Joris Bert

[2] He started playing baseball as a child when he arrived late to a soccer practice one day.

He noticed some children playing baseball in the next field, and went to join them; he enjoyed the game and has been interested in the sport ever since then.

[2] Educated in Louviers, and then at the Institut national du sport et de l'éducation physique (INSEP), Joris played on the field as both a pitcher and an outfielder.

A quick runner with a strong arm, he moved to Texas in January 2007 to play ball for Frank Phillips College of the NJCAA.

A 2008 New York Times article said that the Dodgers expect action from him, and that he was rapidly learning the finer points of hitting, though his parents had not come to see him play in the US; "They don't understand," he said.