The Career of Julien Henri - A look back in time
 

I'm just 16 years old so I'm not sure how good of a job I will do with my Francais Baseball Newspaper column. The Francais Baseball League is made up of 12 teams divided between these french speaking nations: France, Canada (french half), and Martinique (Caribbean Island).

The league has just completed its first season and Giverny (home of Monet) won the championship. My parent team is Diamant, a small city on the southwestern tip of Martinique. They finished last in their league with a 50-88 record.

I play for the Basse-Pointe Bandits a team in the lowest division at Level A. Our team finished in last with a 34-90 record. I was the number one draft pick for Diamant and was drafted as a pitcher. The Bandits used me in two relief appearances before the season ended. But, while my arm was healing they asked me to play in CF. I have mixed feelings about the move. I see myself as pitcher, first, and a hitter second. Since I was a two way player in high school they thought it wouldn't be a problem. I'm not so sure. I'm their number one pick in the draft, three overall, so I guess my career is pretty important to them. OSA has not included me in their top 100, which is a disappointment for me. All I know is I didn't perform very well as a hitter this past season. But, they (management) have told me to not get discouraged, that it takes time.

"Just get in shape this off-season and we'll go from there", they told me. Unlike the other two countries, Martinique always has nice weather. It will be easy to practice outdoors and swim in the warm ocean. I will get myself ready for the 1961 season and hopefully reward them for their confidence in me.
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My Ratings
 

Some of you may be interested in the Head Scout, Patrick Beck evaluated me for the team. He's from St. Pierre (the city overcome by a volcano at the turn of the 20th century) and is 41 years old. Well, here are the reports.

I'm not sure why they evaluated me as 'angry' in their profile. I say I'm more concerned than anything else. But, it's their report so they can fill it in any way they want.

I'll have some more updates during the off-season and hope to be able to post some stuff about our games next year, and how they team does.

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The Final Francais Standings
 

One more thing, here are the standings for the league after the first season. Our franchise can only go one way, I guess. I've heard that many scouts think the Diamant minor league system is the strongest of the 12 franchises. I've asked for the report and will share it if they give it to me.

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Diamond Rock
 

Here is the view from town with the famous Diamond Rock in the background. Someday, I may have time to give the history behind this famous landmark.

The other pic is looking down the beach from east to west. It's rough swimming in this bay but awesome for waveriding.

Team Pic
 

Here is a pic of the team. We have a lot of fun together. Most of the guys are pretty committed to improving our record next year. That's me in the 4th row from the bottom, 2nd from the left. My mom says I'd look better without the facial hair. Just like a mom, right? :) I don't know, I might shave it for next season. Change my luck, ya know.
tout ce qui fonctionne!

Top Systems
 

Oh, yeah, almost forgot, before I head to Anse d' Arlet for some snorkeling and beach fun I'll post up that Scouting Report for the teams. You can see, Le Diamant is #1 rated. The only player on that list from the Bandits is Herve Delage. He's way older than me (22) and we expect him to be promoted by next season. An amazing talent, Herve. He's like, smooth as silk in the field. Makes it look effortless. At the plate, geez, I wish I had that swing. The ball cracks off the bat. We don't use any metal bats in our leagues. Just wood. The thing about Herve, and he has so much talent it might not mean anything, but he tends to lose focus out there. One time, when he was supposed to be up next, the on deck circle was empty. Like, he just wasn't there. Skip sent me to the locker room and I found Herve on his phone. Seriously? ;), but, hey, he's good people. And, yeah, we will miss him next season if the reports are true.

Interesting project :thumbup1:

Heading into Spring Training 1961
 

Some of the guys got together in Fort de France (capital of Martinique) to say good-bye and good luck to Herve Delage. He's been promoted up to AA and now plays in Le Vauclin for the Parrots. It's pretty cool seeing him go to the next level and definitely something I hope happens to me, soon. OSA also bumped up Herve to #3 in the Francais baseball system. He joins other le Diamant prospects AAA Jean-Luc LeGrand (#1) and ML level Sebastian Vautier (#2) as the top 3 prospects.

The League Schedule
 

I thought everyone might want a quick look at the events for this season so I am posting this up for you to see. So, in just about a month things will kick off and it will be back to business for all of us baseball players.

22 year old Yanick Sicard and I are ranked the best defensive centerfielders in our system, with my range and lack of miscues being strengths and
Sicard boasting one of the best arms and plus defense. I've seen him in the outfield. The dude has like, a cannon for an arm. Some of us wonder why he plays so much third base, but that's for management to determine, not us players.

Spring Training
 

OK, this is so cool. Guess where I'm going?
Spring Training!!!

They said that the experience would be good for me, so no need to feel pressure. Yeah, right. LOL

Seriously? I'm pumped about this. Gotta pack.

Spring Training 1st Day
 

OK, upon arrival they had a le Diamant uniform for me. Hey, I know it's just for a few weeks, but, a kid can dream, right? The team unveiled it's new look for 1961. Reminds me of the waters surrounding our beautiful island. I guess that's the point. Awesome job. The road uniform is cool, too. I'll post it up when I get a second. Right now, I've got to start working on my batting stroke. I'm up in the cage in two more players. We play Chicouttimi-Jonquiere later today. They are one of the French Canadian franchises. They are a lot like our team as we both finished last (55-83). But, our prospects are more highly rated. Earley is their best one but he's not starting today. Wonder if I'll play today. Probably not. I'm just happy to be here. The truth? I want to play really bad.

The new le Diamant road uniform
 

As promised, here is the road version. We will be in these today.
How do I look?

Spring Training Game 1 Box and Wrap
 

Quite an afternoon of baseball. So much to tell you.

OK, Herve Delage was a surprise starter at 2b in place of Mercier. He made an out the first time up but then ripped a single and a double in his only other AB's.

Skip put me in to pinch hit in the T/6. I went down swinging.

In the OF my first inning B/6 I made two putouts, which was nice after the K.

T/9th and I'm up with the bases loaded and 2 outs. I can hardly believe it. My hands were shaking. I managed to loft a fly ball to the outfield that was easily caught.

It was looking like an 0 for 2 day for me. But, In the T/11th with 1 out, I'm at the plate with the bases juiced. A chance for redemption. The infield was in and I just wanted to drive a ball by them. I made decent contact. Right at the 2b. He is going to the plate and I'm hot footing it down to first. Please no DP. The throw arrives just after I cross the bag. When Lawrence grounded out to end the inning I realized that even the stars can't always come through, let alone a 16 year old kid.

They won it in the bottom of the 11th.

No hanging my head. I did my best. I got the first game jitters off me. I'm ready to settle in. At least, for as long as it lasts.

Final Spring Training Standings
 

Here are the final standings. Coaching staff said from the beginning that spring training would be about learning and development. We were told not to worry about winning games.

Back to Basse-Pointe and Single A Baseball
 

It's hard to describe what a wonderful experience my first spring training turned out to be. The team surprised me the first week and had me pitching in relief. Except for one outing, I did pretty good. The hitting was tough as it took me forever to get my first hit, but I started to relax after that and even put together a nice 2 hit game. I have a new respect for the 'Mendoza Line'.
In the field I played without making any errors.

Herve Delage was awesome. He put together a .351/.368/.459 line. I heard some of the regulars talking...guys like Mercier and Fabre....saying stuff like it's not IF he makes it, but WHEN.

I'll be heading to the bus station next. Looking forward to using what I learned here in the upcoming Single A season.

April 1 Scouting Reports
 

Our system uses a 1-5 rating for our potential. We had about a dozen new ones to look at today. Good news for Herve and me!

Opening day is Single A is just 10 days away on April 11.

No Hitter
 

I'm kind of a stat guy. Even as a little kid I would look through the papers and study the box scores. I was always looking for a player who hit for the cycle or struck out every at bat. I'm still that way. We are still a week away from our opener so the only box scores are the ones from the French Republic League (FRL). Today, I noticed a no-hitter. It was Jean Chaix's first start of the year, too. Nice.

Jean Chaix 1961 Card
 

Jean Chaix

April 11, 1961 - Opening Day
 

Here is the box and recap of my first regular season game of 1961.

May 8, 1961
 

A tough day at work today, fans.