The Heidenheim Heideköpfe went to the wire in the European Cup and the German Championship, and left with silver each time. At the bottom, the Neuenburg Atomics were relegated and the Saarlouis Hornets withdrew, leaving the promoted Bad Homburg Hornets as the 7th team and the South Division with a bye week in the schedule. The Mainz Athletics open a new facility this summer, but will be on the road until its playable. The young Haar Disciples made the playoffs for the first time in club history, and made the biggest acquisition of the off-season by picking up a German national team player. On the other side of Munich, the Gauting Indians collected much-needed depth from players around Munich, in hopes of stealing that playoff spot from their cross-town rivals Haar. In Mannheim, the Tornados appeared to be cruising to a semi-final appearance last year, only to see their hopes, and the best player in the South, go to the North. With Regensburg and Heidenheim sitting on top, the rest is likely to change.
Buchbinder Legionaere Regensburg (24-4)
First, a tip of the cap to Klaus Hopfensperger, who is calling it a career after 15 impressive seasons in a Legionäre jersey. The left fielder is going out on top after winning the MVP trophy in the Championship, and taking home 3rd place with the national team at last years European Championship.
The defending champions declined their entry into the European Cup, but are still the favorites to repeat as champions in Germany. Top players and Czech national teammates Boris Bokaj P (10-1, 1.96 ERA) and Petr Cech C (Ave.456, allowed only 15 SB) return for an encore, and homegrown talents such as Ludwig Glaser (30 R, 30 RBI) continue to give the Legionäre unrivaled depth. The additions from the offseason are unlikely to dent the starting lineup, but youngsters Enzo Muschik (in from Mainz), Maik Ehmke (Dohren), Franz Philipp Stark (Fürth) and Kevin König (Tübingen) give Regensburg even more talent for the next decade. Pitcher Justin Kuehn and OF/INF Evan LeBlanc join returning MVP Matt Vance (5 HR, Ave. 424) as the American imports. Last season the squad outscored opponents by nearly 200 runs, and had the upper hand against European Cup standouts Heidenheim in the regular season and championship. The only questions are why they turned down a shot at a European Championship, and if they can win 20 games again in a shortened schedule.
Heidenheim Heidekoepfe (22-6)
As Runner-Up of the European Cup and German Championship, the Heidekoepfe had a successful season end with heartbreak twice. Coach Mike Hartley returned to the US, but was replaced by Germany Assistant Coach Troy Williams. Also departed are INF Chris Beck and P Martin Dewald, who signed with an independent league team over the winter. New to the team will be Americans SS Matt Gaski and INF Andrew Smith, while P Dusty Bergman returns for what will be his 3rd season in Heidenheim. Alexander Lauterbach ends his ‘retirement’ by moving from the Schwaig Red Lions back into the Bundesliga. Noteworthy players are INF Hagen Rätz, 2B Sam Whitehead, Util Robert Gruber, and pitchers Peter Dankerl, Martin Almstetter, and Markus Winkler. The team is deep with experience, and will be the closest challenger to Regensburg’s top spot. They will play in the A-Pool of the European Cup again, and expect to put forward another solid performance. Team leader and catcher Simon Gühring will look to rebound from a poor regular season last summer, hitting just .267, but along with some of his Heidenheim teammates (Almstetter, Dewald, Gruber, Andreas Janzen, and Winkler) took home a load of hardware from playing in 3 championships.
Mannheim Tornados (17-11)
In Mannheim there are high expectations after stumbling out of the playoffs last year to Paderborn, even though they won the first two games of the series. To make matters worse, the Tornados were unable to bring back SS Denis Kelly, who lead the league in slugging, runs, walks and stolen bases. Also gone are 3B Matt Lokken, P Cory Stevens, Jens Heymer (retired), Craig Pycock (Paderborn), and Alexander Szalay (Mainz). To fill the spots left by the departed foreigners, Mannheim signed SS Ian O’Connor, P Mark DeVincenzi. Signed 3B William Toeppe returned to US after an injury at Spring Training, leaving the door open for another player to be signed. For behind the plate, Mannheim will bring in South African Kyle Botha, who played for his national team at the WBC in the past, and has a British passport. Sasha Lutz will be back in center field, hoping to repeat his great numbers from last year when he hit .411, 2HR, 35 RBI. Marvin Appiah and Dominik Höpfner will play important roles in the lineup as well. On the mound, Rene Franke carried a heavy load (8 CG, 106 IP), although Philipp Höhlein will play a greater role after showing his ability to fill in for Stevens last season. The hope is that the men of Robert Clemente field start better than 8-8 like last year, and put pressure on Heidenheim for the second spot. Even if not, a playoff spot is likely, as they have shown clutch hitting which separates them from the bottom half of the league.
Haar Disciples (15-13)
Disciples coach Chris Dresel has given his young team a few seasons to gain experience in the top league, and they responded by making the playoffs last year. Leaving Munich after one season are Americans OF Zach Kim and P Calvin Brutus, as well as Germans Gregor Piehler (Ingolstadt), Philipp Dresel (Lauf) and Dominik Maric (Bad Homburg). Former White Sox minor leaguer Ryan Lee and transfer Nils Hartkopf (Solingen Alligators) were brought in to fill out the lineup that had 6 players hit over .300 last season. Paco Garcia (Freising) will pitch the foreigner game, and his Freising teammate Markus Prautsch will join Michael Wöhrl (Ingolstadt) and Tony Bauschat (Munich Caribes) as new faces in the bullpen. Last years 3-4-5 hitters OF Ty Eriksen, 1B Michael Stephan, and C David Selsemeyer are back, and the Disciples hope to have P/OF Greg Klinc healthy after missing a month of last season. Expectations are high for the Munich Eastsiders, looking to displace Mannheim as third best in the conference, and put forward a more successful quarterfinal appearance in the playoffs.
Gauting Indians (13-15)
Over winter the Indians took a step towards closing their revolving door, hiring coach Daniel Husband (Regensburg, Schwaig) to a three-year deal. All four US players from last year have returned to the States (Kyle Allen, Kyle Kearcher, Kory Twede, Andy Kropf), but US/Polish pitcher John Dobkowski and Estonian/Canadian catcher Matti Emery are back. Coming over from Freising are Florian Repper and Manuel Gruber, and added to the list of imports this season are Czech 1B Jakub Sladek and Americans P Benji Waite, Travis Latz, and Bryan Rojas. Dominik Hartinger took over for Dobkowski as the game one starter early last year, and ended up pitching his way on to the national team. Offensively, Twede and his .385, 4 HR, 17 RBI will be missed. Johannes Jung was the next best producer, but there are doubts about his availability because of university commitments. The Indians hope their new pieces and steady improvement will continue, and keep them in contention for the playoffs.
Mainz Athletics (9-19)
After their lowest regular season finish ever, Mainz rebounded in the relegation series on the strength of P/SS Patrick Haugen. He returns again, and new coach Ulli Wermuth replaces Cae Santos, as Mainz was also busy in the offseason looking for key pieces to carry the program back to the playoffs. Catcher Peter Johannessen (Sweden) will be fulltime catcher, and Alexander Szalay comes over from Mannheim to play 3B. Additionally, Martin Matlacki joins from Saarlouis, and American Tony James Baker will play short for the A’s as Keigo Miyagi decided to stay in Japan. Niklas Böttger (Hünstetten) rounds out the transfer list. Mainz opens a new park this season, and although the facilities are complete and looking good, the grass isn’t expected to be playable until May, forcing the first month of games to be played on the road. Regardless, returning starters Mike Larseon (4 HR), Hendrik Schewe (15 SB), and utility man Max Boldt (.739 OPS, 2-1 with 1 Save) will look for a solid start to the season and celebrate their new park with a return to the playoffs.
Bad Homburg Hornets (Promoted)
In Bad Homburg, coach Lionel Chattelle benefited from the return of a few former Hornets, and the withdrawal of Saarlouis from the Bundesliga. OF Dominic Maric (Haar), P Peter Ackerman (Saarlouis) and SS Eddie Martinez (Saarlouis) each had successful seasons last year in the South, giving the team a good base of German talent and bringing knowledge of the league. Chattelle also used his contacts in the US to search out some talent for key positions, getting C Brad Olt, P Peter Wiggins, and INF Sammy Torreira. Team leaders from last year include David Kleim (8-3, 2.34 ERA), Jerome Jenkins and Daniel Czekalla. Darryl Cormier finished as one of the best hitters in the second league, but likely will split time with new infielder Torreira. The team won’t be a major underdog in their first season, but are unlikely to sneak up on opponents. Most teams will recognize the Hornets from competing in the second league, and neighboring Mannheim is familiar with the team as well. Goal is putting pressure on the bottom half of the league, and staying in contention for a playoff spot.
2011 Preview German Baseball-Bundesliga North
Photo: Walter Keller, www.catchthefever.de