End of my trip in France

Well it's all coming to a close as I sit here in Charles de Gaulle airport. I hope my pictures and stories were fun to follow along with and once I get home I will put up an album of all my pictures and post a link on here. 11 hours until I'm home, see you all soon. Thanks for following!

Odd finish to the season

Well, Pessac, the team we were supposed to play against in our playoff forfeited and descended to the second league. Thus my last games here were a sweep of Montpellier. Sad that the season is over, loved having baseball back in my life.

Sorry the posts weren't coming as often as they were at first. I have not had Internet at my house for nearly 2.5 weeks and I also did some traveling. I am currently in Nice and spent two days in Séte earlier this week. Heading home the first week in August. Il update a few more times before I head home. Here's a picture of Gare de Lyon in Paris and a cool statue in Montpellier.

Big win today for Beaucaire and me.  Unfortunately lost the second game.  We played against Pessac, a Bordeaux-region team.  Last time we split with them as well so on the season we are 2-2 with them.  Today I had my best game to date with 11 k's and what I would suppose is one or two earned runs, although I would like to thank the french umpires for helping make that possible, instead of a shutout.  Oh well, another win in the book.  Pics to come very soon, off to dinner!

Camargue and Horseback Riding

Yesterday I went to the Camargue National Park in the south of France.  I started the morning with a horseback ride on a Camargue horse which had been tamed but some wild ones still exist in the marshes and plains.  After Simon Vicente, my new third baseman who had been playing for his college team in Canada, took us to Saint Marie de la Mer, a small seaside tourist town.  Here Simon, Hannah and I had some french ice cream, french beer and of course some french wine while sitting on the beach.

Second win!

Hey all, I won my second against Savigny, the number 4 team in the league.  It was a great game and we won in 8 innings, 11-1.  Not sure of exact numbers but I had a good amount of strike-outs and no one hit me very hard.  Outfield played great and we really came together for our 4th win of the season.   As the season comes to a close we need to win 3 of the next 6 games in order to place 6th in the league which was the team's goal for the season.  Next weekend is against Rouen, so that will be difficult but after that we have Pessac at home and finally Montpellier at Montpellier.  I could definitely see us winning 4 of the last 6 games.  Here are some pictures of castles and beaches (been seeing the sites around Beaucaire lately).  This is Tarascon Castle and Pont Du Gard.

Lost the first one, and the scorpion

This weekend we are playing three games against Savigny in order to make up for the first date when the backstop blew over.  Tonight we lost the first game which was too bad but hopefully tomorrow we come away with at least one victory.  Thursday my girlfriend Hannah Irvine made it into town which is great because now I have someone else to speak english, make dinner etc etc.  Also here are some pics of a lizard who lives around my house and the scorpion I found.

Unfortunate Weekend

Well, certainly not the best baseball weekend we've had.  Lost on saturday but it was a decent game, good defense, I had another hit with an RBI.  Sunday morning however was not nearly as good.  Lost in 7 by slaughter.  Some very disappointing moments, but hopefully we can grow and improve.  Its in the past and I believe this weekend against Savigny we can pull out at least one game.  Got home late Sunday and was doing some dishes and found a scorpion in my colander.  Had no idea scorpions lived in the south of France but needless to say I was a little surprised.  Not very big but its the time I had ever seen a real wild one.  Something new every day.  The first photo on the lawn was taken outside of the french senate building in Paris.  The second photo was of an interesting building I saw with lots of police around it so I figured it was important.

Off to Senart!

Hey all!  This weekend we are off to Senart for two games.  Same field of the tournament, all synthetic materials.  Its a fun field to play on.  Hope we come out on top in at least one game.  Talk to you all afterwards!

First Win!

Well Sunday was my first win in France against Toulouse!  It was a very good game.   I went 9 complete with 8 K's and 2 earned runs.  Final score was 5-3.  Unfortunately we could not pull off a sweep but it was very close.  Hopefully we can pull off a couple more wins this season and climb up from the basement.  Here are some pics of Sacre Coeur and the Eiffel Tower.

Summer's starting

Yesterday we had our first real day of heat and sun. After talking to some of the guys I was lead to believe that this is the beginning of summer. Apparently its usually in the 90's and higher here in June and July, but fortunately theres a river about 15 minutes from my house where people go to swim. Within in an hour I can be at the beach on the Mediterranean.  Pics today are of a statue of Charlemagne near Notre Dame and the Arc de Triomphe.

Hello all, I have finally been able to settle down at my place on the farm and get all my photos on my camera. I will put as many up as I can but I am also working with dad to create a website where you can view all my photos. I enjoyed my time in Paris but to be completely honest, I prefer the south where the people are nice, the weather is great and things are about half as expensive. The challenge de France, a tournament where are all 8 teams in the league compete finished up last weekend. We were knocked out in the first round but we played very well against Montpellier and probably should have won. We lost 3-2 and I had a no-hitter through 5. In the 6th the umpire made some very unfortunate calls against us and Montpellier went up with 3 runs. Also, on friday I got my first at bat. I went 1-4 with a single and an RBI. Unfortunately I saw 1 fastball in 4 bats and the rest were curveballs. Hopefully I get some more opportunities. So as I promised, here are a couple of photos from my journey to Paris.

Been a long couple of weeks. Spent last week in Paris and lost to Paris-UC. They were good games but Paris has lots of foreign players and they hit well and defend even better. Today we got hosed against Montpellier. The first game against pessac started the challenge de France for us and we lost. I pitched the second against Montpellier and did very well. I have up three runs in 7 innings but the umpires were to blame. It was an incredibly poorly officiated day and as such we unfortunately are basically out of the tournament. Tomorrow we plan senart but it is just basically a consolation game for us. Oh well. C'est la vie. Writing this from my phone. Lots of pics from Paris etc to come in the following days. Hope you're all doing well!

Rouen vs. Beaucaire

I apologize for the long delay between posts, I've been busy with helping the little kids etc and not much time for tourism. We got swept this weekend by Rouen, the top team in the league. They have a huge budget and bring in 4-5 foreign players each year. This year their top pick is a first baseman who played at Hoffstra and then in the Seattle Mariners farm system. My start went well and while I did not have my best stuff, my defense behind me was solid and we crossed a lot of runners. I completed 5 innings, leaving with the score tied at 8-8. Unfortunately we were not able to give Rouen their first loss. The second game was much less close but we still made strides this weekend. Things are definitely improving. After my game on saturday evening, the team had a barbecue. It was raining at my place when I got home and I found a big toad, so the pics today are of the flowers around my house and my toad.

Montpellier vs. Beaucaire

Yesterday's games went much better than the ones against Savigny. We lost the first 3-2. I went 8 complete innings giving up only 1 or 2 earned runs. I pitched against Butch, another american who teaches african history studies at University of Michigan. He gave up 1 earned however it was just his runner who crossed, another pitcher gave up the hit. Overall the game was good but the french umpires just do not want to give me anything inside. The attitude and energy was greatly improved and fortunately it carried over to the next game. Game 2 was started by Louis, a Cuban who has become naturalized in France. He went 7 complete and was taken out in the 8th after hitting a rough spot. We were tied 3-3 through the 7th when the wheels fell off. I do not know the final score but it wasn't as pretty as the first. Overall despite the losses I would call the day a success and we look forward to next weekends games against Rouen, the top team in the league and still undefeated. Some picture of Gare du Lyon in Paris.

Kids/Parents Game

Saturday morning was a kids and parents game for the U15 and U12 teams. It was a lot of fun and was a good chance for the parents to learn about the game. Its very different here, whereas in the US a father and son will go play catch, here they kick the soccer ball or toss a rugby ball. Parents have literally almost no idea of whats going on in their child's baseball game, but hopefully now they have some greater understanding. Here are some pics from the day!

Working with the kids

This week has almost entirely been dedicated to practicing with the U12 and U15 teams. Besides my teams practice on tuesday night, I have just been coaching with Andre, another teammate and a few other guests. Matt Alston, a pro who played with the cards and then went to Canada after an injury has also been around. He is one of the progenitors of baseball in Beaucaire and it has been a great experience for me meeting someone who is so schooled in baseball and from such a different background in ball than me. Been pretty busy so not a lot of time to go out and tour or take pics so here's just another couple I had taken earlier.

First game and part of the second...

Well, first game didnt go as well as it could have. Savginy is one of the top 2 hitting teams in the league and it shows. By my count I have up 2 earned runs in 5 innings although the websites say different. Unfortunate but I'm not here just for numbers. Got to know the team a lot better and had some fun. While there may be something to desire with the defense, it seems like the talent is there, it just needs more intensive practices than twice a week. However, that is impossible for the most part because these guys have full-time jobs. So for now, I'm just gonna go and do what I can, maybe get some hitting in, maybe play some field. Who knows? The second game was canceled in the 3rd due to a pole holding up the backstop falling. There had been very high winds all day and it just kind of broke at the base I guess. That will be made up at a later date I think. Overall, the loss was disappointing but it was a good first experience with French baseball and I made some new friends. Some pics of Avignon and the dogs!

Safe travels, new friends and new cities

I have made it to Beaucaire, France without any problems. While flights and train rides got a little long, in the end I made and had my first meal with the president, coach and captains of the team. I live in the countryside on a farm that grows apples from seeds to saplings, then sells the saplings to larger orchards. The owner of the house and his family are all very nice people and fortunately speak a little english. I have begun my workouts with the 4 teams in Beaucaire (12 and under, 15 and under, JV and my team). Its a lot of fun bringing my knowledge of the game to these people who are perhaps playing the sport for the first time at age 35. Tonight is my first practice with my Division 1 team and I am very excited to see how we do. Sunday is our first game against Savigny in south Paris. Should be a good game.

The countdown has really begun now and I am getting packed and ready to go. While I am over there I will be staying in a studio apartment. The picture is a view of my backyard. I'm getting pretty excited about this. More photos to come!

My name is Alex Ingram and I recently was offered a chance to play with Les Chevaliers de Beaucaire. This team is part of professional French baseball league where I will also be competing against one my best friends, James Murrey who plays for Paris-UC. I am leaving the states on April 9, 2012 and hopefully will be returning in August after playoffs. If we do not make the playoffs, my return may be sooner. I will be pitching for this team mostly, but hopefully I will also get a chance to swing the bat, something I have not done competitively in over 4 years. Just wanted to get this first post out and I will be updating this as often as possible with news of games, standings and just some general French life stuff. Pics to come and links to information will also be posted. Thanks for following!