A lot of movement and work for Béziers in the off-season, hoping to build on a very successful first season in D1.
The Pirates held their own in their first D1 adventure. A solid France Challenge, where they took down Rouen twice, and an excellent start to the season, which saw them flirt with a playoff spot right down to the wire. Unfortunately, five straight losses in the final five games (and just one win in the last eight) put a damper on the party. Béziers clearly ran out of gas, much like their batting average dropping from .319 in the first half of the season to .231 in the second. Injuries, departures, and a lack of commitment from some players were enough to send them tumbling down the standings. « We lacked seriousness, discipline. We’ve been working on those aspects for this season« , notes coach Lionel Teixidor.
Work isn’t something that scares the Biterrois. « We realized that D1 is a very demanding world, a very high bar to clear when you’re coming from D2. Every aspect is involved, the sport, the structure, the finances, the volunteers… Everything we experienced in 2025 taught us that we needed to be even stronger to stay at this level. We doubled down compared to the past, and we achieved our goal of staying up. We’ll do it again this season, knowing that after the euphoria of the first year, the follow-up can be harder. We’ve worked very hard this winter« .
The off-season wasn’t smooth sailing for Béziers, who saw a real exodus among their JFL. Bernardelli left for Nice for his studies, same reason for 2025 Rookie of the Year Keurinck, who joined the Île-de-France Lions de Savigny, and Sohy, who moved to Rouen but kept his license with his original club. Lesfargues headed to nearby Montpellier, and Volpato expressed a need to take a breather after two very intense seasons in terms of pressure and mental load. « It’s been difficult and complicated to live through all this. It’s a bit of a disappointment to see all these departures, but I hold no grudges. For most, it’s about life paths regarding their studies« , testifies the coach. « The players are free to go where they want, they don’t belong to us« . And it’s also true that it’s not always easy for Béziers to compete with the student appeal of Montpellier or Toulouse.
They also had to focus on foreign recruitment, having identified some recurring weaknesses. For example, behind the plate, with 68 stolen bases allowed in 74 attempts, they needed to improve. That’s how Angelo Mora, a catcher from the Reds organization, ended up in Béziers. They also wanted more range in center field, which will be Raul Zerpa’s role. Two pitchers, Mexican De Los Santos and Venezuelan Luis Torres, with his impressive resume, will join last season’s very effective Luis Gonzalez, the only pitcher to surpass 100K, with a remarkable ERA of 2.81. For the JFL, whose recruitment was « an absolute priority« , Béziers looked to the France pole of D2, with the experience of Brice Lorienne, who has 21 seasons (including 8 in D1) under his belt, and will certainly be one of the club’s leaders alongside Daniel Pilar, or the promising youth of Tanigawa, who shone with La Vallée du Gapeau. The Pirates also snapped up pitcher Robin Froment from Anglet.
And to bring it all together, the Pirates’ first move was to hire a manager, and not just any manager, Eduardo Patino, who reached the highest level in the MLB with Philadelphia. « We included in our development plan the need to bring in an outside perspective that could bring us experience, for D1, but also and especially for the implementation of the Academy. This project is essential to us, and it’s a great satisfaction to see our 19 young academicians training five times a week and benefiting from Eduardo’s advice« , emphasizes Lionel Teixidor.
The duo at the helm of the Pirates sings the same tune: talking about setting an example for the community. « We have volunteers, people who come to cheer us on, we must give our best, whatever our status and role in the club. We must respect the jersey we are given. It’s a value essential to me« , declares the coach, who hopes that the recipe cooked up this winter is the right one: « we have interesting elements to aim for a better result, with an emphasis on individual commitment« .
Other laurels have already crowned the Pirates, named Club of the Year by the Federation. It’s with sincere and strong emotion that Lionel Teixidor speaks of this recognition: « Our club has been growing year after year, and even faster since 2020. We have a real anthill of people who work and get involved with passion. It’s huge for us to be thus considered. It’s more important to us than a victory on the field. Even more than a D1 title« . That’s also the exemplary mindset of the Pirates. As is the little message Lionel wanted to pass on: « it’s very good news to see the return of baseball TV France ». Thanks coach.
F.C.
