Former Major League reliever Eric Gagne took over as head coach of Team France last year. With the French National Team working out in Arizona at the moment, the 38-year-old was able to reconnect with his former club, the Los Angeles Dodgers. MLB.com was on hand and wrote a story about it.
“I call all the pitches,” he said. “It’s my job to teach them to play the game right. I love it.”
The team is in Arizona to face higher competition with a June qualifier in Prague for the Europe Cup. That led Gagne to reunite with the Dodgers one more time..
“I called DeJon [Watson, VP of Minor Leagues] and Ned [Colletti, general manager] and they said yes right away when I asked if we could play here,” said Gagne. “That was really cool. It’s a dream come true for the kids, and for me. They’ve never seen a field like this. They’re trying not to pinch themselves. And it’s a great experience for me, compared to the last time I was here.”