Bois-Guillaume Woodchucks: First Impressions

---

The day after my arrival we had our first practice with the Bois-Guillaume sqad on the main field. Initially we were not going to practice on the field, but then after some convincing on my part (though flo agreed), and some phone calls, we planned a practice.

At the first practice was both Erics, Charles, Pierre, Ardo, and maybe a few others. Ardo is very small, under 5 foot 6, and he is really into baseball. He has played for this team for the past 22 years. I think he is in his mid thirties. He lives alone, single, in an apartment not to far from the field. Shortly after I arrived he began doing agility exercises in the infield, laying out tee-tops (the black rubber ones) in a row and doing jumping exercises over them. He had said when I arrived that he had injured his knee recently and would not be doing much today. So I was surprised to see him jumping so much.

The field is nice, dirt/grass infield, fences, much like a coldivision 3 college field in the US. The mound is solid, well-built. The batting cage is falling apart and in disrepair. The grass is not cut, and the field was very soggy.

During the first practice Ardo jumped for a throw from the outfield and hurt his knee again. Practice was stopped momentarily to help him off the field.

We finished practice just as it was getting dark. Flo left the field early to go and meet the others at the gym to begin the indoor practice at a school nearby. I rode over with Eric, the Quebecois(from Montreal).

Eric is very friendly. His story of how he got to France is an interesting one—he left Quebec with money he had saved up back home in Montreal and headed for Europe where he would begin his year-long trek around the world. He toured around Europe for 2 or 3 months, then in France he met a French girl who he married. He had applied to some grad schools, including one near rouen, and when he was accepted he decided to stay. That was ten years ago, now he has his PhD in history and is on his way to becoming a professor of history with a specialization in World War II.

On our ride to the gym Eric confided in me that he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw me pitch and hit, to know that I was actually a good baseball player. This comment threw me off—even though I was worried about the same thing—I guess I was surprised that he was surprised that I was an actual baseball player.
I asked him what past foreign players were like, and he began to tell me stories. There were two Australians who had played in B-G the past few seasons and this year they were not asked back. They were good players but apparently they yelled at other players a lot, had bad attitudes, etc. Another story was of a Quebecois player who was supposed to be six foot two, two hundred pounds, and he arrived and was barely five foot six, one sixty. He pitched the first match and got shelled, being immediately delegated to second base where he played for the rest of the season.
Another player from Venezuela was a pitcher and good hitter, he was the one foreigner for which nothing bad was spoken.
Then there was a player who had played for an opposing team in Elite League, and midseason he pitched a no-hitter against Bois-Guillaume. His contract was being terminated by his team, and the BG team invited him to come and play beginning the following match. Apparently he had given it all he had in the previous match because when he tried to pitch for them he could barely throw. He spent a few weeks in Bois-Guillaume trying to recover but after a few weeks they sent him home.

So this is what I am getting myself into: a team that has just dropped down to Nationale I competition because they are falling apart. As a result of dropping down (after finishing with less than 5 wins and more than 20 losses in the last 2 seasons), three of their best players fled to Rouen to join up with the Elite team there. Two of them were the top catchers on the team. And now, two of our remaining best players are injured (oh yeah—at the indoor practice Eric, the Quebecois, hurt his arm).

More on team makeup
In terms of the team makeup, there are 2 15 year olds on our team, both lefties, both attending a baseball school nearby. So they don’t practice with us during the week, only on Saturdays and match on Sundays. There is Bruno, a soccer player converted to baseball. He will pitch for us some. In our practice game the other day, the catcher threw one ball back to him that he reached up and ‘caught’ with his foot. He is a case. Then there are the erics, both decent players, flo (coach and player), William, a hippie catcher type. That is all I can think of at the moment.

---

Comments

[Vilius]

thanks
Pop, Interesting. I love that I am playing baseball in the region where you spent most of your time during the war. Your stories are fascinating. I imagine the landscape was quite different at that point here in Normandy. love, Will

[Daniel]

Welcome back
Hi Will, just read your blog. nice to see that your doing well again in france. hope we will see us in somewhere in germany when you drive through to lithuania. wish you a good time and further impressions of europe. cya Daniel