Francophones in the outfield!

Does America’s pastime translate to the langue de Molière ? Mais oui! Learn les positions de baseball en français and meet some of the many big-name players have connections to France. Here’s a rundown of just a few.

Eric Gagné, lanceur de relève

For a time, the most dominant pitcher in the MLB was Eric Gagné, a crafty closer for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Most baseball fans know him for his trademark goggles and consecutive save streak. Francophone fans might also know him for his name*. Eric grew up in Quebec, knowing only French until he moved to the States. After retirement, he has spent time in France, including a stint as the national team’s manager in 2016.

*Gagné is the past-participle form of gagner, or to win. So, one can say that Eric a gagné 33 matches. An impressive career for  a stoppeur from Canada.

                  **** Claude Raymond, lanceur partant

Known by his teammates as “Frenchy”, Raymond was the first québecois player to named an MLB All-Star. In 1969, Quebec gained its own MLB team, the Montréal Expos. Raymond pitched for the team from its inaugural season to his retirement. After his playing career, Raymond took on  an even bigger role  with his hometown franchise, broadcasting games in French for thirty seasons. Sadly, the Expos, now known as the Nationals, have since moved to a  non-francophone region: Washington D.C.

 Melissa Mayeux, arrêt-court

While Melissa has not yet stepped on an MLB field, she has already made history in the league. The shortstop became the first women eligible to sign for a team in 2015. As an arrêt-court, she is the most important defensive player on her team. Her unique combination of athleticism and intelligence has caught the eyes of scouts. Being added to the list is only the first step in many on a journey to the majors, but this young woman from Louviers has changed America’s pastime forever.

Extra innings… Les positions!

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Pitcher = Lanceur The French term is much more literal than ours: lancer means “to throw”, making lanceur “thrower”. A lanceur partant starts the game, and a lanceur de relève comes to help out of le bullpen (some words are the same in both languages).

Catcher = Receveur Another literal interpretation, as recevoir means “to receive”.

First baseman / second baseman / third baseman = Joueur de première base / deuxième base / troisième base While you might expect to see première basehomme as a match for our “first baseman”, such a thing does not exist. Instead, one adds joueur de in front of the noun.

Left fielder, center fielder, right fielder = Joueur de champ gauche / champ centre / champ droit This follows the pattern used with the infield positions. You just add joueur de to the area of the field and you’re done.

Ethan Safron