Patrice Briones

Patrice Briones

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 0", Weight 182 lb.

• Born January 5, 1973 in Bordeaux France

Biographical Information

Left-handed pitcher Patrice Briones pitched for the French national team for over a decade.

Briones had a 8.10 ERA in the 1993 European Championship, walking 11 in 10 innings. He did tie for the event lead with three games started (even with Leonid Korneev and Joeri Loykens) and he tied Massimiliano Masin for 5th in walks. He went 0-2 in the 1993 Intercontinental Cup; the 20-year-old allowed 22 runs on 17 hits and 15 walks in 11 2/3 IP; he was about average for a pitcher on the French squad. In the 1994 Baseball World Cup, Patrice was 0-1 with a 9.64 ERA, walking 12 and surrendering 14 hits in 9 1/3 IP.

In the 1995 European Championship, the southpaw walked 9 and allowed 14 hits and 10 runs in 9 1/3 innings, going 0-1 on a French team that otherwise was 5-1. His loss came against the powerhouse Dutch national team.

Briones tossed four scoreless innings for France in the 1997 Intercontinental Cup. He struck out 8 in 5 1/3 innings in the 1999 European Championship, allowing 3 runs, as France won a Bronze, its first Medal ever in a European Championship.

In the 2001 Baseball World Cup, he went 0-2 with a 7.50 ERA, allowing 18 hits in 12 innings. He saved two games in the 2001 European Championship and allowed only 6 hits in 12 1/3 innings, striking out 13. He had a 1.46 ERA, lowest of any French hurler with 2+ IP. He led the event in saves

During the 2003 Baseball World Cup, he was 0-2 with a 7.11 ERA. In the 2003 European Championship, he allowed 4 runs in 7 innings but all were unearned; the former wild man only walked one. He was 0-1. In 2004, Briones pitched for Amaya in the Spanish Division Honor, going 6-1 with a 3.30 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 62 2/3 IP.

Briones saved one game and allowed only a .147 average in the 2005 European Championship. He had a 0.90 ERA in four games; only Maxime Leblanc pitched more games for the French team and only Samuel Meurant had a better ERA.

He played for Pessac in the French leagues in 2007, and moved to CD Pamplona in the Spanish leagues in January 2008. Briones was 1-4 with a save and a 2.84 ERA for Pamplona in 2008 as the ace of a 6-26 team. He hit .152/.220/.217.

He coached the French national 21 year olds team in September 2008, with the team finishing in 6th place

He now (2008) works as a coach, a physical trainer and an administrative officer for a baseball development center for young boys and girls in Gironde, France.

Briones was 2-3 with a 3.95 ERA and 39 K in 43 1/3 IP for Pamplona in 2009 and hit .172/.351/.241. For 2010, he returned to France, but not in the Division Elite but rather a second-tier circuit. Back in France's top loop in 2011, he was superb for the Panthères de Pessac, going 6-0 with a 1.73 ERA. He struck out 61 and walked 6 in 57 1/3 IP. He was third in the league in ERA, leading all French natives, was 7th in strikeouts and tied for third in wins (behind Clayton Cooper and Matthieu Brelle-Andrade.

He returned to Team France for the 2012 European Championship, after a six-year absence. He was the team's top hurler in the event, striking out 10 in 10 1/3 IP and going 1-0 with a 0.87 ERA. He beat the British national team and had a fair relief effort versus Belgium.

He was selected to start France's opening game against Spain in the 2013 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers in Jupiter, FL on September 20, 2012, but he was pounded for five runs over two innings before Brelle-Andrade relieved as France lost, 8-0.