November 2022

Well it wasn’t quite a Year in Provance but the Fishermen’s first year in the South of France was a bitter-sweet affair. The franchise became the third PEBA European team when they moved to Marseilles from Gloucester after the 2021 season. Having slumped to a 58-104 season in their final year state side they really hoped the move would revive their franchise. To aid the team Hal Morrissey authorised the teams second highest ever payroll, a move that would plunge the team into debt but would show the people of Marseilles that they meant business.

The team brought in Don Chapman & Jason Crabtree in the Rule5 draft while Leon Brunelle, Jeffrey Thomas, Luis Mora, Jason Crousse, Chad Fountain and Truman Thompson joined via free agency and Arnaud Thompson cost a third round pick from Aurora. By the end of May the revamped Fishermen were only two games below .500 and the team was heading the right way. On June 14^th in the middle of a series at home to Charleston the Fishermen hit .500 with a 2-0 shutout and a day later a 6-2 win saw them over .500 for the first time in 2022. At the end of June the team were five games over .500 and in third spot in the tough IL Trans Atlantic. July saw the team falter though, they were 12-13 for the month and although they were still on for a winning season the signs of the wheels coming off were there. There was already rumours behind the scenes about the long term viability of the current team, the level of the payroll, the age of the current 25 man squad and the demands of Hal Morrissey to integrate more of the franchise’s draft selections into the major league side. Everything fell off in August, they won just 11 of their 29 games and by the September roster expansion Fishermen were three games below .500 and had dropped to fifth in the division.

With the success of both Beantown and Narragansett making the Triple-A & Double-A post season there was no immediate call-ups available to avert the downward spiral. The poorly kept secret was almost public knowledge now, the investment in the team was a one off. It would not be continued in 2023 and the aging high contract earners would not be coming back, the team’s losses would exceed $20 million in 2022. Ready or not it was time for the younger players to carry the load.

September was a complete shambles, 12 out of the first 15 games were lost before the minor league playoffs were done. Carlos Icaza, Yeo-bang Wang, Kelvin McDonald, Armando Vázquez, Doug Roberts and Clarence Carpenter joined fresh from Beantown’s post season defeat but the losses continued. Only five more games were won as the Fishermen finished September 8-18 and 73-87 overall. There were just two games in October and Marseille went 1-1 to finish the 2022 season with a 74-88 record.

It may have been a complete collapse in the second half of the season but the 16 extra wins this year makes the overall look a lot better, 88 loses isn’t nearly as frightening as 104. The franchise’s biggest ever loss, $23,374,151, will not be repeated and Fishermen will have to make do and mend next year with waiver picks , Rule 5 selections and other team’s cast-offs. Only 300,000 were added to the total gate with the move to France and it remains to be seen how a rise in ticket prices from $18.50 to $20 will affect that figure. The franchise has but three post season appearances and not one since 2016, I think it’s safe to say that 2023 will not break that sequence.