Jamel Boutagra

Jamel Samy Boutagra

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 173 lb.

• Born September 20, 1974

Biographical Information

Jamel Boutagra was a member of the French national team for a decade and a half.

Boutagra's batting line in the 1993 European Championship was .313/.476/.375 and he had 10 walks and 11 runs in 9 games. He stole six bases in six tries. He tied Marco Ubani, Olof Lindfors and Johan Hasselström for 4th in the Euros in runs, tied Marcel Joost, Mervin Beauperthuy and Igor Makhambetov for third in steals, was second in walks (4 behind Eric de Bruin) and missed the top ten in OBP by .005. He had 13 putouts, one assist and no errors in right field, tying Roger Sund for the best fielding percentage there in the tournament.

He hit .286/.375/.429 as a C/RF/DH for France in the 1993 Intercontinental Cup. In the 1994 Baseball World Cup, he struggled, hitting .176/.222/.294, allowing 7 steals in 7 tries, making two errors and having one passed ball in six games behind the plate. In the 1995 European Championship, Jamel hit .310/.406/.379 with 12 runs in 7 games, tying for 9th in the high-scoring event in runs scored.

Boutagra hit .438 and slugged .813 in the 1997 European Championship, finishing 4th in slugging. He scored 8 runs and stole four bases in four tries to tie for second in swipes. In the 1997 Intercontinental Cup, the catcher hit .292/.370/.500. He hit .300/.462/.300 in the 1999 European Championship but again struggled defensively, allowing 9 steals in 10 tries over five games.

In the 2001 Baseball World Cup, the veteran of the international stage hit .222/.276/.407 while manning left field. In the 2001 European Championship, Jamel hit .133/.316/.133 for France. In the 2003 Baseball World Cup, he had his brightest moment, batting .500/.591/.813 as the French right fielder. He led the Cup in average, beating out at least nine former or future major league players as well as the Cuban stars. He was left off the All-Tournament outfield as Rubén Rivera, Takashi Yoshiura and Frederich Cepeda were selected instead.

Boutagra hit .294/.294/.617 in the 2003 European Championship. Boutagra tied for the 2005 European Championship lead with 4 doubles and was 5th with 9 RBI; he hit .250/.242/.375 and fielded .933 at the hot corner. In the 2007 European Championship, Jamel hit .222/.344/.333.

Boutagra hit .295/.400/.455 for the Tigers de Toulouse in the 2007 Division Élite. His backup at catcher, Frédéric Hanvi, posted inferior numbers but got a contract with the Minnesota Twins.

Boutagra became head coach of Toulouse for 2008, guiding them to a 10-18 regular season finish. He batted .369/.500/.538 to lead the team in average and also pitched frequently (1-3, 5.40 in 50 IP). He moved to DH so that Hanvi could play catcher when he was not in the USA. He was seriously injured on June 24, 2008, when he received a ball to the face while at bat againt the Paris Université Club. He was rushed to hospital and had emergency surgery to repair the damage to his cheekbone. He was unable to play for Team France in Prague that summer because of the injury.

Jamel in uniform for the Toulouse baseball academy

For 2009, he joined the French Baseball Toulouse Academy as a hitting coach. He was just 2 for 13 in the Division Elite that year. He then signed with the Templiers de Sénart as a player-manager. He was the first base coach for the French national team in the 2013 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers in Jupiter, FL in September of 2012.

Personal Info

Jamel and his partner Charlotte welcomed their son Adam into the world on April 22, 2009. Adam weighed 7.5 lbs at birth. Jamel now (2009) lives in Toulouse, where he has lived for the last 10 years.

Jamel feels he was at his best between the ages of 22-25, saying "I could run fast, I hit the ball hard (16 HR in 1999) and I had a real good arm. I was unbreakable" during a recent interview.