Just a couple of days after announcing the acquisition of four players, the French record title holder Paris UC is bringing back American pitcher Will Musson. He will be shoulder the foreign pitcher workload with James Murrey. Musson came to the French capital last offseason and emerged as the hoped standout hurler, posting an ERA of 3.68 in 11 starts with 112 strikeouts and 23 walks in 80 2/3 innings. He also batted .364 with an on-base percentage of .463. Head coach Jeff Stoeckel on the additions to the 2012 roster:
“I am extremely excited for the 2012 season. This off-season, the rules for foreign players changed and we are now allowed to have 3 foreign players in the game at one time. One thing that I was very concerned about last season was exhausting the arm of Will Musson each and every week. Many times during the season, Will would throw well over 100 pitches in consecutive weeks, and I think it really took a toll on his arm during the latter part of the season. I was thinking about what the best combination of 3 foreign players would be, and it was clear that we needed a shortstop and a starting pitcher. By signing Phil Bauer (Xavier University and the Cincinnati Reds), we are getting a potent offensive threat who can also flash some leather from the shortstop position — a unique combination for a middle guy. By adding James Murrey from Toulouse re-signing Will Musson, we are getting the league-leader in E.R.A. and keeping the league-leader in strikeouts from 2011. Having that duo of Murrey and Musson will really keep the stress low on both of their arms and make both of them more effective. They are going to be unstoppable together. Plus, Will has really been working hard this off-season on his offensive approach, and I expect him to be a two-way threat playing 3B/1B when he’s not pitching. People in the league forget that he hit .364 last season in addition to what he did on the mound. This year is going to be exciting for us, and I fully expect those guys to help us improve our record from last season.”