series MVP posted a 0.00 ERA in 11.0 innings pitched, striking out 11 batters!
In early November 2023, Bruce Bochy, France's WBC manager, took home the 2023 World Series in his first season at the helm of the Texas Rangers, cementing his future spot in Cooperstown's Baseball Hall of Fame.
Results and fixtures
The following is a list of professionalbaseball match results currently active in the latest version of the WBSC World Rankings, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.[6]
