Baseball Beer & Bratwurst

Six Months Back

2011-03-12T05:28:00.000-08:00

Six months have gone by and the time I spent in Europe seems like it was just yesterday. Danny and I made it home safely to our new homes and loved ones in the USA a few days after we lost to Regensburg in Bavaria. It is amazing to think that I have been home now as long as I was in Europe. In hind sight the experience went by in the blink of an eye. I have these little flashbacks of Paderborn and I often think that I am one of the luckiest guys on earth for the experience of playing baseball and living in Germany, but more important than baseball and travel were the friendships that I made for a lifetime. My roomates Micheal, Mitch, and Franke. My crazy teammate in Eugene "Augla," and Alex, and of course Shummy, Buders, Juels, Bjorn, Hinz, Speer, and Tavo just to name a few! And then of course there was "Red!" What else can I say about him other than putting his name in exclamations! In the end I am thankful that I having the people around me to make that experience happen. I can honestly say that I miss them all.... maybe not all of them.

Looking back on where I was a year ago at this time, and where I thought I was going before I met "Red," and Danny needed a catcher in Germany is pretty fun. Life changed so quickly and now I think about the flashback of uncertainty, and the thought of whether or not I could play after a four year hiatus. Those feelings mixed with leaving my loved ones behind was frightening at the time. I can think back to my first few workouts, practices and games after not playing in four years thinking to myself, "What the heck am I doing, you are too old for this!?" However, as the weeks, months, and now a year have passed, Danny and I had the experience of a lifetime, and we made a difference to our team.

I discovered that my passion and ability for the game remained intact as a player, and that I was even a little smarter and I appreciated the little things a little more which made me better in the end. I lifted a rather large gorilla off my back by getting an opportunity to play again. It is rare to have such an opportunity, not only to play baseball in Europe, but to travel the world and experience a different culture like we did.

Certainly the most most important thing I discovered in this journey is something that every person I know can appreciate. While most of the previous six months was filled with uncertainty, I was coming home to someone who loved me for who I am, as a person, ballplayer, and partner! Aside from my parents, brother, sister, and other family members who watched me grow up with baseball, Erin was just learning the importance of the game to me, but she understood why I needed this experience more than anyone! The day I left for Germany last March, Erin set her roots in Portland, Oregon. She got a chance to visit me for about four weeks out of the entire season, and the day I got back from Germany, after not seeing Erin for a little over 8 weeks I returned to Portland to move in with her and our dog Wanda! I couldn't ask for more, except I did. After about a month of living with Erin I finally made a decent man out of myself and asked her to marry me. She said yes and we are planning a wedding for 2012! :)

As a result of all the things that happened, I can only look back with pure fulfillment. To have had this opportunity at what I feel was certainly a cross-roads in my life was amazing! I will never forget it, and more importantly, I can move beyond the thought of "what if." As in, "What would have happened if I never received the opportunity to play competitively again?" Like many, this happens when we do not fulfill life long dreams (like making it to professional baseball or the Big Leagues) but the mesaage was simple for me. Love, Travel, Play or Play to Travel for Love. Nothing else has meant more to me in my life then those things until now. So, as I finish my thoughts on how things turned out, I would have to say that I wouldn't change it for the world. Winning the championships would have been awesome, but I doubt I will remember the final score 10 years from now. I will however, remember the experience!

As for the future, I can rest my cleats high on the shelf and tell myself that I got a great experience as a player! Baseball is a funny game. For years I thought that I needed to be in the game for life. I just wanted to play again. I enjoy coaching, and plan to coach youth baseball as long as I live, but I can walk away from it as a full time deal because I had an opportunity to play beyond my college days.

As for now, I am working for a college in Portland as an Admissions Representative and a High School Presenter. I travel to nearby schools around the Portland area and give classroom workshops on goal setting and professionalism, and I must say it is nice to have found a great job so quickly! Erin and I are happy in our new apartment in the Pearl District near downtown. We are right across the street from one of my favorite breweries and the neighborhood is awesome complete with a big dog park for Wandaroo!

The past six months have been great! Erin and I got engaged, the Giants finally won the World Series, and we are both healthy and working full time. Not to mention is the fact that we are extremely happy together with our little one (Wanda)!

As for baseball, I teach catching at a nearby baseball facility and I have started to help over a dozen catchers learn the tools of ignorance as well as a little hitting. I am excited to watch the Pilots this year, and Erin and I might even make it up to Seattle for a Mariners game sometime this summer. We can take the train from Portland to Seattle in about 4 hours.

In closing, writing this blog has been a blast, and I want to thank anyone who took the time to read it. I hope you enjoyed reading about my experience as much as I enjoyed writing about it and living it!

Prost!!

Back to Bavaria!

2010-09-12T06:15:00.000-07:00

The week went by a little slower than usual this time around. Anticipation was not a big enough word to describe the weekend ahead of us. It was either stay and play, or bye-bye Germany. We practiced as usual on Tuesday and Thursday, with our team soccer game "warm-ups" on Tuesday. (Yes, we play soccer at Baseball practice; Please refrain from Judgement) I have to tell you how much I HATE playing "fusbol" on a baseball field, but when in Germany, you do what Germans do best, and it isn't baseball. I must say, as much as I hated running up and down the field it was a good warm-up, although I am surprised nobody ever got hurt. I also found my calling as a goalie. Fitting that a catcher becomes the goalie with the same goal being "keep the ball in front of you at all costs!" I made some of my teammates so mad a few times when I would block a good shot and it was great.

Upon Friday it was time to head back to Regensburg, Bavaria. The Leigonaire played in by-far the nicest facility in all of Germany. We had played there in May, and had an incredible experience winning the all important Buchbinder Cup. Needless to say, we were 3-0 on that field and we knew we could win!

Two weeks previous we had not fared so well on the road. We lost the first two games to Mannheim, and Red was furious with a couple of guys, stating that some of out veteran players had to much fun the night before. Personally, I didn't get a chance to have fun with them the night before, but I thought it was hilarious that we blamed losing on "going out on the town." This is a team with a rich history of guys going out the night before CHAMPIONSHIP games and staying out until dawn. Personally, I could never do it, but some of the "veterans" that had played for the Untouchables for many years were well adjusted to it. Also was the fact that we did not get to play in other towns very often, and many of the guys who have families and kids back at home look at it as a chance to hang with the boys.

I was well aware that if we lost two games down here that we were leaving, and I intended to enjoy my time in Bavaria, as well as in our games against Regensburg. I did not want to look back and say, "That was an ok weekend." I wanted to have the time of my life, and that included getting to spend some time with many of the teammates that Danny and I had gained such a good relationship with over the past 6 months. Also, was the fact that this might well be the last time I suit up for real competition.

The Friday night we arrived, we checked into the hotel and a small batch of us went into the town center and enjoyed an incredible dinner. Bavarian food is much different that most of the country and I tried duck for the first time in my life. It was amazing! Upon our return back to the hotel I found myself hanging out with one of the team's owner, and I got a chance to have a few Weizen Beers and talk about baseball, and the experience as a foreigner in Germany in the lobby bar. As we talked, I couldn't help but focus on what an amazing time it really was. I was in a celebratory mood, as was our team owner, and we shared a few good laughs.

The next morning our hotel had a buffet that rivaled any of those I had ever had. I stuffed my face and got to the yard feeling very refreshed and ready for the upcoming games.

Pre-game went quick and the day was beautiful. Clear skies with a temperature right around 75 degrees. It was a perfect day for baseball. As game one started, I couldn't help but think about how awesome it would be to win two games and celebrate that night in Regensburg. Also was the thought that if we did win, we would be able to go to Octoberfest the following weeks to come which would be amazing.

Regensburg had different plans! Much like his previous two starts, Augie had a really hard time getting outs. We made some really bone-head plays on defense and did not take care of the baseball. By the third inning, we were behind 7-1 and although we responded after a terrible inning defensively, we lost the first game 9-2 putting our backs against the wall in game two as we were now facing elimination. I give a lot of credit to the Regensburg starter because he kept us off balance the entire game, forcing us to hit his pitch as we fell behind in most counts.

With Danny on the mound in game two we still had a lot of confidence, and we now had to focus on getting to Sunday for a decisive game 5. This one was for all the marbles!!

Danny had fantastic stuff for the entire day. He gave up a run in the second, but we responded with 2 in the third and one in the fifth, extending a lead to 3-1. We felt extremely confident and we knew it was ours. Right up until the eighth inning Danny was cruising, and I was certain that we would be playing on Sunday.

Regensburg started off the bottom half of the inning with two straight hits and all of a sudden the wheels fell off! An error on the next hitter and all of a sudden the bases were loaded and Danny was done. Just like that, the game had shifted and you could feel the anticipation and momentum shift from Regensburg. If you have ever been at a game like this, you see it happening, and as a player; more important as a catcher, you really feel helpless.

As we still had a one run lead, our relief pitcher came in and surrendered a run by walking the first batter with the bases loaded. I could not call a pitch that he would throw for a strike. All of a sudden the game was tied, and we still had no outs. We would eventually give up two more runs, and what was worse was that I quickly realized how fast it all came tumbling down. We had a secure lead going into the eighth, and then all of a sudden it vanished!

We never recovered in the ninth and as I watched the Regensburg Legionare storm the field after the final out I felt responsible for the loss. Not only had I called the pitches that led to our loss, but I also did not get any hits for the first time since June, and I left a lot of runners in scoring position. That feeling was quickly replaced by the sadness that our season, and my baseball journey were over. "Helluva time!" The emotions ran away quick as we shook hands and congratulated Regensburg. We gathered as a team and shook hands and said farewell to a few guys who were hanging it up and had been a part of the team since the early 90's. I couldn't imagine being a part of something in baseball that long. Most times, you are lucky to get 4 years somewhere, and then all of a sudden that was it for these guys. It sure put things in perspective.

The final moments on the field were good, and as upset as I felt moments before, I replaced it with pride. I was proud that after four years, I still had it in me to play competitively, I was proud that Danny and I were such a big part of this teams success, and also proud that I had left it all on the field. I felt lucky. I shook every teammates hand that I could, because in all reality this was the last time I would see them all together in the same place.

The baseball adventure was over, and as upset as I was about the loss I didn't look back and wonder about what could have been. I had no more Monday Morning Quarter Back left in me, and neither did Danny. I don't think we ever talked about it, and why should we. We both knew that Baseball is a funny game and, well, shit happens! We gave it our best effort and focus and that is all anyone can ever do.

Semi Finals!

2010-09-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

After an incredible comeback against Mannheim, one that had never been done by a Paderborn team in the history of the organization, we were set to play at home again against Regensburg. Because we were the second place team from the north, and they were the first place team from the south, they had home field advantage just as we did against Mannheim. So in the case that we played 5 games in the best of five series, they would host the final three of the 5 games at their places. Playing in Regensburg is as close to "American" professional baseball as you can get in Germany. We had played their earlier in the season when we won the Buchbinder Cup, beating Regensburg in the championship game on their field.

There was no doubt in our minds that our team was getting hot and we were peaking at the right time. Everything started to come together to create a championship team. Solid pitching, defense, and timely hitting.

Hosting the first two games on the series at our place it was critical that we win at least one game, if not both games. If we could head south to Bavaria with two wins under our belts we had a great shot at making it to the championships. If we split, it would be tough to win 2 of 3 at their place, yet doable. If we lost two at home, we had the advantage of coming off a 3 game comeback, but it would be really hard winning three in a row on the road.

In game one we jumped out to an early 1-0 lead off after I had an RBI groundout in the first. Regensburg responded with a run in the top of the 3rd but the game was stagnate until the 9th. Augie (Eugen) pitched amazing for us! In a 1-1 tie, Augie gave up a 2 run double to Regensburg's American shortstop who drove in 2 runs. I can't say that it cost us the game because we didn't score anything before that. We had a lot of opportunities to make adjustments at the plate and produce some offense. However, Regensburg's starter did an unbelievable job of keeping us off balance and not allowing any offense to produce. When the last part of the 9th came up we scored a run, but it was too little too late as we ended up losing 3-2.

That was not an easy lose to swallow! I felt that we definitely should have won that game, and it hurt a little bit because we knew the next game was vital to win. We should have made an adjustment to their starter, who did a good job of mixing speeds and throwing off-speed pitches in odd counts. This is something we did not adjust to as a team all year, and it caught up to us in the first game of the semi's.

The second game was a bit different, we came out strong and ended up finishing the game with a 10-3 win. It was a good win, and much needed for a chance to move to the finals. It would be really hard to go down to Bavaria and win 3 in a row. Although we had done it before, we didn't want put ourselves in that position again.

With the series tied 1-1, it was going to be another crap shoot the next weekend in Regensburg. We were scheduled to play a double header on Saturday and one on Sunday if necessary.

The one thing that stuck in my mind was the thought that whoever won the first game on Saturday was likely to win the second, just as we had done to Mannheim earlier in the playoffs. Game one on Saturday was vital to win. Especially if we were playing at their place. We had all week to work on the little things that would be big and one thing was for sure, we were going down to Regensburg with the confidence that we could beat them again at their place.

Danny and I had noticed that they did not carry the same swagger and definitive confidence that they had when we handed them their first loss of the season back in May. They came into our ballpark with a little bit of respect and we let them off the hook a little bit because we lost the first game. However, winning game two was big and with the series tied 1-1, anything could happen next weekend.

Crap Shoot Sunday!

2010-08-31T06:45:00.000-07:00

We made it to Sunday! We all felt great getting to the ballpark knowing we had one game to play and we were in a sense playing for a championship. We live to play another day! It has been five long years since the Untouchables have made it out of the first round of the playoffs, with the last two years losing to Mannheim. We wanted to get over that hump. Danny and I wanted to be the American players to help them get over that hump! Mannheim had a tough day on Saturday, and like a bad Friday the 13th sequel we planned on making Sunday a nightmare for the men in black and red.

Call it ego, but we did not expect was for them to come out battling. After two really tough losses we did not expect them to come out so alive. We thought that after they had no place to stay, and no confidence after losing two of their most important games of the season, that they would come out with their tails between their legs. I knew if we got on them early and often we might be done by the 7th.

Mannheim proved early that they were going to play hard by scoring in the top of the first. Like the day before, Aulga (Eugene) was not backing up strike after strike. He was throwing a lot of pitches early in the game and was getting a lot of hitters into 3-2 counts which was hurting his already delicate pitch count. We did not have much pitching in the fifth and vital game 5 so it was important for him to go as long as he could although he had thrown over 100 pitches the day before. Like the old days of major league baseball, the reason Aulga is so effective is because he can literally throw 2 and even 3 days in a row. The mad Russian never came around though, and I could tell he was tired. We responded in the bottom of the first with an RBI double by myself followed by an RBI single by the unreal "Hot" Bjorn Schonlau. Bjorn was no doubt our best hitter of the series as he kept taking the responsibility of picking up the team when needed. Every time a pitcher got past Danny they relaxed, and Bjorn hitting right after him in the lineup attacked like you wouldn't believe.

Once we were up 2-1 Mannheim kept battling, and kept scoring runs. Baseball is such a funny game and the only thing you can count on is that you might not expect the outcome when you are in the middle of it all. Everything changes, and the game is so unpredictable. In essence, baseball is just like weather. Mannheim preceded to score 5 unanswered runs and by the bottom of the fifth we were down 6-2. Honestly, they were raking! At one point I heard our American friend and once upon a time teammate from the Regensburg tournament, Dennis Kelly, say to his team in the dugout with conviction, "Let's go boys, 6 more easy runs and 6 more easy outs and this game is over!" I felt really aware of what was going on, however, so out of control. I had no idea how to maintain the score where it was from a catching standpoint because everything I put down as a sign was a crap shoot. I had no idea what to expect.

As the game went on we bounced back and eventually tied it up only to give the lead back in the top of the 7th. As the top of the 7th came around we were literally out of pitching and in a last ditch effort to keep the game within reach our manager, "Red," had entered himself in the game to pitch. To be completely honest I thought he was going to get blasted. He hadn't pitched in one of our games for the past 5 months and although he throws really tough batting practice I had no idea what to expect. He gave up an RBI single on the first pitch he threw and I thought the wheels were about to fall off. In the next few moments I saw a light switch flip and he was so dialed in that he was no longer our coach, instead a guy who came in to shut down the opposing offense. He really stepped up and did a great job flustering hitters with a lot of movement and off speed pitches

Down by a run in the bottom of the 8th inning, the bottom of our order came up big and started a big rally. Once the top of our order came up the table was set for a big inning. After our 2 hitter Jendrick walked to load the bases I came up in a big spot and took two big swings in the first two pitches. "Too big," I thought to myself. I shortened up and fouled off a few pitches in order to stay alive and with a 1-2 count I found the barrel and hit a deep fly to right field for an RBI sacrifice fly. Tie ball game!

Danny came up with 1 out and walked to load the bases again. Our big hitter, Bjorn Schonlau, came up with the bases loaded and hit a bases clearing double which put us up by 3 in the bottom of the 8th. Talk about a big time hit, and a big time series, Bjorn had 12 hits in the five game series, with 10 RBI's and a .571 average. Unreal and Untouchable! This kid can swing it and he got hot at the right time!

With a three run lead in the 9th Red came back out to face the top of Mannheim's order and I wasn't worried about him, except for the fact that it was pouring rain. Our field was in delicate shape to begin with and it started to rain pretty steadily in the 8th and continued to the point where any other day or circumstance, the umpires would call the game, or take a rain delay. Not this time. Mannheim's hitters were literally standing in a puddle of water where the batters boxes had been dug out, and I myself was in a sloop of dirty puddle water were I had created holes from catching. It was hilarious! After Red drilled the first hitter because of a wet, slippery ball, I began to wonder what would happen on a ground ball. Would anyone be able to grip the ball and make a decent throw? It turned out that it didn't mater. Red got two fly balls to left and struck the last guy out to seal the deal! Game over, series over, and we get to come back next weekend to play Regensburg in the Semi-Finals.

The three game comeback was the first time in Untouchables history that a team came back from a 0-2 deficit and won three games in a row. It was also the first time that they had been out of the quarter finals since 2005, the last time the team won the German Championship.

It was a really fun weekend, and I was really proud and excited to get two more weeks to play ball!

Win "Two" Play Another Day

2010-08-29T13:00:00.000-07:00

It has been a very long seven days. Sitting at home being down 0-2 in the playoff series to Mannheim has not been easy to think about. As a matter of fact, I am not sure how I am supposed to feel about it. So much of me wants to be ok with it because if we lose, then I go home. As much as I don't want to lose, I miss everything about home. It is a strange feeling. After over five months of being away from everything and everyone I know, Paderborn has become a second home and the Untouchables are my family. Just like any family we have our moments, and last week was a perfect example. We did not play to our capabilities and we suffered all week because of it. As the days went by, Danny and I went over every detail of how we could win and stay. "We need to win to get paid," I reminded Danny. As if the extrinsic benefit of money would entice us to play harder or help us focus more. "It would be nice to sleep in my own bed however, wherever that is in Portland," I also said. The mixed feelings never went away.

We knew that we could win as a team. We could beat "Shorty" in game three and since Danny had such an off-week last Saturday we all knew game four could definitely be ours. Game five would be a total crap-shoot, but at least it would be at our park. We all believed we had a good chance still. Also was the fact that Saturday's games would be a double header again. If we won the first one we could win the second, just as Mannheim did to us a week earlier. Anyone in baseball knows that a momentum shift can come from winning the first game of a double header. In many cases, whoever wins game one, will win game two of a double header. It is vital to get the first one. Yet for us, it was the only option or the season was over.

We woke up on Saturday with a dismal sky which has followed us around for the past few weeks. The last few weeks have been really wet, and we were expecting more of the same today. It was going to be sloppy!

The funniest part of our day was getting to the park. Mitch had to leave for the park early in the morning and as Danny and I slept in we woke up and realized we did not have a ride to the field. Normally we would have a to ride our bikes to practice, but on game days we get a ride. So on this particular day Danny and I weren't sure how we were going to get to the field. Since Shorty is our "roommate," he stayed at the house last night which I thought was weird. The starting pitcher for the opposing team was staying at our place because he lives here from time to time. Where am I!?!
So when Danny and I needed to head to the park, Shorty was our ride. we all kind of laughed about how lucky Shorty was that he had a bed and an easy commute to the ballpark because the rest of his team had to get up at 6a.m. and drive from Mannheim to Paderborn. What is worse was the fact that none of them had a place to stay that night if they lost two games. The club didn't have money for a hotel and they would have to drive back and come back in the morning. It is a 4 1/2-5 hour drive from Mannheim to Paderborn. Same on the way back.

As the first game began Eugene looked good. He gave up a few hits and a few runs in the first couple of innings, but he kept us in the game. We scored first, but we were down 3-1 in the 7th until a two run single from our 7 hitter tied it up once again. It was 3-3 in the bottom of the ninth inning and it was a big deal and as I sat on deck with runners on all bases. I couldn't help but think about being the hero. But as I waited for my chance, out stud shortstop, Jendrick Speer, laced a line drive to left center to win the game. It was awesome. We finally jumped out of the cellar and into the win column and the momentum had all of a sudden shifted our direction. We knew we could win game two! Danny was not going to let the same thing happen two weeks in a row, and that is something that we counted on.

As pumped as we were to get to another game, our patience was tested. With an already wet field, the rain started to fall hard and it made us a little nervous about not getting to play the second game. I did think about the fact that it would be nice to play two on Sunday, and allow Danny to rest for an entire day before we played again, but it didn't work that way. What was supposed to be a half hour between games turned into an hour and a half. Danny did a really good job of staying ready and staying warm. I rested for a while as well. Closing my eyes on the bench, staying relaxed and patient, I could not help but calm my nerves and think of winning and playing another day. Anything could happen in the final game of the series if we made it to Sunday.

Game two started on a wet surface and a somewhat wounded Mannheim team, and Danny did not help them feel better. He was on! His fastball was on, his slider was on, and his changeup was on! Not to mention was the fact that he was throwing a LOT harder than last week, and they could not make the adjustment against him. We scored early and often and a couple of big innings put us up by a score of 8-0 going into the 7th inning. In the 7th I hit a double to lead off the inning and Danny followed with the same, scoring me from second. Out big first basemen Bjorn then came up and laced a ball deep to right and the right fielder didn't even have a chance to catch it. Once he knew it was over his head he stopped and started running back in because he knew that we had just ten-runned them. We won the fourth game of the series by a score of 10-0 and we lived to see another day.

After beating Mannheim twice in our park, we knew they were going to have a hard time coming out and beating us in the final. Especially since they didn't have a place to stay and they were not sure whether they were going back or staying in Paderborn. "Not our problem," I though to myself. Game five was going to be a crap-shoot. We had "Aulga," (Eugene) even though he had thrown six innings the day before. We also had Daniel Hinz who threw three strong inning of relief in the first game of the weekend, as well as a few other wild cards. Danny was not allowed to throw because he was a forigner and those are the rules. Mannheim was most likely going to go back to "Shorty" in the last game and he was staying with us that night. I still thought it was weird, but hey, this is Germany!

Playoff Time, It's Do or Don't!

2010-08-28T07:00:00.000-07:00

With the regular season behind us we begin a new chapter to our season. Win or go home early is the theme in my mind, as as much as I miss home, I realize that I don't want to go home early because losing sucks. Especially when you realize how lucky you are to be playing this great game because you were given a second chance.

I finished the regular season nicely, although a 2 for ten weekend was not my way of going out. I didn't even realize it, but I should have had a bet going with Danny the final weekend on who would have more hits. I think I may have been tied with him and Jendrick Speer going into the final weekend of the season for the team lead, but I didn't look at my stats until after the season was over. I will say that I was much more productive the second half of the season at the plate and I can only attribute that to getting stronger and getting back into "baseball shape." Here is the rugular season numbers for Danny and I.

G /PA/ AB/ H/ 2B/ 3B/ HR/ R/ RBI/ K/ BB/ IBB/ HP/ SF/ SH/ SB/ CS/ AVG/ SLG/ OBP/ OPS

Daniel Meier 28 130 112 38 8 2 6 23 24 19 11 0 3 3 1 1 0 .339 .607 .403 1.010
Nikolas Kosach 28 135 108 36 8 2 0 27 11 16 19 0 5 0 3 2 1 .333 .444 .455 .899

I was really confident going into the playoffs with the rest of the guys. We have the best German starter in the North, followed by Danny who had only had one small hicup the entire season against Pulheim. Danny had a misniscule 1.58 era going into the playoffs and Eugen Heilmann had 2.76 era and was 10-1. We felt great about our pitching for sure. Our offense was nothing to look over either. We were close to hitting .300 as a team and our defense had been pretty solid for the Bundislega.

With as much confidence as we could have we headed to Mannheim on early Friday afternoon and after a four hour drive we arrived at our hotel with time to relax and hang out until the second group of guys arrived just in time to go to a great Italian restaurant down the street from our hotel. It was an awesome meal and when we got to the hotel I tried my best to fall asleep as early as I could. I am not sure why, but I had a tough time sleeping. Danny was my rommie on the trip and he had a congested noise so he was snoring quit a bit, but not enough to keep me awake all night as I am used to being around a family of snorers. Regardless, I felt as though I could have slept better, but I felt ok by the time the games rolled. around.

Game one saw Mannheim attack early in the first as our former teammate from the Regensburg tournament, Dennis Kelly, lead the game off with a 2 strike homer to left center. It was hit well, but the 280 foot fence to left-center didn't help our cause. After that, Eugene had a tough time settling into a rhythm and surrendered another three consecutive runs on four more hits. He eventually settled in and got out of some big innings.
We did our part to get back into the game as we depended on a few defensive mistakes made by their starting pitcher and everybody's buddy, Shorty Franke. He was very effective against us as he threw a lot of strikes, got a lot of fly balls, and slowed the game down to his own pace. I did well against him. I popped up my first at-bat, but I felt I got myself out with a bad swing, then I hit a 2 strike double off the left filed wall, followed by a triple to the right center field wall (Remember this field is shaped like a cracker-jack box) and in my final at-bat I hit a hard ground ball to second. 2-4. The rest of our offense struggled a bit. When we tied the game up we had already ran into a couple of outs on the base-paths, and then the bats shut down.
The key mistakes in the game were a misplayed fly ball in that cost us a run, as well as miscommunication between our pitcher and the middle infielder. With runners on first and second we had a deceiving pick off play between the middle infielders and our pitcher, however we did not run the play and Eugen came to the plate instead with a fastball right down the middle. The worst part was that it was their nine hitter and he roped a single up the middle to take a one run lead in the 8th inning. We did not get the run back in the 9th and we lost game one by a score of 6-5. Upsetting as it was, we maintained a positive attitude in the dugout and knew to shift our focus to game two as we had Danny on the mound against another German pitcher who was young.

In game two we jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first off of some key hits. I thought that we would turn this game into a blowout early, however, this field played like no other. An easy fly ball to center which would be an out in a little league field bounded off the center of the wall and the wheels quickly fell off for us in the first inning of game two as Danny surrendered 5 runs off of a few "ballpark" hits. It was really frustrating to see him make good pitches and not get outs. The next inning proved more of the same as he struggled again. This time allowing 4 runs in the second. Danny was tired, really tired. I can't imagine what it is like to play nine innings in the sweltering heat at third base, hit in the 3 whole, and then be asked to shut down a very good offense in game two for nine innings. He has done such an amazing job all season that we forget how hard it is. Not to mention this is by far the best offensive team we have seen all season, and we are playing in their park. Mannheim was hitting a ridiculous .329 as a team this season and they had four guys in the lineup that had 6 or more home runs in only 28 games. We knew it was not going to be easy, but this game got out of hand really fast.
We managed to fight back for a few runs and I even came about two inches from hitting one out to right field, but it bounced hard off the top of the steal fence and directly to the right fielder who threw it in just as I was rounding first, like I hit the ball right at him. I had no chance at second, and as Danny was rounding third, he had no chance to score either. What a bummer. A single off the top of the ball. Danny later told me that he ripped his toe-nail off while he was stopping around third base.
Things fell apart foe us in the 8th inning as our defense took a dive and we couldn't even play catch anymore. We surrendered another five runs and got mercy-ruled. 16-6 the game was over before I even got a 4th at-bat in the 8th inning. What a terrible day! 0-2 in a best of 5 series. The drive home was tough and we could not manage to think about our back being against the wall the following weekend.

We need to win three straight, or I am coming in August; Not October as planned.

The Final Pul-heim

2010-08-26T07:00:00.000-07:00

It had been a month since our last games against Bonn in the sweltering heat of early July. Since I had been home from vacation it had rained nearly everyday and was nowhere near the 100 degree temperatures of early July. The weather in Northern Germany reminded me of late October in Portland as you could clearly feel a crisp bite in the moist air. Not to mention is the fact that when it rains here, it rains hard.

Before my trip to Belgium I was pretty much stuck at home because I couldn't go outside and not get wet. I got a little stir crazy and when I took off for Belgium I realized I had been stuck in the same 5 square mile radius for almost a week. If you know me, you know why that is a problem. I need to be on the move. Once we started practice on the following Tuesday before our Sunday double header at Pulheim I was ready to get back to work. Having not thrown in a month seemed like it would be a good thing, but I really had to work the kinks out, even after a month. Danny felt the same way and although I had kept up with my arm exercises, I just didn't have the same zip on the ball that I had before the break.
I had done a good job of holding base runners from stealing (thanks to good pitching and quick moves) and I even had a two month period where nobody stole a base off of us. However, after I had mentioned before our Bonn games that it had been two months since anyone had stolen, Danny and I both laughed because we instantly knew that I had jinxed myself. Sure enough, the next game a runner went and I threw a ball just right off the bag and the runner was safe. I must have opened the flood gate because since then I have only thrown out 3 of the last 10 which is not good for me over here. At one point I had thrown out 64% which is pretty good.

Our games at Pulheim were interesting to say the least. Like the late October weather in Portland that can be so unpredictable we woke up and it was pouring rain. The sky was a deep grey even when it wasn't raining and we spent half of our 2 hour drive in a downpour. I thought to myself that it would not be a bad thing if we got washed out because we still had the "rainout makeup weekend" the following Saturday. We would almost rather play then so we did not have to wait another two weeks to play, because the playoffs didn't start for another two weeks. That has been the hardest part of this entire trip for Danny and myself. Sitting around and practicing all week to play one day of the week has been tough. It reminds me of playing in a city league although the competition is much better here and we don't have to work during the week. If you have a bad weekend, you have the entire week to think about it and it can be really tough. Not to mention it can get really boring as well. Regardless, as we showed up to the field the weather had cleared up and things dried up rather quickly. Even with some threatening skies in the distance we still managed to start on time.

We won the first game at Pulheim by a score of 13-2 and I got a hit in my very first at-bat of the day which felt great considering I had not seen live pitching in over a month. The rest of the day did not go so great for me at the plate. I only got one more hit on the day and we struggled as a team in game two. With a half hour rain delay in the third inning of game two Danny came back out with runners on the corners and gave up a few hits and a few runs. It went downhill from there and we struggled to regain any type of lead. We actually scored a few runs to threaten the lead, but it was too little, too late. We lost game two 9-5 to end the final game of the regular season.

The ride home was quick. Danny and I discussed how terrible it was that we had two weeks of practice before our playoffs games started and we tried to stay positive in our thoughts. It can be tough after any loss because, like the Monday morning quarterback, you replay all the things that you should have done differently in your head. That is the best part about playing at home in the states. You usually have to have a short memory due to the fact that you might be playing the next day.

Up next is Mannheim in the first round of the playoffs. Mannheim is the third place team from the south and they play in a cracker-jack ballpark that everyone claims is a hitters delight. We will have two weeks in between games which will be hard, but necessary if we want to work on the things we need to improve on and plain old fundamentals.

The past five years the Untouchables have not made it out of the first round, and the past two years have been against Mannheim. All three rounds are a best of five series. Since we are the second place team from the north, and Mannheim the third place team from the south, we must play two games in Mannheim before finishing the series at our place the following weekend. It is a best of 5 series, with a double header in Mannheim, followed by the possibility of three games including a double header on Saturday and one game on Sunday if necessary. (Whoever wins 3 games first wins the series) If we pitch and play defense we should win. We are facing an few old faces from the Untouchables organization including the left-handed starter in game one who is the younger brother of Danny and my roommate Mitch Franke. Renee ("Shorty") Franke is friends with everyone on the team including Danny and I. He has lived with us for half of the year as he is working for a fencing company in Paderborn and commuting to Mannheim on the weekends to play. He is a complete mess at the house and never cleans up after himself. I figure he will be the same on the mound, however, I really like the guy a lot. If I get a nice hit off of him I plan on saying "that's for not cleaning up the dishes!"

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

2010-08-25T06:01:00.000-07:00

And off we were........

Two weeks, 6 different countries and a whole lot of great memories. Erin and I made it safely to Dubrovnik, Croatia and headed to Budva, Crna Gora (Montenegro in the western world) not far from the Croatian border. Our plan was to be there for an entire week, but what was shortened by a change of plane scheduling and the desire to go see beautiful Lake Como, Italy shortened our time there. We spent three fantastic days in Montenegro and we ate and drank like royalty. The weather was beautiful and the scenery was unmatched. The Bay of Kotor is beautiful with crystal clear water and jagged mountains sprouting from the beaches. We even met up with one of my distant Kosach relatives who lives in Herceg Novi, not far from where we were staying.

After Montenegro we flew to Milan via Dubrovnik once again and struggled to get to Lago De Como (Lake Como) which sits in the Alps, near the Swiss border. Erin and I got through a very long and exhausting day to reach our destination after 18 hours, but we were really happy when we asked if any restaurants were open near by, and the host at our hotel said, "No, no, no, it is far to late (12:30a.m.) I am sorry....(long pause).... But if you like I can make you some homemade LASAGNA!" Needless to say after not having anything to eat all day it was the best meal we had ever had. Como was great until Erin got sick. And by the time she was feeling better it was time to get back on the train and head for Innsbruck.

The trip to Innsbruck, Austria was not an easy one as Erin was getting over food poisonings from two nights previous, but she was such a trooper and did really well. By the time we got out of the Italy and into the fresh mountain "Alpine" air of the Alps, Erin was feeling much better. Austria was awesome. We hiked, ate, explored, ate, hiked, and enjoyed the night life of Innsbruck which has hosted the winter olympics twice in the last 50 years. The mountains and views were unbelievable and we enjoyed every second of Austria.

We headed back to Germany to visit Munich and its famous beer halls after five days in Austria. This was my third trip to one of my favorite (if not favorite) European cities and the only thing that hindered our entire trip was the rain. It poured the entire time we were there. Not to mention the hotel we were staying at was being renovated and had a noisy ally which made it really hard to sleep. Regardless, we had a great time visiting as many famous Beer Halls as possible. Erin loved the Haufbrau Haus and its terrible service and unique atmosphere, and I got to enjoy some places I had not yet been.

Through all the days we spent together, we were not looking forward to our last one which was in Frankfurt. We had to leave Munich mid-afternoon to catch a train back to our final destination where Erin was flying home from on the following morning. Upon our arrival we made our way to the hotel and chilled. No adventure in Frankfurt for us as we prepared to say goodbye once again.
It was sad to say goodbye, but we have done such a great job of getting through this distance and it is only a few more weeks of Skype and distance before I will be home for good. The two and a half weeks we were together went by so fast that we reminded each other of how fast this time would go by as well.

After we said goodbye I jumped on the train back to Paderborn and once I got home the house was really quiet. I was home by myself for a few days and the weather was bad. We still had a week before we needed to report back to practice and after about five days of sitting around and not doing anything but working out I decided to get out of the house. I jumped on the train and went to Cologne, Achen, and my final destination of Liege, Belgium. I have wanted to go to Belgium since I have been in Germany and I realized this was probably my last chance. I hadn't traveled alone the entire time I have been here either so it was a lot of fun. Good chocolate, beer, waffles, and interesting people was what I found in Belgium. However, as much fun as I had, it wasn't even close to the trip I took with Erin.

I was really looking forward to playing baseball again, and I couldn't believe the schedule allowed us to have nearly a month off in between games. We were guaranteed second place in league as we knew we could not catch Solingen, nor could we lose out to Bonn. We had one more double header in Pulheim before we headed to Mannheim for the first round of the playoffs. Mannheim was the third place team from the south and we played them for two games at there place before we headed to Paderborn to finish the series. The past three seasons the untouchables have lost to Mannheim in the first round of the playoffs and the guys always talk about the ballpark they play in and what a disadvantage it is to have to play the first two games at their place. Regardless, I was looking forward to playing in Pulheim as we had previously lost 2 games to them and they were the only team we had played that we had not beaten.

Hot and Go!

2010-08-23T06:00:00.000-07:00

With Erin back with me, I felt great. I was looking forward to our games on Sunday against Bonn, as well as the break. Erin and I had a great itinerary to travel around Europe for 14 days. The Saturday before our Bonn games Erin and I enjoyed time together in downtown Paderborn and we sat outside one of my favorite places and eateries, The Cafe and Bar Celona. A fun little play on words. We were pleasantly surprised when a giant Parade began, which seems to be a theme here in Germany, as this was the third time I had been ambushed by a street parade while sitting outside a cafe.

The next day Bonn came into town and it was HOT! I grew up in the Nevada desert, so heat has no meaning in my head, but it was downright unbearable on this particular Sunday. The worst part was trying to sleep the night before. Having no fan and no screen to keep the bugs outside only allowed me to keep my window open a little. Also, our house is surrounded by concrete and asphalt which doesn't exactly keep things cool around the house. I did not get a great nights sleep, and the only thing I could do to cool down was get a wet towel and put it on my forehead.

As the day started I immediately started chugging water. I think by the end of game one I drank about 3 liters of water, plus I added electrolytes to the water in order to battle the heat. We beat Bonn in game one by a score of 15-5 and I went 2-3 at the plate with an RBI and 4 runs scored. During the break in between games I was soaked with sweat and all the water from running my head under the sink in our dugout. By the time game two came around I had not cooled down much and started the game uncomfortable hot and sweaty. Danny threw really well as he only gave up one run the entire game and we got him a lead and a win. I can't say I remember much of the game because I couldn't stay focused. At the end of the game I headed home with Erin and cleaned up. I still wasn't feeling too great because of the heat. As I began to cook the two of us dinner I got dizzy and very light headed. Erin could tell something was wrong as I felt like I had a high fever. Needless to say I was experiencing heat exhaustion. Erin took over from this point and as the minutes passed and I sat at the table in the dinning room I felt as though it was getting worse. She helped me up and moved me into the bathroom where I turned the shower on cold water and got in fully clothed and sat on the shower floor for about 15 minutes under the running water. I felt better after a while although I didn't want to move. Once I felt like moving again I got up and drank as much ice water as I could and finally ate dinner. Not a fun feeling and poor Erin was so worried.

I felt better as the hours passed and the next day I needed to pack and get ready as we were leaving for our two week trip around Europe from Dusseldorf the next day. Danny was coming with us because he was headed home from Dusseldorf the following day so we all decided to share a room and enjoy a night together in Dusseldorf. I was so happy to be traveling with Erin and we were all really excited to be leaving the next day. Upon our arrival to Dusseldorf we made our way to "the worlds longest bar," once again to enjoy the great nightlife that Dusseldorf offers. It was fun sharing the night with Danny and Erin and we all had a really good time and enjoyed great food and the fantanstic "Alt Style Beer" that is so famous in Dusseldorf.

The next day Danny left early in the morning to fly to Seattle. Erin and I jumped on the plane for Dubrovnik, Croatia and as I watched the exciting smile Erin carried all day (especially with her first glimpse at the Alps as we flew over them) I knew it was going to be a very exciting and eventful trip.

Stan the Man!

2010-08-14T08:49:00.000-07:00

Since I have been in Paderborn I have constantly wondered about one thing. How did I really end up here? I had not played ball for four years, and although I have remained in good shape and learned a lot more about baseball from being a coach, I still wondered, how it was remotely possible that Red would find me, and ASK me to come to Europe to play. He is from Paderborn, Germany. Where is the connection to Portland?? I never connected the dots as to how and why I was in the same place as Red when he was looking for a pitcher and catcher duo this past February.

It had only been seven days before this event occured that Erin and I were planning a new life together in the Northwest. Honestly, I had been looking forward to coaching my returning players in Moraga, California and I was enjoying some epic powder snow with some of my best friends in Lake Tahoe the weekend before. I had planned to finish my teaching duties at the elementary school I was a part of as well as coach my youth team to another championship. I was going to move to Portland to be with Erin in early June. Seven days later, I was trying out for a baseball team in German Budesliga.

When I was asked to be the everyday catcher in Paderborn I realized I was fulfilling a childhood dream and getting the Gorilla off my back that had been with me since the last line drive I hit in my last college at-bat. I felt I could still play and I wanted to play, however, I never took the leap of faith to ensure it. When this opportunity came up I had a deep gut check. I realized I would be leaving behind an amazing life with a wonderful person whom I admired and respected so much. She encouraged me to take this opportunity and she was with me 100%! I would also be leaving behind my close family and friends with so many new things to come in the near future. Still, I took the opportunity with amazement and wondered how it happened.

On a Tuesday afternoon way back in mid-June a man with workout clothes doused with the MLB (Major League Baseball) logo walked onto our field. He had a fungo-bat and a duffel bag and I could immediately tell he was American. He walked near our dugout and I thought to myself he must be an umpire doing a clinic or he must be a scout who is here for some reason. It was just minutes before that our Serbian grounds keeper, Mischa, was trying to explain something to me in both German and Serbian. (Mischa will speak both languages to me at the same time because I am a Serb in Germany. It is funny, but I never understand) It was something about a new trainer being Croatian so I should look out. Historically the Serbs and the Croatians never get along, and for an old Serb like Mischa who has seen civil war between the two cultures I guess it never leaves you.
I said hello to the man and I asked for his name. "Stan Luketich, pleased to meet you." I introduced myself, as did Danny and I asked him where he was from. Stan is a high school baseball coach from Phoenix Arizona and he was working for MLB Envoy, which is a program that major League Baseball has for baseball organizations around the world that want help organizing and teaching baseball within their program. Wow! I thought that he had a pretty cool gig. He is a teacher who coaches baseball for his high school at Desert Vista in the Spring, and every summer he goes to new places around Europe to teach the game of baseball for 8 weeks or so. He has also been the national team coach for Spain and the Czech Republic. I asked him what nationality "Luketich" was and he told me it was Croatian. It finally occurred to me that Mischa was trying to "warn" me about the new Coratian coach. I laughed as I told Stan I had some Serbian/Montenegro blood in me and he laughed at the warning I was given.
As the conversation went on, I learned that Stan was good friends with the coach who helped out Paderborn the season before I arrived. Only the previous coach was from Vancouver Washington, just 5 miles from Portland, Oregon.

Like a light switch, I said, "I get it now!" Red was staying in the northwest with the envoy coach from last year when I met him in Portland. Red was in the US learning about American baseball and he was getting as many coaching tools as possible. While he was in the Northwest he found two players, Danny and myself.

As I explained to Danny and Stan that I finally realized how we ended up in Germany, Stan told me that the coaches usually are assigned to a different place each year. "How cool!" I told Stan.
Stan was with us for about a month and it was a breath of fresh air. He hustled everywhere, taught with knowledge and helped everyone who asked for it. He was more interested in making a difference for the game of baseball than most people I have encountered. He is truly a selfless dude! As our weeks with Stan came to an end, he helped me realize once again that baseball can literally take you anywhere on this earth if you want it to. His motivation and his knowledge for the game was second to none and I know we all appreciated having him as a coach for the short period of time.

I thought to myself, I may not have ever signed with a Major League Baseball team like I wanted, but MLB got me to Germany. If it weren't for the Envoy program, the two roads may have never been connected, and I may have never received this experience of a lifetime.

As we watched the World Cup Finale we thanked him for all he had done. I gave him one of my old SMC Baesball shirts from when I coached and promised him we would get him a Portland Pilots baseball shirt in the near future.

Never Skipped A Beat!

2010-08-13T06:00:00.000-07:00

Once my parents left I had one thing I had to do before Erin came back to Germany on the 8th of July. I needed to go to Dusseldorf and get my passport, which was lost, then found, and mailed to the Dusseldorf USA embassy. It was quit a trip because I needed to be there by 12 noon on Friday in order to make my "appointment" on time, and I had to have my passport in order to get my visa renewed for another 3 months, which I had to do first thing on Monday morning. Basically this was the last chance I had to get things done in time. This was no picnic but I got it done, and made my appointment within the last ten minutes due to a delay in the train schedule. Once I had it I felt so relieved! I had my passport back and I did not have to worry about getting to and from places without it, nor did I have to worry about our big trip anymore. Fehw!

After a very upsetting 2 game sweep to Solingen at home on the 4th of July, we were pretty much stuck in 2nd place to finish out the rest of the season. We played well enough to win, but everything we hit hard was right at someone. That is the breaks some times! Bonn was playing us at home the next weekend and they needed to win four straight, and we needed to lose another four straight in order to not guarantee 2nd place. (Plus, if Solingen did lose two, we could catch them for first!)

Our focus quickly shifted on beating Bonn and guaranteeing second place going into our month long break for the European Championships. Each year, the professional leagues in Europe take a three/four week break from their season so players from each squad can represent their country and not miss regular season games. I had never taken this big of a break in the middle of the season, but I have to be honest, I was really looking forward to traveling with Erin who would arrive on Friday morning! So, although our focus was on Bonn, I also had time to focus on getting Erin back to Germany, as well as putting the finishing touches on our little European adventure which would begin the day after our Bonn games.

On Friday I woke up around 5 a.m. to drive to Frankfurt and pick Erin up. I was eager and equally nervous to see her again, as it had been exactly 10 weeks since she was in Europe.
Although we have Skype (which is amazing for any long distance relationship!!!) we would much rather be together. When I first came to Germany the distance was extremely hard on both of us, and for a while we both thought about having her move out here while I played, as she could take college classes online to occupy her time. However, once Erin moved to Portland she received a great job offer from AT&T before her first trip here. She was then offered an even better job with the FANTASTIC outdoor clothing and environmental movement company, Patagonia. Neither one of us was sure of wether she would be able to come out here again, but once Erin accepted the job with Patagonia she asked for and received the twenty days off that she needed to visit again. We were both really excited about this opportunity, and we agreed that she could not turn down this job opportunity with such a great company. Plus, I live with 5 other guys and things can get a little messy and noisy around the house. Not our idea of quality!

So, once I arrived at the airport in time to pick Erin up, the butterflies and knots returned with the anticipation of seeing her again. Ten weeks seemed like a long time. I waited at the customs gate for about a half hour before her flight came out and then all of a sudden things felt right again, she was with me again! We never skipped a beat. Plus, she looked absolutely amazing!!! I felt whole again, and I realized that having her with me for the next 18 days was such a blessing! We were both really happy to be together again.

Amsterdam's Strange Ways

2010-08-12T07:34:00.000-07:00

After we made our stop in Rethorn we started to make our way to Holland. In our procession was a map that had led us astray a few times did not help us in finding the correct route. At one point we completely lost our bearings and nobody could pinpoint our location. It was amusing and annoying to be this lost. After passing the map back and forth and taking a bunch of heat from the peanut gallery in the back seat (Dad and Danny) I decided to get us on track and finally took the reigns. I was sitting in the front and began to navigate a way to the correct freeway as well as what appeared to be the fastest route to Amsterdam. We must have circled the same area a few times when we were leaving Rethorn and once we finally figured it out we all had a good laugh, although it was a bad joke for the rest of the night. "Now Nik, are you sure this is the way?!?!" My poor parents must have been exhausted! They had been driving for at least six hours before they got to our game, and then it took another five hours to make it to our final destination in Amsterdam. We arrived late at night, and the scenery was nothing short of spectacular. Even in the nighttime, Amsterdam was a scenic place lost somewhere in the midst of French architecture and German style. The bright white lights illuminated the streets as we passed through the area near the central train station and there were a ton of people out and about. Upon our hotel arrival we felt the fatigue from the day. When Danny and I got to our room, we were pleasantly surprised to see puffy white linen with six different pillows on each bed in a gorgeous room! My mom being the best travel agent in the world, hooked Danny and I up big time. Just as we had in Cologne earlier in the week, we had an awesome room with really comfortable beds. This was a treat compared to our usual beds at home. We also had access to the all you can eat and drink lounge which I assure you, aside from the great scenery and site-seeing, is the best part about any trip with Gail and Steve. My parents along with Danny and myself enjoyed every minute we had at the hotel.

We did spend most of our time out and about. It was great walking around Amsterdam. The streets were amazingly unique as there were more bikes than cars. The whole city reminded me of a creepy Tim Burton movie. The jagged architecture was great with buildings leaning over sidewalks, framework that seemed misfit, and combined with the canals that encompassed most streets, it was a sight I had never imagined. We got to see the Van Gough museum which was really awesome. He was a strange man with a very weird mind, however he was a fantastic painter. The strangest part of the day was the weather. It was the day before summer began and we were in beanies and warm clothing. However the weather was we all agreed that Amsterdam was still a "cool" city!

After walking around the city all day on Sunday and visiting the Van Gough museum we made it back to the hotel for cocktails and beer at the reception room and watched a bit of the world cup and talked. Later that night Danny and I explored a bit of everything that Amsterdam had to offer inside the realm of "normal tourism." We found a great Belgium beer bar with some VERY interesting characters. We were also curious about infamous Amsterdam so we had to make our way down to the "Red Light District." This area along one of Amsterdam's many canals is famous for "window shopping." I could not believe my eyes, and it felt so unreal to see people literally selling and displaying themselves through a glass window. Hundreds and hundreds of women were looking down onto the street waving and winking at every peculiar male that walked by gawking at them. It was for a lack of a better term, "Insane!" I didn't know how I felt about it until we walked away from the area. I had a hard time imagining anyone having to do that with their lives. It was disturbing, yet unbelievable interesting to see this type of trade in action.

The following day was my parents last day of their trip, as well as their 35th wedding anniversary. I have been with them the last few years on their anniversary and we always have a great time, but this day took the cake! We had a great day of sight-seeing and I started thinking to myself, wow, 35 years together!! As my father so eloquently put it, "35 years of bliss!!!" Early in the day my mom really wanted to go to the house of Anne Franke, yet, as we approached the building the line was well over an hour long so we headed to our plan B, which was the Heineken Brewery and tour. It was a lot of fun learning about the beer making process with my parents, as well as following them around all the amusing spots the museum tour offered. We also got to sample a few beers which was a lot of fun.

The funniest part of the day was my mother listening to our story about the previous night. See, I get my sense of adventure from her and she said to me, "I think I'd like to see the Red Light District!" At first I didn't think much of it because, well, why wouldn't anyone want to see this area. Nobody is exposed, it is just women in windows, like a mannequin in a Lingerie store window. Then I thought about how I felt after I walked away. "Mom, I don't really feel like walking around a bunch of prostitutes with my parents on their 35th anniversary!" She thought for a second, and my father said. "Oh thank god you said something, I didn't want to be the one to say it." It was very funny.

As we got back to the hotel for our appetizers and cocktails in the reception area, we ate so much that my parents did not want to go to dinner. We had had such a great time and it was time for them to go to the room and pack, so I spent the last few hours with them in their room, enjoyed their company and the next morning Danny and I said goodbye to them at breakfast.

I have to be completely honest, as soon as they left I missed them both terribly. I saw them get in the cab from the inside of the reception area where Danny and I continued to eat our breakfast, and if I had been a little boy I would have run outside for one more hug and kiss from each of them. I guess that is the price you pay when you respect two people so much, so, with that I am VERY thankful that I got to share my life in Europe with them. We had a blast! I know they were very happy and proud that I get this experience, and of course I will see them when I get home in a few months. I will never forget the trip we had together, and I am so grateful and thankful they made it here and back safely.

As tough as it is for me to say goodbye to the parents, I realize that I only have about two weeks until I see Erin again. She is coming out for 19 days and our plan is to travel as much as we can around Eastern and Western Europe. There is a lot to see, but more important, is the fact that we will be together. She will get a chance to see me play one last time, and then we are off. I can't wait!!!

The Family Tree

2010-08-09T03:44:00.000-07:00

Before we made it to our final destination of Amsterdam my mom wanted to make a stop in a sleepy little town near Bremen where her great-grandparents were born. My mom and dad had driven close to 700 miles on this day so they were pretty exhausted by the time we arrived in Rethorn. Yet, my mother was extremely excited to trace her roots back a few generations to see where her family came from. She had brought a picture of a painting which had been hanging on the picture wall in her parents home for her entire life. It was a painting of an old, rustic, thatched rooftop home in rural Germany. My mother spent a lot of time trying to find this particular home when we arrived in the small village/town of Rethorn, Germany. The only problem was that Danny and I had just played in two games and had not eaten since breakfast at 7a.m. Still all three of the boys were very patient and we let my mom wander around the town as much as she wanted. It was very cool to see her in this atmosphere. She was so curious and excited to see this place and everywhere you looked you could see the thatched roofs of the old homes in this community. I teased her as I said at every passing home, "Look Mom, there it is!!!" She smiled and called me a smart-ass, which I was. Still, we had a great time walking around Rethorn and although we could not find the exact location of her relatives, I am sure they were with my mother in spirit. Once we left Rethorn we started to make our way to Amsterdam, a place none of had been, but have heard so much about. Danny and I were really excited because it would be the first time we left Duetchland in over 3 months. We were in some need of a different culture, and we were assured to find it in Amsterdam.

The Best Fans in Baseball

2010-07-20T00:54:00.000-07:00

After our loss to Dortmund I quickly cheered up with the reminder that two of my biggest supporters were coming in just a few days. Danny and I took some time to travel to nearby Munster by train on Monday, and it was an interesting day filled with random street parades, bike friendly people and plenty of good food and drinks. Munster is Germany’s most bike friendly city so of course we took our bikes on the Bahn railway and upon our arrival we rode around the city for several hours. However, as nice as the day was, I was still excited for Friday to come. Like I had said, my biggest fans were coming to town. Mom and Dad.

Now, over the years in baseball I have always had my brother, sister, external family, friends and now Erin who have given me total support with my baseball endeavors. However, my mom and dad condensed two major things in me outside of being a good Christian; Baseball and travel. As I have mentioned in so many cases, the two have presented themselves very arbitrarily.

When Friday came around, I rode my bike from practice through the busy streets of Paderborn where World Cup Fever had completely taken over! This place is absolutely CRAZY during the “Welt Meister!” I was excited that we would get to watch the worlds biggest sporting event together in a country where “Fusbol, fusball, or football,” rules the land. It’s still just soccer to me, however, I appreciate the culture of any sport, and I planned on taking part in as much of the World Cup as I could swallow.

Once I arrived to see my parents at their hotel I went to the front desk and asked what room they were in, and if they had checked in yet. As the front desk clerk asked me for my I.D. I went to my travel wallet where I store my Passport and could not find it. “Uh-oh, I must have left it in my room.” I pulled out my California I.D. and the front desk informed me that they had not yet arrived. As I waited, I thought about my Passport. “Where could I have put it, I don’t remember taking it out of my wallet?!!?!”

Moments later a cab pulled up with Gail and Steve and I went out with a big smile, hugs and kisses followed, and as they settled in I talked away about my experiences and life in Europe. They were so excited to see me, as I was to see them. It was great seeing them, and they were planning on being in Germany for 11 days, capped with a short trip to Amsterdam with Danny and me the following weekend after our games near the Netherlands border. My mom had also worked out details to trace some of her family’s lineage to a small town that was near Hannover. We were planning on visiting the village of her great grandparents birthplace.

My parents made it safe, we watched some of the world cup together on Saturday as the US tied England one thing was bothering me, I could not find my passport! As I looked everywhere, with no avail, I got really worried. Although my attention was clearly on finding my passport, there was nothing I could do until Monday or Tuesday, and I had a double header against Hamburg on Sunday, which would mark the first time Steve and Gail would see me play baseball since I was a senior in college, just over four years ago. I was excited to play in front of them, and I honestly believe at this point in the season I am starting to bloom and I might even be better than I was the last time they saw me. The only difference is the competition is not the same. We ended up having a good day against Hamburg, and we won both games. I even got a few hits, a couple of doubles and threw a few runners out in front of my folks.

The funniest thing that I had ever seen on a baseball field happened at the “end” of game two. We were up by a score of 8-0 late in the game, and for some reason, someone (That someone being the German umpires) lost track of the innings. Danny pitched great but came out of the game in the 7^th and I thought to myself that it was the earliest we had taken him out of a game in nearly 3 months. That being so we all went in to cruse control.

It was the first, only, and most likely the last time that I will ever experience what happened next. As the 3^rd out of the top of the 8^th came, the umpires made it clear to both sides that it was the conclusion of the game. Nobody scoring the game said anything at first, and the rules in Germany are that you have to be up by 10 runs in the 7^th in order to have the mercy rule. On this particular day the scoreboard was not working properly, so we never really knew what inning it was, yet we clearly were NOT up by ten runs. It felt strange, and because we all thought the game was over, we shook hands with our team and then Hamburg and met down the left field line. As I was the last one out of the dugout while taking my gear off I heard one of the score keepers come down and say, “That was only 8 innings, we still need to play one more inning.” I couldn’t believe it! I asked if he was sure, and in a panic he said, “Yes, I am sure, that was only the top of the 8^th. I began to laugh hysterically and as I looked at our entire team down the left field line waiting for our postgame meeting and I yelled, “Hey, we need to play one more inning, that was only the top of the 8^th.”

Sure enough, as I yelled at the Hamburg team indicating that we were not done with the game, they all seemed to shrug their shoulders and get their gear and uniforms back on. I even laughed at my parents in the stands because they were up and ready to leave. I said, “Hey mom, hey dad, we need to finish the game because that was only 8 innings, welcome to German baseball!”

When we finished the game we all laughed about what had just happened, agreed that we had just experienced the strangest thing ever, and I had a great evening with my parents.

On Monday my parents wanted to see some of Northern Germany and after looking for my passport with no luck we headed to Cologne to spend the night and do some sightseeing. Danny and I tagged along and we enjoyed our time in the lounge area that had great appetizers, beer and the World Cup. It is always great to travel with my mom and dad because they truly do everything first class. Danny and I were spoiled being with them in Cologne for the night.

The next day I had planned to go to Frankfurt to get a new passport, yet I found out too late that I needed to have a police report in order to receive a new one. Since Frankfurt was a 4-hour drive away I realized I lost a day because I didn’t know what I was doing. On Wednesday I went to the police station near my house to report my passport missing. I spent about a half hour speaking with an officer. I needed a police report indicating that I lost my passport so I could replace it in Frankfurt at the US Embassy. Near the end of our report I remembered that someone had mentioned that Paderborn had its own Lost and Found Center, so I asked the officer (after we wrote the report) to call and see if I had any luck. At this point I was still planning on going to Frankfurt the next morning to visit the Embassy with all the necessary papers in order to receive a new passport. What was worse was the fact that I needed to extend my Visa on following Friday. YIKES!

As I waited patiently while the police officer called the center he was put on hold, and a few seconds later spoke with someone. All of a sudden his expression completely changed, he looked up at me as if he wanted to tell me something, then spoke back to the person on the other line. Once he set the phone down he told me in broken English, “Your passport was returned yesterday, it is at the office right next to us, the door is only 25 meters away, let us look for it.”

I jumped for joy! Somehow I had lost my passport, and someone turned it in. I have no idea how I lost it, but it happened! The most important thing was that it was found. Now, that is not the end of the story. Unfortunately, the office was closed early on Wednesday (at 12pm) so I needed to come back at 7am the next morning. The officer could not get me in, so he told me to come back if there were any problems.

The next morning I was at the center at 7am, and I spoke with two very helpful women who could not speak a lick of English. I found out that my passport was sent to the Dusseldorf Embassy the day before and the person who was in charge was sick. “Damm,” I thought. I needed to go to Dusseldorf to get it back and it was a three-hour train ride! I still was not as upset as I had been, until I found out that the earliest appointment I could make was the following Wednesday at a time I couldn’t make. Plus I was going to go to the Netherlands on Saturday and I would not be back until Tuesday morning. The only good thing was that I could travel to and from the Netherlands without my passport because they did not check them at the border.

So, after spending Saturday with my folks watching the world cup and exploring the Paderborn area we headed up to Dohren on Sunday for a double header against the Wild Farmer. I had told my parents that the drive was going to be about three-four hours long and that they should print directions before they left. I would not be able to travel with them because I had to leave with the team really early in the morning, so they would be driving themselves. I slept most of the way there, and upon our arrival I opened my eyes to what looked like Kansas. A field in the middle of nowhere, a howling wind to center, and corn fields that went on for days. “Where are we?!?!” I thought to myself. Then I thought that there was no way my mom and dad were going to find this place.

Sure enough, as our game started, no mom and dad. 5^th inning, game one, no mom and dad, and so it went on until the end of the first game. At this point I was worried that they had gotten lost, or something worse had happened so I called my moms cell using a teammates phone and I could not get a hold of them. “Grrrrrrrrr…..”

As we started game two I had to refocus and not worry. I was sure they were ok, but I was worried they would not find it at all and we would be forced to go back to Paderborn instead of driving with them to Amsterdam. After all, this might be our only chance to have a few nights away from Paderborn, mixed with the “Where the hell are they,” feeling.

In my second at-bat in the third inning I laid down a perfect drag bunt and while I was on first base I wanted to steal. After a couple of missed attempts and a foul ball, in between pitches I hear a loud “HEY NIK!,” all the way from the right field fence. I clearly recognized the voice and as I turned I saw my Dad on the opposite side of a chain-linked fence waving his hand with my mom right behind him.

“THANK GOD!!!!” That took a lot off my mind and I was ready to focus on baseball alone for the rest of the day. The rest of the game went on pretty smoothly and I collected four hits in my last four at-bats of the day, two of them being doubles.

Once our games were over we started to head a little further north to visit the small village my family was from and my parents told the story of why they were so late. Apparently there are two towns in Northern Germany named Dohren. My parents went to the wrong Dohren and could not find a baseball field. They finally figured out what had happened because a local told them that there was no baseball field in Dohren and maybe they might be looking for the other Dohren, some 350 Kilometers away. Once this happened they found themselves three hours away from the right place. It was a funny story, but unsettling none the less. I worried about them all day, and was excited that we were on our way.

Yankees of Germany

2010-07-03T07:51:00.000-07:00

After our weekend victories against Cologne we played the following Saturday evening in Dortmund. It was the first time that we had to play in the heat of the summer, and with a 6p.m. start nearing summer solstice the evening sun was low and beating down on us in the Northern sky. After we won the first game we started game two about 20 minutes later than we should have thanks to the umpires not showing up on time. Danny was ready, the other pitcher was ready, and all we did was wait in the heat.

The most interesting part of our day came in the 5th inning when the umpires left the field and told both teams that the game would be delayed for at least twenty minutes because the sun was setting in center field and the home plate umpire could no longer see. " A Sun Delay!"

Now, I have seen some crazy weather delays on a baseball field. Snow delays in the middle of May, rain delays when the weather was beautiful ten minutes before; I have even heard of fog delays in the Cape Cod league, but a SUN delay!?!?
Sure enough, after a forty five minute delay of waiting for the sun to set beyond the horizon were back in action. It was insane! I later researched that it has happened a few times in the Alaska Baseball League in towns like Fairbanks, or Anchorage due to their extreme northern hemisphere and the sun basically stays along the horizon for a longer period of time. Combine that with a field built in the direction of the setting sun and you have an impossible background to see a ball coming toward you. We are nowhere near the latitude of Anchorage or Fairbanks, but we would be at about the same latitude of central Canada (lets say Calgary, Canada) and since the sun sets late during the middle of June, it also sets low alongside the horizon.

So after forty five minutes we were back at it. It seemed to me that the heat and the wait took a little energy out of our team because we couldn't produce anything after that. We had jumped out early with a 3-0 lead, and although Dortmund only got one run in the 3rd we had felt pretty comfortable up to the "sun delay." Danny must have felt the delays and heat, because by the 7th inning I could see him getting tired not only on the mound, but at the plate as well.
When the 8th inning came around the wheels came off and we surrendered 3 runs, none of which were from hits or a decent rally, but all walks. Danny walked a few guys and our reliever walked a few guys which gave them a one run cushion in the 9th.

Now for the history of this league, there are a few things to consider. One is that the Untouchables have more German Championships than anyone (Consider us the Yankees of Germany) and anytime we play, you can be sure we have a target on our back. That target is not exclusive to the teams we are playing either. I learned this the hard way on this particular night, and although I have never blamed bad officiating on the outcome of a game, it was really hard to do on this particular night. In my humble opinion the umpire behind the plate had missed about 15 pitches that were literally down the middle of the plate and about 3 inched above the belt. "Ball, ball, ball, ball, ball, ball, ball, ball".....BLAH!" I told myself, "At least he is consistently bad and not giving anyone that pitch," as I myself had walked during two at-bats that night and some of the pitches were boarder line. However, in my final at-bat of the night in the ninth inning, and a runner on first I took a big swing on the first pitch because I told myself, "drive this ball into the gap and tie the game." On the next pitch Jendrick Speer got a great jump and stole second base. The pitch was a change-up about a foot outside and high and as I dug back into the box with a runner on second and 1 out I heard the umpire say "Nul und zwei" (0-2). I quickly called time and said, "You called that last pitch a strike?!?! It was a foot outside!" I quickly realized he missed the pitch because the runner was going and the catcher may not have given him a good look. He simply missed the location of the pitch. I was down 0-2 and the next pitch was a slider which broke under my hands and as I took the pitch I thought to myself, "good take, but that was too close." I didn't turn around and look at the umpire, I just looked out to the pitcher because I didn't hear a strike call. As I began to get ready for the next pitch I heard the American catcher say "Hey man, that was strike three, you're out." I looked at the umpire for the second time and said "Really? I didn't hear you say a thing and that hasn't been a strike all night!" It didn't matter, I wasn't going to change anything so I walked away as mad as I have ever been.
Our next batter was the pitcher hitting for Danny, who had been taken out of the game completely. On a 0-2 count be hit a swinging bunt to the shortstop. As Jendrick rounded third to score, the shortstop made a barehanded play, threw the ball in the dirt to first as our pitcher slide FEET FIRST into the base. He appeared to be safe as the opposing first baseman bobbled the ball, however, the German umpires struck one last time and stole the glory by yelling "ousen."(out) Our entire bench exploded off the bench except for two guys, Danny and myself. I looked down the bench as neither one of us moved, the rest of our team attacked the umpire to dispute the call, and the Dortmund Wanders celebrated like they had just won the last game of the World Series. It was as interesting a moment as I had seen on a baseball field. To top it all off our manager got thrown out of the game....... after the game was over. He was suspended for the next two games. "Only in Germany," I thought to myself.
It took a long time to get everyone to settle down from the loss, but like anything that happens in baseball we learned from it. However we could not help feel a little cheated by all the bad calls we received.
From the late start to the game, the sun delay and all the bad calls, it was an uncontrollable night that will only make us better.

June Bloom

2010-06-27T04:07:00.000-07:00

As our travels down south ended, the second half of the regular season began as we prepared for the same order of teams as the first half of the season. I can't believe 8 weeks is half way through the regular season, however, it has been a great experience.

Thinking back to the cold and dismal German skies of the first half got me excited to play in the summer time sunshine of June and July. We would also get a chance to face pitchers for the second time, which is great. I must say that I was not personally satisfied with my performance at the plate for the first half of the season. I was hitting .300, and even after a four year hiatus from baseball it not my idea of doing well in Europe, especially when it was made clear to me that I wasn't doing well enough and I was expected to hit .400. However, being a baseball stat rat, I quickly pointed out that I was leading the league in walks, I had a .500 OBP and was 4th in the league in runs scored. (Thanks to hitting in front of two of the best hitters in the league.) I guess no matter where you are in the world, the batting average is still the first thing that people look at. As a matter of fact, I had to remind myself that I had been scorching balls right at people the whole season and I could not control the outcome of some of my quality at-bats. Sometimes you hit the ball hard four or five times and get nothing out of it. Such is baseball!

The quality of baseball has improved along with the season as well. By this point you are either in "baseball shape," or you are not, and we have seen a plethora of different talent levels. Judging the talent from the first half, we have seen pitchers who wouldn't make my high school team, to guys who have above average stuff, and could be good division 1 pitchers. Basically you never know what you are going to get until game day and the moment you are in the batters box.

As June began the spring time rains were still hit and miss. Each day was a guess as to how many layers of clothing should be worn, but we were assured that warmer days were ahead of us. Along with the rest of the world and the crazy spring weather, we saw some great days, and some unusual days for June.

Our start to the second half of the season against the Cologne Cardinals was a interesting day. We had played through a few different rain showers that reminded me of the mist that comes from Niagara falls. Very dense, very quick, and very wet. In only a matter of seconds it made our field really wet. We won the first game by a score of 11-3 and the second game started with an offensive assault against their new American pitcher. By the top of the fourth we were ahead 7-0 and both Danny and I were having a nice game. Then the rain delay came.

With howling winds and dense clouds streaking across the sky we soon found ourselves in an off and on rain storm. Just like a shower faucet, the rain would come quick and hard, and then suddenly stop.
We were killing Cologne and since it was not an "official game" at that point, we were praying that we would not have to call the game and play on another day, especially since we were up by 7 runs. As the rain came and went the funniest part of the day was the umpires decision making. The timing was epic. Every time the rain stopped, we would clear the tarps and take the field only to get stuck in another downpour as play was just about to resume. "Ok, put the tarps back on and wait for the rain to stop." Over and over this happened and it was really funny. The umpires finally declared that they would wait a half and hour before we resumed play and we would check the field after the 30 minute delay. The rain fell, and fell, and fell. After about 20 minutes I was really worried that this one wasn't going to count and we would have to start the game over on a new day. Cologne did their best to act completely miserable and cold because they wanted to scratch the 7-0 lead we had by coming back on another day.

After the 30 minute delay (and a twenty minute nap by yours truly) the umpires decided to resume the game in the muck and yuck that was now our field. Awesome! To add insult to injury we added another 10 runs over two innings to end the game early with a 17-0 mercy ruling. I finished 3-4 with a few RBI's and Danny had a couple of nice hits including a home run.

We started the second half with two wins and fashionable production at the plate. As the day winded down and I did my cool-down run after the game, the sunshine came out of nowhere and the temperature was perfect. I couldn't help but laugh to myself when I thought of the day.

München

2010-06-10T05:25:00.000-07:00

After the Regensburg tournament was over we hopped on the train south and headed to München for two nights.

The train ride was smooth and we arrived with plenty of daylight and enthusiasm in order to explore the city, its many great Beir Halls, and learn a little about Germany history. We had an awesome time for the two days and nights we were there. Here is a little footage from all the craziness that went down while we were there. I must say the locals were something else! Make sure you don't miss the yodeler at the end of the video...... He didn't like me much because he could see I wasn't German, and Danny is. Plus he is speaking German to him. It is pretty funny!

Final Day in Regensburg

2010-06-01T07:21:00.000-07:00

Here is another little video I put together at the end of the Regensburg tournament.

Enjoy.

Buchbinder Cup Champs

2010-05-30T07:14:00.000-07:00

After our victory against Heidenheim we went back to the dorm to clean up and relax for a bit. We headed back to the field around 7pm for dinner and beer at the Gausthaus and spent the rest of Saturday evening watching Hamburg vs. Regensburg.

Our team was pouring with good spirit on this beautiful eveining, and so were the beers. We managed to sneak a couple of our own brews into the stadium so we did not have to pay €3 per beer at the park, and as I got to know my fellow American aditions from Manheim and watch baseball I was buzzing off the experience in Bavaria both literally and methaphorically. As my soberness decreased with the sunlight I watched the game between Regensburg and Hamburg get out of hand. Regensburg is a very talented team and they play with a lot of confidence. From an outsiders observation; and one from a savy American, I felt some of their swagger was a little indecent to the game. Do not get me wrong, I am all for good confidence and a puffed out chest, but I kept thinking to myself that these guys thought they were unbeatable. They were. After their Hamburg blowout they were 15-0.

We soon went to the Gausthaus after the conclusion of the game and the place was packed with soccer enthusiasm as FC Bayern-Munchen was playing. I grabbed a Weisen beer and sat near a tv with Danny, Sara, Augie, and our shortstop Jendrick Speer. We talked about Regensburg and what we needed to do in order to end their streak.

At the conclusion of the night our two vans were packed with both the Hamburg team and our own. One van was going to downtown Regensburg, the other back to the dorms. I felt really lucky to jump in the van going back to our dorms. I was "too tired," to say the least. I got back to the dorms and passed out.

The next morning was more of the same as the day before. Slamming dorms, footsteps, mixed in with the ocasional moan, yawn, and muffled voices. It was mandatory to be at breakfast at 9a.m. and before I went out of my room I did my best to look presentable again. It was not happening. I didn't really care though and as I hazely walked into the breakfast area I noticed that I was not alone in my less than stellar well being. Breakfast was a complete zoo. Guys walked in with nasty grins, wabbly steps, and lazy eyes from the previous night. I thought that it was going to be a very long day as we were playing the best team in the country that night. "Great, everyone is feeling terrible and we play Regensburg tonight." Apperantly some of the guys got in just a little earlier that morning and were out all night. Again, I was happy I got in the right van and attempted to sleep it off. As hazy as I was I did not have any sort of headache, and as I explained this to one of my German teammates they explained that because of the German purity laws when it comes to brewing beer, there are no ingredients that will give you a headache. As far fetched as it sounded I didn't really care and I bought it.

Luckily we did not play until 7p.m. that night and we all had time to go get more sleep before we left for lunch at the field. Once we met again at 1p.m. and got yet another meal at the Gausthaus we were free to go explore a little bit of Regensburg before we had to be back at 5p.m.

I headed to the townsquare also known as Altstadt (old town) with Danny, Sara, and a few other teammates, including our pitching addition from America, Corey. It was nice sharing stories with Corey, and he opened up to me about his experiences along with the pressure being an American pither has in Germany. Corey was slatted to start our third game vs. Hamburg on Monday and after our conversation I was really looking forward to catching him and working with him. Our Regensburg tour was great! We explored as much as we could in the few hours we had and it was an absolutley beautiful day. We ran into our starting shortstop Jendrick Speer who was with hissignificant other alongside his two children and his former coaches wife.
The Regensburg coach is a legend in Paderborn and father figure to many of my teammates who have been playing with the Untouchables since the late 90's. Martin Helmig guided the Paderborn Untouchables to 6 German Baseball Championships in 1999, and 2001-2005. Pretty amazing. He was now the man responsible for the unpresidented 15-0 Legionare who we played later that evening.

Upon our arrival back at the field we got ready in the visiting clubhouse and by this time we were feeling much better.

Our game started at 7pm under a beautiful sky with late evening sunshine and warm temperatures.

The stands were filling up as well and I couldn't help but think to myself "This is why we came to Germany."

That feeling left after about 15 minutes into the game however as things got out of hand for us really quickly. We were the home team and from the start of the game Danny was having control issues. I wouldn't blame it on pressure, nervousness, or even a lack of focus because Danny is much better than all of that. However after a few walks, a few hits, a few big missed strikes from the umpire, as well as a few runs scored in the top of the first we were feeling the pressure. On top of that was the fact that they were running all over us, and especially me. I was forcing the ball, and unfortunately my throws were going all over the place! (This later garnered me a new kangaroo court fine name, "One Hopper.")

The worst part of the inning was when Regensburg's eight hitter came up to the plate and literally put his back foot directly behind the plate, completely out of the batters box. This was and has always been unacceptable in baseball. By doing this, the batter is telling the pitcher that the plate belongs to the hitter and that there is not respect, nor fear of getting hit. This pissed me off completley! I have been playing competitive baseball for over 15 years, and not once has this happened when I am behind the dish. I stopped for a second before I called a pitch, looked at Danny who seemed to be as bewildered as I was, and I stood up.

"What are you doing man? Are your trying to get killed?!?!" Mr. Umpire, would you please tell him to get in the batters box? he is going to get hurt," I said.
The umpire umpire looked at me and said "He can do that if he wants, but if he makes contact or gets hit, it is an automatic out for not being in the batters box." I thought to myself, "sweet," as I quickly crouched again and called for an inside fastball, almost setting up directly behind the hitter.

However, the look and frustration Danny had did not go over easy. As any pitcher in this situation would do, Danny got pissed at the disrespect of the hitter and the frustration of the entire inning. Being an outstanding baseball player, both as a hitter and pitcher, he knew the direct disrespect intended his way by taking away the plate. Looking back on the situation I should have made a mound visit to tell him to either hit the batter or have him make contact, the umpire told me it would have been a free-bee out. Instead, I called a fastball in, and Danny humped up about 20% more of his normal fastball and sent a pitch wizzing right behind the hitters head at about 90mph +.
"Holy shizza dude!! What is he doing?!?" the hitter asked me.
"Are you serious kid? Get your ass in the box or else you are going to get killed!" Why are you putting your foot behind the plate man?"
"My coach told me too get on the plate, I am just doning what I am asked," he replied.
At this point the runner on first moved up another bag, then stole third on the next pitch. Once again, I forced a bad throw to third as our third baseman jumped up for the throw. A good throw would have had him easily. We finally got out of the inning, but it was not without drama. During the whole "crowded plate at-bat," the Regensburg coach came of the bench after Danny had sailed one past the hitters ear and asked him if he was throwing at him intentionally. Danny did not really react and basically told him that after three walks and a few wild pitches, that it was impossible for him to hit someone on purpose. I thought it was a good response because Danny was protecting everyone in our lineup by telling him it was unintentional.

As the bottom half of the first started, Regensburg was throwing their most recent addition from the USA. Their starter was a tall right handed guy from the South Side of Chicago, who had barley played baseball, yet had spent his life playing basketball through college and now professionally in Europe. Things got a little serious once again when the first pitch he threw was a fastball that hit our leadoff hitter, Jendrick Speer, in the head. He was o.k., but as he trotted down to first and I approached the plate the pitcher had a grin on his face as if he had done it on purpose, or was amused by the irony of hitting one of our guys. This was not o.k. in my mind. I paused, looked at him before I got in the batters box and then asked the catcher, "What is he smiling about? That is not something he should be smiling about, what is the deal, is he trying to get one of you hurt now?" The catcher looked at me, very concerned and said, "I have no idea man, he is a basketball player and might not understand the game."

Things settled down as the first few innings went by. We were down 5-0 after two innings and Regensburg was feeling extremely confident, just as they had all year. We were having a hard time at the plate though and the only two hits we managed in the first five innings were from me. On top of that, Danny had been drilled twice himself while batting, though we understood that it was not intentional. By the sixth inning the Regensburg starter was having control issues, and with a stacked bullpen, they brought in a new pitcher. We finally got on the board when Gavin Ng, Paderborn's American from the past few years got a 2 RBI single, bringing the game closer with a 5-2 score.

We finally shut down their offense as Danny was cruising with a great changeup and overwhelming slider after the first few innings. I also picked myself up and helped by finally throwing out three base runners from the 2nd inning to the 7th and effectively shut down the running game.

The next inning proved to be one of the biggest innings I had ever been a part of. I led off the 7th with a single to right field, my third hit of the day, and Danny worked a great at-bat seeing five or six pitches and staying alive until the pitcher made one big mistake. On a 2-2 count he left a slider up in the strike zone and Danny hit the ball about 480 feet to left. it was a towering shot! I was on first base and couldn't help but laugh and smile when I thought of the irony, and the fact that the left fielder didn't even move, as he turned and watched the ball soar well past the left field fence. This really pumped us up as we were now only 1 run down with no outs.

The rally continued as hitter after hitter got on base, worked counts, and got timely hits. I came up once again with 2 outs and the bases loaded, with another opportunity to get a big hit. At this point we had taken the lead by a score of 6-5. I worked myself into a 3-1 count and just missed a fastball on which I over-swung and fouled off. I continued to foul pitches off until I got a fastball over the middle of the plate and hit a hard ground ball up the middle. The shortstop did a good job knocking the ball down on the back cut of the infield, but the runner from third had scored, and the runner from second was the speediest in our lineup and scored easily as I raced to first for a hit. 8-5! We still had a good opportunity to score another run as Danny came to the plate for the second time. On a 1-1 count Danny turned a fastball around and hit yet another Home run! 2 Homers in one inning with 5 RBI's. ( I later fined him in Kangaroo court for showing me up, as I "only had two singles and two RBI's," in the same inning.) We led by a score of 11-5 and scored 9 runs in the seventh inning, leaving the Legionnaire with a puzzled look on their Mustached faces.

The Regensburg team had been growing mustaches since the beginning of the season with the thought that they would not shave until they lost. I had told their center fielder before the game that I hoped they all brought their razors for after the game. It was nice to see them with a fresh shave the next day!

Regensburg could not get their mojo back and as Danny cruised on the mound through the top half of the 8th and 9th, we won the game by a score of 11-5, shocking the hometown team in their own tournament, in front of their crowd. It felt great to beat a quality team, and with the win we were guaranteed the Buchbinder Championship because Hamburg had already lost two games. Red was happy about having the €1,500 prize money but wanted us to win the next day, which we did by a score of 2-1, beating a very good left hander from Gauting who was playing for Hamburg during the tournament. He had also pitched in the Blue Jays organization. Our American addition from Manheim did a great job as well and although he struggled with command at times, he got himself out of some big situations.

All in all it was a great weekend filled with great competition, awesome food and beer. I loved Regensburg, the baseball facility, and the people who appreciated baseball so far from our home land of America.
Since we had another week until our next game, Red gave us two days off in a row which allowed Danny, Sara, and me to head south about 45 miles to Munich to do some sightseeing before we went back north to Paderborn.

Needless to say, we were really looking forward to being in München and trying all the famous Bavarian Beer and food in the days to come.

(Here is a little Footage from Regensburg, enjoy)

Buchbinder Cup Day 1

2010-05-29T08:47:00.000-07:00

The sound of doors slamming and flip flops shuffling up and down the hall combined with the daylight peering through the shutters was good enough for a wake up call at 7:45 a.m. on Saturday. We were supposed to be gathering down the hall for some sort of breakfast that was being prepared for us. I rolled out of bed, washed my face, tried to look somewhat respectable and headed out my door. I walked about 30 feet before a large gathering room came upon me where some of my teammates were congregating. I walked in and sat down to a table filled with Germany's best breakfast layout. Instant coffee, bread, nutella, butter, jam, salami, leiberkerst (a type of German bologna) and mortadella meat all presented themselves. As I began filling my plate with food, I realized that I had never actually had salami or any other type of lunch meat for breakfast. I also realized that I was still full from the tremendous dinner we had had the previous night. I still enjoyed the meal and especially my coffee. Since I have traveled around so much this year I have become very accustomed to drinking very dark coffee with nothing added; a feat I NEVER thought would be possible, however, I would not have it any other way now.

We left the dorms about two hours later to consume yet another meal at the Regensburg Gausthaus near the field. A delicious spaghetti bolognese plate with salad and bread was served to us at 11:00 a.m. Needless to say I was still full from dinner the night before, as well as breakfast. Yet I could not help but eat as much as I could because it was delicious. After about 2/3rds of the way through I was struggling with my gluttony. We did not play until 2p.m. and batting practice was not for another hour or so, but I felt like I would not be able to move the rest of the day. I sat in my chair at the large dinning table and watched as the rest of the guys either gave up on trying to finish their food, or gladly excuse themselves from the table and leave. I didn't give up that easy and I wanted to finish. However, it was not going to happen and I was the last person to throw in the towel.

As I approached the field for the first time in daylight I was pleasantly surprised at what a professional feel the grounds had to it. We walked through the right field side gate and around the plate to the third base dugout to find a big-league sized bench, complete with a tunnel to the brand new shower rooms and bathroom area. It was very impressive. On a side note, this part of the facility was completed for the World Cup last season and was still gleaming alongside that "new car smell."

As we started BP, first in the cages and then to the field, I noticed that the ball was jumping off our bats and carrying much further than we were used to in the north. Our field in Paderborn may as well be death valley because the wind blows in, and there is a force that just simply knocks balls straight down. In my batting round alone I made the adjustment to pull the ball hard, and I hit two or three out of the yard, an accomplishment I had not yet done in Germany, even in BP. I was not alone though. We all mentioned how much the ball carried, and we were excited to have a chance to hit in the game.

Once batting practice ended word had spread through our group of players that Heidenheim was starting their best pitcher, and a former Major Leaguer. I had heard tales of Heidenheim having a former big league pitcher or two, but I had never heard a name or even garnered conformation that it was true. The thought of facing someone who had pitched at that level lead me to think one thing, I want to get a hit off the big leaguer.

As I looked down the other foul line from where I was warming up I noticed a tall southpaw warming up. "That's the guy," our American addition said. I watched intrigued for a few minutes and I must say that seeing a big left handed pitcher who had major league experience put a little spark under me, as well as a little intimidation. I was not expecting to show up and face a former big leaguer who happened to be left handed. I quickly erased any negative thoughts that I had about not being able to compete against him and told myself to gear up and get ready for good competition.

Heidenheim was the reigning German Champions from 2009, and according to our players were loaded with guys up and down the order who could really hit. Some played professionally, some were German national team players, and some were good foreigners. From the way everybody talked up this team I thought to myself, "Geez, they have a former big leaguer on the mound and apparently their lineup is stacked, I wonder if our team thinks we can win?Especially after losing two last week."

After all the advice and different approaches I was told to take in calling the game, or facing certain hitters, I told the team right before we took the field, "Who gives a shit about anyone on that team, if we play together, pick eachother up and put runs on the board we are going to come out on top, let's play great D for Augie today and the rest will take care of itself. Last week is history, let's start fresh today and have fun."

I should have taken a little of my own advice, which is sometimes the case. As I took the field I was nervous for some reason. I got caught up in all the hype that ensued with this team and even the trip itself and I was extremely uncomfortable behind the plate for the first time all season. The ground was very strange, a mixture of clay and red dirt made an almost putty like surface, and it made my feet feel very weird. I felt like I had not foundation. As the game started the leadoff hitter walked and within a few pitches to the 2 hitter he was off to the races. As I gathered myself on the pitch and set my feet to throw I still felt I had no base. Regardless, I should have gunned the runner and I threw a ball that tailed off away from our second baseman and was charged with an error. "Ah man, that throw sucked," I said to myself. After moving the runner to third on a groundball and a sac fly, Heidenheim took an early 1-0 lead. However, that was all they were going to get the rest of the day. Augie had four pitches working for him all day and needless to say I had a GREAT time calling the game. It was so much fun. He stranded runners every inning and never shook a pitch I called. What a great performance. Augie is simply unheard of. He goes out every week after working hard labor from dawn till dusk, 6 days a week, and throws a gem. He competes like nobody I have ever met.

We scored on a few timely hits throughout the day and our defense was superb! Our American addition, Dennis Kelly hit a Homerun in later innings making it a 3-1 lead. I added an RBI with a push bunt (Red called for it) with runner on 1st and 3rd. The great thing about Germany is that if you move runners up on a bunt, or even on a RBI, they count the bunt as a sacrifice, which is not normally the case in the States. Although I did not get a hit off the former Big Leaguer, I was happy with my approach.

My third at-bat against him changed my season. Up until this tournament I had not felt exactly comfortable at the plate. I have had some great at-bats, but the timing and stroke itself was missing something. On a 1-1 count the lefty threw me a fastball up and in that I crushed! The ball was hit right down the line and as I watched it go foul by a matter of inches I thought to myself, "that was the best contact and swing I have had in four years!" Although I struck out on the next pitch swinging at a perfectly located fastball down and away I came back to the dugout thinking about the hard contact from the foul ball. I later told Danny that I thought I had a quality at-bat on the stirkeout and he laughed at me. "Dude, you struck out, how could you say it was a quality at-bat!?!" I explained to him that the foul ball changed my season because I felt the "good swing" come back. He laughed again and said, "I see where you are coming from, you crushed that ball." Plus, I added the fact that he struck me out on a great pitch because he didn't want to come back inside. I got a hit in my last at-bat off a different lefty and finished the day 1-3. We won the first game of the tournament and it was a big relief for us all.

Our post game discussion was interesting as well. Red told us he did not want to see any of us back at the dorms before midnight. FC Bayern-Munich was playing a very important soccer game that night and he wanted us to all go drink beer and cheer for Bayern-Munich after we watched the Hamburg vs. Regensburg game. Only in Germany!

I later found out that Heidenheim Heideköpfe starter was none other that former Carson High School standout Dusty Bergman. I had grown up watching him play against my older brother Steve, who is the same age. They both graduated from rival high schools in 1995. My brother and I both attended Reno High School, and the baseball rivalry between Reno High School and Carson High School runs very deep. It is funny to think that in this baseball tournament 5,000 miles away from Northern Nevada that two former rivals (although I was seven years behind) faced off at the tail end of our playing days. Although, I must say that his carrer was much more lavish than mine. He had pitched two innings in the big leagues for the Anaheim Angels in 2004 and spent over three years at the Triple A level, including stints with the Giants, Angels, and Yankees.

Bavarian Road Trip.

2010-05-25T15:16:00.000-07:00

The toughest of weeks was behind us. We lost two big games to Pulheim at home. At the time it seemed terrible because Pulheim was a lower league team with a bad record and we were in first.

However, Baseball is baseball, and the important thing to do is move on and realize that anybody can beat anybody! Epspecially in Germany.

The fact is that each team is allowed 3 foreign (non European) players. Those players like Danny and myself have an exorbinant amount of pressure from coaches, management, and fellow teammates to be "the show," or the best players around. The other players are typically local athletes that fell in love with and play the game with as much enthusiasm as a good high school or college player. Our teammates are outstanding, and many of them would have been superstar ball-players if they had faced the constant competition Danny and I had seen growing up, through college and beyond. We faced a pitcher from America last Sunday that pitched at LMU ( a confrence rival of Portland ) and the Kansas City Royals organization. He threw tremendous. The difference between the US and here however, is the acceptence of losing a baseball game when another pitcher straight beats you. The biggest problem in losing two games in one day is the fact that you have to wait an entire week to play again.

After and array of what seemed to me as unaceptable losing behavior, our team regrouped, refocused, and began to look forward to a true 3 game road trip, just like our college days at Portland. The best part of the week was that we took a short practice on Tuesday, took Wednesday off, and by Thursday we felt better. Danny had his girlfriend, Sara, come in to visit, and she will be here until the 2nd of June. Everyone was really excited for the three game tournament in Regensburg, which is roughly 45 miles from Munich in Southern Germany, or the better known Provence of Bavaria. I was really looking forward to playing against the southern leagues best teams, Regensburg and Heidenheim (Heidenheim was the reigning German champions from 2009). Regensburg was undoubtdly the favorite in this tournament because they were not only the hosts, but the only undefeated team in Germany with a perfect 14-0 record going into the tournament.

We did not play until Saturday, but the idea of playing three days in a row was extremly exciting. Another exciting aspect of the tournament was that each of the four teams was allowed to play as many foriegn players as they wanted. Of the four teams, each team represented foriegn-non German players that either played organized professional baseball, college, and even major league level baseball. We picked up two American players from the Manheim Tornados. Dennis Kelly is a middle infielder who was leading the southern league in hitting this season and is tremendous defensively. His teammate and fellow American Cory Stevens is a right handed pitcher with electric stuff. Needless to say we were very happy to add the depth and it was shaping up to be a competitive weekend!

Also, around mid-week one of Paderborns former American players from the past two years, Gavin Nga, appeared at one of our practices. He is a native Hawaiian who played his college ball at The University of San Diego, which was a rival school to Portland, especially this season considering the Pilots and Torreros played an important 3 game series to decide the eventual WCC Champions.

Regardless of our affiliation, Danny and I respectfully engaged and talked with him about being a foreigner in Germany and our experiences thus far. He came back to Germany to look for work and be near his girlfriend, who is from Paderborn.

The drive south to Bavaria was long but fun. We got a chance to see a long stretch of Germany which was lush green, beautiful with rolling hills, Mustard fields, windmills, and the occasional European Castle. Not to mention the architecture of the homes and town centers we passed were incomparable to anywhere else I had been. It was delightful.

Upon our 10 p.m. arrival in Regensburg we went to the facility that the Regensburg Legionare call home and I must say that I was impressed, even in the dark. This area was the sight of the 2009 Baseball World Cup which featured Germany, China, Venezuela, and the United States. For the event, they added about 9,000 seats and it was the first time Germany had been graced with a beautiful baseball facility. (Pictured)

Needless to say, I was excited to play at a facility like this in front of good crowds, although I knew that 9,000 seats were missing from the photo above, and we most likely wouldn't fill the house unless we were playing the Legionare, which wasn't until Sunday night. Once we parked the vans beyond the right field fence we were treated to a delicious pasta and hamburger meal at the facilities mess hall and Guasthaus. We sat down as a team, enjoyed our food with traditional Bavarian Weisen Beers and went over the itinerary for the rest of the weekend.

We were staying at a local dormitory about two miles away and once we got there we quickly took over the fourth floor, got settled in and were told to be at breakfast at 8 a.m. just down the hall. It was the first time I had slept in a twin sized bed since college, but I was happy to have my own room with some privacy. As we visited each others rooms and told stories over a few beers I couldn't help but feel like I was back in college anxiously awaiting the next three days and mentally preparing myself for some good old fashioned Hardball.

Once things settled down I listened to some music and waited up for a bit. Danny and Sara were traveling with our teammate Heiko because our youth team had a game in Dortmund. I was fortunate enough to travel with the team vans because they had to stop in Manheim to pick up the other American guys we added for the weekend and it was a long trip. Upon their arrival I introduced myself, said hello to Danny and Sara and soon went to bed. I was excited about the weekend!

21 all over again

2010-05-17T07:41:00.000-07:00

The big series sweep was behind us as we were at home all week in preparation for our first home games in three weeks. Between traveling places to coach the youth teams, and playing on the road we find ourselves moving quickly, and many times we don't stop to breath. Especially since we do not spend the night anywhere and we constantly find ourselves in the vans traveling 2-3 hours to different destinations.

The weather continued to stay unseasonably cold and the rain came with it from time to time. Apparently this has been one of the coldest springs Northern Europe has seen in the past century. Highs were in the mid 40's all week and it really made me miss springtime on the west coast.

I watched the San Francisco Giants play on Wednesday through MLB.com and it was so beautiful in the Bay Area. I felt warm watching the Giants play at home in the California sunshine at AT&T Park and for a moment I was vicariously back in California. As my California dreaming continued I soon talked to Erin via Skype and the weather was amazing in Portland, which at this time of year is not only necessary, but well deserved. That also put me back in Portland, and made me think about the anticipation of moving bak this October. I couldn't help but miss both places, my girl, my family, my friends, and my favorite baseball team. Needless to say I felt homesick for the first time. On top of all I want to feel spring so bad, and although I got a taste of it when Erin visited a few weeks ago, it was very short lived. The weather feels like it would in the Northwest United States during late February and early March. Cold, damp, overcast, and very unpredictable. A five day warm spell like we saw is definitely not unheard of in the Northwest in February, just like it is not unheard of in Northern Europe in April. All we can do it wait for the cold spell to end.

Monday was a good recovery day because I had caught 21 innings the day before and was really stiff and sore. I felt beat up, especially my bruised wrist and throwing arm. I rested all day although I went for a two mile run to help myself deal with any pain I felt I had. I have always found that it helps to exercise when I am sore anywhere. I figured if I could run the day after a catchaton then it really wasn't too bad.

With the weather being the way it has been, Danny and I have been trying to stay creative with our free time. We work on our German with the Rosetta Stone program, we read, I write the blog, and we watch movies. Last week was a perfect setup to our week ahead. On Monday we watched the movie "Beerfest," which is a movie about group of crazy American's who want to beat the Germans at beer drinking competitions during Octoberfest. This made for some highly entertaining stuff considering a cast of American's played the evil German's, speaking in ridiculous accents that were for the lack of a better term "dead on." I enjoyed every second of it because of the metaphors and snobbiness towards American's that we seem to encounter every week.

So, after watching the silly movie where the American's beat the German's at their own drinking competition it set our week up for the BIG UPSET that would later occur, and the sampling we would do with the different types of European beer.

The truth of the matter is that I enjoy beer as much as the guys in this movie, although a bit more responsible. I give myself that much credit at least. Each week, I try my best to travel about 200 meters from our house to the Loche Depot (A German beer store) and I pick out a different beer or two to try.

One of the best parts about being in Germany is the different beer we get to try. The German's have all sorts of laws and standards that make any kind of beer made in this country a delight because of the quality. Nothing but hops, barley, and water. The first time I walked into this store I was overwhelmed with joy. Keep in mind I have been in a warehouse at my former job in San Francisco that houses over 300 beers. I sold, traded, promoted, and even lived beer for a year in San Francisco because it was my job and I had a passion for it. I quickly began to lose my passion for it because I was around it all the time and didn't appreciate the industry. I wanted nothing to do with the American beer trade after about a year.

When I began coaching I stayed away from it for the most part. I wanted to appreciate it again one day because in all of reality I loved beer and the art behind making a good beer. This was the reason I did such a good job selling it. But like I said, I couldn't handle the inevitable treadmill of the workweek that surrounded it, and although I was able to sample most of the stuff I sold, it was no longer my ideal job out of college. I wanted back in baseball, and I got what I asked for.

So, seeing that I am in the greatest part of the world to find, sample, and enjoy beer, I take my opportunity to do it responsibly and walk/bike to the store every week. I walk through the store admiring the fact that every bottle that contains the hundreds of different brands and styles has at some point been recycled and used over and over again. In Germany, recycling is mandatory because the deposit from the bottles is around 10-30 cents. Not to mention the best part about recycling bottles is the fact that it keeps beer cost down. Including the bottle deposit of 8 cents, we roughly pay between 50-90 cents per .5 liters (1 pint) at any store. Where in the US can you find a pint of GOOD bottled beer (aside from PBR) that costs less than a dollar?

I am in Germany to play baseball, enjoy some traveling, and of course taste the culture both through food and drink. It just so happens that Beer and Bratwurst are in the title of this story, so I find it appropriate to write about.

Later the next day Danny and I were on our way to coach our youth game when we passed by the castle about a mile from our place. There were different tents, portable stations, and seats all around set up like a festival. Inquisitive about what the event, we wandered in after our game and found that it was a "Beerfest." Excited about the sampling opportunity, we planned on braving the cold and visiting the next evening.

With no coaching on Saturday and the only responsibility of the day was umpiring a 10 year old double header in the morning, we found ourselves conveniently walking through the Beerfest later that evening. Well aware of having two games the next day we responsibly chose wisely amongst the dozens of vendors selling the celebrated beers of the German and European market. As we walked through the 100 or so meters of Hop and Barley Heaven I noticed that they were serving Beer in glassware, and not plastic. Each vendor served their style of beer in their traditional way, with traditional glassware, and if you wanted to keep the glass, well, you had to pay a deposit on them anyways, so I did not mind keeping the ones I liked. At the end of the night, I had collected a few different glasses and decided that we had tried on of the greatest Beers on earth.

Danny had expressed the Belgium Ale we tried as a “Bluemoon on steroids!” The Trippel is a wheat style Ale traditionally made by Monks, and in the Belgium Style can be extremely sweet with a very high alcohol volume. The one we tried was around 12% and very delicious. I agreed that it was one of the tastiest beers around and much different from the same imports we drink in the states that usually have a metallic tasting preservative added in order to assure freshness.

As good as the beer was that night, we had two games against one of the less successful teams in the conference the next day and we needed to go home and sleep. I wish we could have tried more beer, but we did the right thing by leaving early.

The next day was bad, and not due to a hangover or too many beers the night before. We had a really hard time producing any runs against two good pitchers. The German starter for Pulheim was effective with three good pitches and we could not adjust or get anything going. I hit a really hard line drive right at second in my first at-bat and it pretty much defined our entire day. Everything we hit hard was right at someone. We lost the first game by a score of 3-2. Game two was more of the same as we failed to support Danny’s outstanding performance. We lost 2-1 in 12 innings. Danny pitched all 12 innings and in the top of the 12^th gave up a hit to an American with a runner on first and third. Before the hit they were at 1^st and 2^nd base. I let a bad pitch get by me to make the count 3-0 and the runners moved up. I looked over to the dugout thinking alongside our manager that we should put the runner on base to create a force out anywhere in the infield. That and the next hitter had been struggling all day. As I extended my arm outward indicating we wanted Danny to walk the hitter intentionally, he shook me off. “What?” I had never been encountered with this type of situation. Danny was too prideful to walk their best hitter intentionally although it was the smartest and safest thing to do. Conveying his confidence and pride I got back into my squat position called a fastball and said to myself “It’s on us now!” Danny humped a fastball right down the middle and the hitter swung and missed. The next pitch he threw was a changeup for strike two. At this point I was extremely happy because we had an excellent chance to get this hitter out.

I called a slider down and away hoping the hitter would chase the pitch and swing into an out. Plus, if we walked him nothing would be hurt. Danny threw a great pitch down and away and the batter hit a line drive up the middle. Base hit, run scores. “Oh man!” We are going to hear about this for weeks. In the end, I tired to figure out why I sat down on the 3-0 count. We should have walked him. We should have played it safe and put the runner on. I could not figure out for the life of me why I sat down. I found out after the game ended and I let the lose sink in. Danny said it perfectly, and I completely agreed with him.

Danny said “I am not over here to walk their best hitter in the biggest situation of the game, I want the challenge. If I am going to lose, it is because I went right after their best guys. I can live with that.”

I couldn’t agree more. I felt the same way, and being on the same page as Danny means that I knew exactly what he was thinking. The only reason I was questioning myself is because we lost. Twice. Danny’s decision was the defining moment of a bad day, but one we certainly can live with and learn from. I had a lot of people pissed off at me because I sat down and did not make. Nobody really said anything to Danny because he is the most important player on our team and in a sense, he did not loose the game. We didn’t score any runs. I pointed that out when I was approached with the same question over and over.

Danny threw a tremendous game. I have never caught a guy who can throw 12 innings and 200 pitches in one day. Pretty amazing stuff. And like the weekend before, I caught 21 innings in one day. I was exhausted by the end of the day.

We learned a couple of different things during the week. One was that European beer is indeed some of the best in the world. The second was that our team needs to respect every opponent and prepare each week as though we were facing the best team in the league. After the loses sunk in, we got over them, got on with our lives, and realized that baseball is baseball. On any given day, the best team can lose to the worst because of one factor, pitching. The Pulheim pitchers were great on this day. The American who threw in the second game was the best pitcher I had seen by far. He had a devastating curve ball that broke hard and late, and he spotted his fastball and changeup wherever he wanted. We couldn’t score.

Life is still good and we are still in 2^nd place. This coming weekend we have a tournament in Bavaria. The Regensberg Legionare are hosting a tournament at their amazing stadium and it should be fun to play in front of a good crowd with the best teams from the southern league. (The better league according to everyone in Germany) We’ll just have to see about that!

Let's play Blackjack....... Part Two

2010-05-11T16:13:00.001-07:00

With a 12 inning marathon under our belts from game one, and a big win, we headed into game two with Danny on the bump. It was really nice to sit down for a half an hour and get some food and rest, although I was cautious not to get to relaxed. We needed to win game two in oder to occupy first place in the standings with Solingen, who after Saturdays loss to the Dohren from UC Davis was now 10-2.

I had a very nice push bunt hit in the first inning. With nobody on base and the first baseman playing deep in the infield I told myself it would be an easy hit. With a lefty on the mound he would fall off to the third base side giving me an extra step or two towards first base. With the first baseman so far back it makes it hard for anyone to pick up the ball and beat me to the bag, even if I am slow catcher. So, as the pitch came I squared to bunt and laid the pitched ball right down the first base line and the race began. The first basemen came running in for it, the pitcher went running after it, and as the first basemen picked it up, I was two steps ahead of the pitcher who was racing me to first at this point. Safe, with a hit. Just like my dad used to tell me all the time. "It's a line drive in the score book and the newspaper." I scored that inning with two outs and we grabbed and early lead, just as we had done in game 1.

As the game went on Danny was pitching really well into the 4th inning, when he hit a wall and lost his energy. To be honest, I was fighting the same thing. It is so easy to get fatigued after playing 12 innings at third and then being asked to pitch game two, or catching both ends of a double header. 15 innings of baseball in one day is a lot, but we still had at least 6 more. He gave up one hit and four walks in a row made it 4-2. We got out of the inning and grabbed some coffee and candy bars. The perfect solution.

We got through the rest of the next few innings without any problems. Danny actually hit his stride and progressively got better later in the game. It was his game and he gathered his energy and took control after his walkathon in the 4th. As a teammate, I was really impressed with his focus, and getting back to square one. It is really easy to fall apart after walking four in a row, yet he got better.

The funniest part of the situation was hearing the fans "trying to" give him a hard time. I laugh when I hear the things that come out of their mouth. Nobody, and I mean nobody knows how to heckle. Imagine grown German men trying to give a hard time to a guy who throws 90+ with statements such as "Yeah, vhy don't you go back to ze mound und throw a zittle harder on ze next pitch, maybe you culd sthrow anuder ball, yeah!?" (In a German accent of course) I laughed because nobody could think of anything better to say and we have both heard so much worse.

The rest of the day was a total crap-shoot. I had to remind myself before every single pitch to stay focused and call a good game. At this point I wasn't even thinking about hitting. I was hurting from getting drilled twice while I was batting, as well as getting nailed by pitches off my wrist and inner thigh. I was beat up pretty good.

In my second to last at-bat in the 6th inning I came to the plate and asked the Bonn catcher how he was doing. "I am hanging in there, this is a really long day though, how are you?"

I replied "Fine, although I am literally wearing it all over today. I have been nailed more times today than I can ever remember." He laughed and said "Yea, I noticed, I can see your wrist."

The conversation led me to a 1 ball, 2 strike count (1-2) with their American lefty still on the mound, and as I have done my entire life with 2 strikes, I move closer on the plate and a few inches up to the pitcher in order take his breaking ball and chageup away. The only pitch I give up is the inside fastball because it becomes harder to get the barrel out front and hit solidly. The lefty came set and threw a pitch up and in on my hands. I turned to avoid getting hit in the arm, but it was too late. I got drilled with a fastball on my right elbow, my throwing arm, and I have no protection like so many guys do. "God dammit," I said out loud and smiled a little bit because of the irony in getting hit, yet again. My elbow swelled a little and as the feeling returned, I realized I needed to stop complaining because I was fine. My energy, my approach, and my focus was fine. I just needed to suck it up an play hard. Plus, getting beat up a little makes you feel more alive, and we only play once a week at this point so it was not a big deal. I have time to recover, but I feel like a Monday morning Quarterback.

The 9th inning got interesting as we still had a 2 run lead. Danny got the first hitter out, walked a guy, and gave up a hit, then got another out. This put runners on the corners with 2 outs and the tying run on 1st. Danny worked into a 3-0 count, and we were trying to keep the tying run out of scoring position. With 2 BIG fastballs for strikes we got back to a full count. (3-2) This was a big pitch coming up and all I could think to myself was, 'this is the guy we want.' I stalled for a second and threw down three fingers indicating a slider. Danny took and extra second and without as much as a nod or a shake he started his windup. I had no doubt what he was going to do. The pitch was perfect, right down the middle and the hitter watched it right into my glove. I held it, waited in anticipation as I heard the umpire say "Dri!" (three in German) GAME OVER! Danny threw 160 pitches and earned every out he got. We won 4-2 and got a huge sweep over the first place team on the road. We now occupied first with Solingen, whom we split with last week.

The Untouchables, Danny, and myself had a terrific day on the field. Danny was rewarded player of the week for his efforts on the mound, and at the plate with his game winning homer in the 1st game. What a week.

As for me, I had done something that I had never done before. I caught 21 innings in one day. Being from good old Nevada and appreciating the victory I thought to myself....... "BLACKJACK!"

Lets Play Blackjack..... Part One

2010-05-10T11:32:00.001-07:00

The week before heading to Bonn was dreadfully wet and cold for mid-May. It rained most days and we found ourselves occupying the time by reading, writing, and working out indoors.

Sunday we had a double header against the Bonn Capitals in Bonn, just south of Dusseldorf. Going into Sunday, Bonn was in first with a 9-1 record and two good starters. Bonn's game one starter, Tim Henkenjohan, is the number 1 pitcher for the German national team. We had been hearing rumors all week about how he throws in the mid-90's at times and usually sits around 91-92 mph. He started against the U.S. team last year in the World Cup (which was here in Germany). He had also pitched for the Minnesota Twins organization as well. My roomates had a recording of the U.S. game from last years World Cup, so I had seen him throw. That game featured a few of our players from Paderborn (playing for Germany), as well as a few future big leaguers for the U.S. I must say, the tv added some weight to his fastball. He threw three effective pitches with a decent fastball that didn't seem as hard to me as everyone had promoted, however it always looks a lot harder from the on-deck circle than the batters box. I would estimate his fastball was in the upper 80's at the beginning of the game and it got harder as the game went on. With a week of hitting everyday, and a rainy week with no outdoor practice we were very happy and ready to play some competiton on the field. Plus, being only 1 game out of first we knew that if we won two games we would be back on top in the league. Needless to say we came out swinging well! We scored 6 earned runs early in the game and seemed to be headed to an easy victory.

Up 6-0 in the 4th Auge shook me off for the second time all year in a 3-1 count. It was weird. I called a fastball, shake-off. I called a change-up, again, shake-off. Not knowing what he wanted at this point I put down a slider. He came set and went to the plate with his delivery. I was not mad that we weren't on the same page until I saw the pitch. With perfect timing and a BIG swing, their American left fielder hit the ball a mile to left. Neither one of us watched the ball because we knew as the pitch was coming to the plate what was going to happen. Home run. I smirked at first, then I yelled half joking, "Hey Auge! That's what you get for shaking me off," all while the ball was still soaring through the air past the left field fence.

What I didn't realize until 4 more runs were given up was that Bonn was stealing our signs from their dugout, or stealing them from the pitcher and relaying them to the hitter. As it turns out Auge was tipping his pitches from the grip in his glove, which their players on the bench could easily see and verbally relay to hitters as he went into his windup.

There are only a few sins to me in baseball. Striking out looking with runners in scoring position and less than two out, not hustling, and stealing signs. Danny came over from third during a mound meeting with Auge and me and told us he could hear their dugout giving verbal signs to the hitters for all of his pitches. Fastball was "drive it," and Off-speed was "sit on it." They had every pitch.

As he came up to us during the mound meeting, which happens so often in baseball, the field umpire came up to us immediately and said "Let's move it along boys, you cannot do this."

"Hey! We are fine, nobody is in a hurry here, we are talking about our situation, so leave us alone and go away." I repplied.

Danny helped me out by telling us when he walked away, "No worries, if that is the way it is I will take care of it."

So will I, I though to myself. I was pissed. Not only could I not figure out how, but secondly it took me back to countless games in college were we lost because of the same thing. Since I was catching I could not help but think that the third base coach could see my signs. "No way, Auge can barley see my signs most of the time, how could that be!?!"

With a new game plan in mind, Danny and I got to the bottom of it a few different ways. Danny told Auge that he needed to vary his hand motion in the glove before his delivery to mix it up. A lot of times pitchers get into rhythms that can be clues to opposing teams. Those clues lead to theivery much of the time. Whether it is a a baserunner getting the right timing of a pitcher and getting a really good steal jump, or a pitcher shifting his hand a certain way as he grips a certain pitch, tendencies will hurt any team.

We took care of the first part in finding out what the problem was. The second part was pretty simple. Danny went back to third base and told the third base coach that someone was going to get hurt if he heard another person say anything remotly close to tipping a pitch from their dugout. The coach looked at Danny surprised, and all of a sudden he couldn't speak English and acted as if he had no clue what Danny said.

This made Danny pretty mad, so he repeated, LOUDLY, to the Bonn dugout on the third base side.

"Hey! Quit tipping your hitters! Otherwise someone is going to get hurt." They got the message and it didn't happen anymore. The best part was that their 3 hitter was up and did not hear what Danny said. After the first pitch his eyes rotated to the dugout without his head moving as if he was surprised and didn't want to react with bad body language that someone had screwed him up. I saw his eyes percing whoever it was that was supposed to be telling him what pitch was coming so I stood up and said, "Hey, unless you want someone to get killed in the second game when our hard throwing American is pitching then I suggest that you tell the rat in the dugout to stop telling you what is coming, plus he isn't going to be right anymore. We figured it out." He looked at me, smiled a little and said ok. That was the end if that, and it was a good thing.

In the Bundesliga, word spreads faster than High School gossip. Even though Bonn has never seen how hard Danny can throw, I gurantee they have heard about! And they sure as hell didn't want to feel it. When the big Auslander tells you to stop stealing signs or pitches, just like the game blackjack, you have a choice.

You can either say "hit me!," or stay put.

We gave up two more runs and the lead when the rarest of things happened. Our shortstop and team leader Jendrick Speer threw a ball away at first. He later admitted that his arm was hanging and that he took Advil for the pain. Apparently, some people have hard time finding a release point after they take anti-inflamatories. Jeni is not one to make an excuse, and Danny Told me he has the same problem with Advil. I think it is really weird because I am the opposite, I need Advil to feel good while I am throwing! Down by one in the 9th inning we manufactured a run with two outs after our roomate Michele hit an RBI single to left.

The game went extra innings and it wasn't until the top of the 12th before anyone scored.

I led off the inning with a strikeout looking, which to me was way out, as it had not been called a strike all day. "Vu es das?!!" I asked politly. "You haven't called that a strike all day, why change it now." Danny quickly yelled at me from the on deck circle and said "Hey, we need you, we can't afford to get you tossed." I listened and walked away irate. Half the team came up to me and said "Nik, you cannot talk to umpires, they will throw you out, even if you say one word. They are really sensative." I quickly reminded them that A: I was right and he knew it, and B: The umpire and I have been working together at the plate for 12 innings and he screwed me. I let him know it too.

As all of thus is happening I hear a loud Crack and see a soaring ball to left off of Dannys bat. Gone! Homerun and a 1 run lead! "Yay Vohy Danny!!!" I was pumped and quickly gave him a prompt congrats for picking me up after I struck out.

With a one run lead in the 12th inning amazingly our starter Auge came back out to throw yet another inning. He went 1,2,3, in the 12th and the game was over! He threw a total of 180 pitches. Yes, 180 pitches!

For those that do not understand how hard that is, go throw a tennis ball against the garage door 10 times as hard as you can. Unless you have great mechanics and you are in great shape I bet your arm will hurt really bad the next few days. Now imagine doing that 170 more times in one day. Like I said, amazing!

I finished game one 2-4 with a walk, HBP and 3 runs. I also took a really bad shot off the side of my wrist blocking a curveball. It was funny because it swelled pretty good and looked like a plumb under my skin. Soft, blue, and rip. Gotta love catching! Danny had 2 hits as well, one of them a REALLY important homer in the 12th inning.

Thank god game one was over. The Bonn catcher was and American and we laughed at each other and said "Wow, we are in for a long day back here!"

Fight for First

2010-05-06T04:29:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday we traveled to Solingen to play the first place and undefeated Alligators. They were a perfect 8-0 in league and have two of the best starters in the country as their German starter is a strong left-handed pitcher who also pitches for their National team. The entire week was filled with anticipation and what seemed to be nervousness from the rest of our teammates. We are also really injury bitten right now as three of our top hitters are out for a few weeks. Nonetheless, we understood that we also have two very good starters, and we had faced part of their lineup (minus their pitching) in the first game of the season when we beat them in a non-conference matchup the first day we arrived in Germany.

The first game was back and forth as we secured a one run lead in the 8th inning. Then I made one big mistake. Our starting pitcher, Auge (pronounced Aulga) was throwing well, but beginning to fatigue as his fastball was starting to vary speeds and stay up in the hitting zone. With the 9 hitter up, nobody on base, and me trying to be to technical, I called for a change-up to help him adjust down in the zone and throw the pitch out front to find his release point once again. I thought that would help him with his next pitch, but as it turns out, the 9 hole-hitters in Germany love the changeup because it goes right into their bat speed. WACK! The smallest guy on the field hit a hard fly ball to left and it left the yard. Tie game! Auge did not adjust down in the zone, instead, he left it up in the hitting zone like his fastball, and the slower speed of the changeup went right into the 9 hitters bat speed. I didn't feel too bad because I was leading off the top of the ninth and I knew that with the top of our order coming up we could get it back. However, I hit a hard grounder to second on a 1-0 slider and failed to get on. We did not score in the 9th, shut them down again, and went extras. "Great!" I thought to myself. It is hard knowing you have to catch a double header (at least 18 innings) and the first game goes extra innings which makes it a long tiresome day! I am definitely ok with it, I would rather play than not, but it wears you down.

Imagine squatting over 1,000 times a day, blocking over two dozen pitches, getting hit by fouls, bats, and runners, making sure every pitch is the right pitch to call, concerning yourself with fielding positions, opposing lineups and conversing with German umpires who speak little English (as I speak little German). I had an umpire tell me I was "getting in the way of his view" when I received a pitch right down the middle that was NOT called a strike. Like I said, every inning is a new game and you can get tired both physically and mentally while catching!

We failed to score again in the 1oth, and since Auge had already thrown about 140 pitches in 9 innings he was done. Auge was really upset about being taken out and swore he had more in the gas-tank. I honestly believed him because he seemed better as the day went on (minus the homer) and this guy is full of tenacity and competitiveness. We brought in our best German reliever and leading off the inning for Solingen was the American Auslander who had played with the Phillies Organization. He was a recent addition to the Alligators after they had released their previous American due to poor performance. We had talked very briefly during his at-bats but from what I gathered he was a good dude. He got ahead 1-0 and on the next pitch hit a slider that had just the right amount of backspin on the ball which sent it tailing into right-center. Our right-fielder took a terrible route and he was standing on second with a lead-off double. Their four hitter came up and just like he had been trying to do all day took a ferocious swing and pulled the ball down the 3rd base line. Run scored, game 1 over.

We didn't hang our heads as we knew we had game two with Danny on the mound. We were facing another left-handed pitcher from the States who had the most strikeouts in Germany, as well as the most walks. We knew it was going to be a good game.

The game was a total pitchers duel as both Americans went scoreless inning after scoreless inning. We finally broke a 0-0 tie in the 7th when our 7 hitter got a two out hit with runners on 2nd and 3rd. Two runs seemed to be enough as Danny continued to cruise on the mound and finished the game by not allowing any runs. 9 innings pitched, complete game and 0 runs. We won game two, 2-0. Pretty good day! Although we both hit the ball hard we did not help much offensively the second game. I lined out 3 times on the day and only managed 1 hit in 8 at-bats, while Danny had 3 hits on the day and pitched terrific!

The highlight of my day was in the 8th inning. With 2 outs and runners on 1st and 2nd base, Solingen had their cleanup hitter at the plate. The same hitter who had beat us in game one. After a first pitch strike our manager started yelling at me by my team nickname "Llyod" (From Dumb and Dumber. Apparently we look alike.) He also yelled at our first basemen by his nickname. He was looking for us to back pick the runner at first to avoid facing the 4 hitter with runners on base. At first I thought he wanted me to call a pick off from the pitcher to 1st which is really hard and the timing has to be perfect. I gave the pickoff sign to Danny followed by a fastball sign. I thought he would pick to first, but instead he went to the plate and threw me a pitch. As soon as he threw it I realized I could throw the baserunner out at first because he had taken such a big lead. The ball was up and away to the right handed hitter. It was a perfect pitch for the situation. I set my feet and threw to first where the baserunner was totally caught off guard. He had no reason to take a big lead, and nowhere to go considering there was a runner on second base already. He was so stunned he froze on his way back to first and attempted to get to second where a runner was already occupying the base. After one throw from our first basemen and a tag from our shortstop we were out of the inning scott free. Danny was pumped and I had a big grin on my face as I gave Red a big fist pump for calling the pick.

The best part was I didn't realize until after the game that I had picked off the American shortstop. He came up to me shook my hand and said, "Thanks a lot man, really? Back pick? I never saw that coming" He was smiling, but I could tell he was still pissed. I responded with a "Baseball is still Baseball, even in the Bundesliga." (Nickname for any first league professional team in German sports, including baseball) We had a good talk after the game and shared similar stories about our playing experiences so far.

With a split against Solingen we had a good ride home. Our manager was very happy with Danny's performance on the mound and we had a week to prepare for another good team, the Bonn Capitals, which after our split with Solingen put them in first place with a record of 9-1. Bonn also has one of the top rated pitchers in all of Europe and the true number 1 starter for their National team. Although we had 7 more days until we competed again, I was looking forward to the week ahead.

Sweet and Low

2010-05-05T02:44:00.000-07:00

What an incredible week! I cannot believe that Erin spent and entire week out here and it went by in the blink of an eye! Having her here was so amazing and in many regards I wish I had never let her leave. She left last Thursday morning out of Dusseldorf, which is the capitol city of North Rhine Westphalia.

What an awesome city! I had been to Dusseldorf with my family about 15 years ago. I remember that stay on the Rhine river very well because my parents let my sister and I try German beer for the first time. In the spirit of trying new things and tasting new cultures and no drinking age, Keri had her first beer (with the family) I remember taking a sip of hers because I was still too young to have even one. Still, like the days when I was a little boy and my dad would let me have a sip of his Budweiser, I took a giant gulp and savored every flavor of the German Kolch-style lager. At the end if the night, we could not find a bathroom anywhere. (not unusual in Europe) I remember my sister running for our hotel room as fast as she could once we got out if the cab. Something we still laugh about to this day.

The other memoriable part of Dusseldorf on that trip was baseball. We had been gone from the U.S. for a couple of weeks at this point and my father and I were going crazy without baseball in August! For some reason, we split up hotel rooms so the boys were together and the girls were together. (Unfortunatly my older brother missed out on this vacation due to work) Once we were in our room for the first time my dad and I turned on the tv only to find a Clevland Idians game on with German broadcasters! "What!?!?! Needless to say, my dad and I were in paradise for about an hour or two. Even though we didn't understand a word the broadcasters were saying it was baseball. I am sure that if we had known there was a professional league near by we would have checked it out. With that memory in mind my dad and I laugh now that I am playing here.

So, having been to Dusseldorf and getting back to the present, Erin and I headed to Dusseldorf on Wednesday afternoon. We checked into our hotel and headed outside to catch the local trans to Altstadt (oldtown). We jumped on the train which is very similar to the muni trains in Portland and San Francisco. After going the wrong way for two stops and ditching the fare station altogether, we arrived in Altstadt Duseldorf and started walking around.

Our European guide book/map was pretty useless so we decided to put it away and just walk around. It was amazing! Erin and I enjoyed every second together and were pleasantly surprised to find such a scenic metropolitan area with a feel of Chicago, Portland and San Francisco. The European architecture was really cool as well. As we found our way around we discovered the Rhine River and all of the people who were enjoying the beautiful sunshine on this Wednesday evening. It felt like a Friday because there were so many people out and about, yet Erin and I concluded that the weather was so nice that people would be crazy not to enjoy it. Especially in Northern Germany where days like this are few and far inbetween. The highlight of our evening was sitting on the dock of the river and the walkway overlooking the river while we talked about our future together, travel, friends and home in the states. We were also very entertained by many of the pedestrians, roller skaters, bikers, and characters that passed.

At one point a jogger ran by with a very familiar grey shirt with blue letters reading "Berkeley." Although I am and always will be a true Portland Pilot I still love Cal football. And in the spirit of both my brother and his wife Susie (both Cal Berkeley grads) I hollered a loud "Go Bears!" The jogger took about five steps as though he did not recognize what I said then he suddenly pulled an earphone out and turned to me showing me a big thumbs up while he kept going. Erin laughed and seconds later a biker was passing behind us and hit a tree. He had a bottle of Becks beer in his hand and was obviously waisted. Erin and I laughed cautiously, and another biker yelled at him and said, "Hey, don't drink and drive you idiot." It took the man a few moment to gather himself and we did not feel the need to help because he was clearly out of it and wanted no help. He left his spilled beer bottle behind and went on his way. Lastly, the rollerbladers and rollerskaters going by were hilarious and very flamboint. One guy was doing his best Brian Boytono impersonation as he pranced around the walkway trying to impress and catch the attention of other rollerskaters passing.

From the JJ Market in Bangkok, Thailand, to the dock of the Rhine River in Germany, Erin and I both agreed one of our favorite things to do together is "people watching."

We enjoyed the rest of the evening in the Burbon Street like area of Altstadt where bars and resturants where plentiful and many local Alt-Style beers were readily available in .25 liter glasses at their bierhaus. Apparently Dusseldorf has a nickname as "the worlds longest bar" due to this area. Dusseldorf was such an awesome high!

The next morning however was not.

Between the slight headache from our previous evening and reality setting in, Erin and I got up at 5 a.m. To send her back to Portland. In so many ways I wish I had the impulsive behavior to say "screw it," and keep her next to me. I can't imagine not having her now that she has shared this experience in Europe. We enjoyed every second we had together and the only thing we tiffed about was the emotion that we endure with seperation from one another. I feel so blessed, lucky, and now sad that she came and went. I am lucky I have my second love, baseball, to keep my mind ocupied. The one thing I realize and learned from my father is that it could be worse. The old Vietnam Vet seems to remind me that I could be overseas getting shot at in Afganistan or Iraq as opposed to playing ball in Europe. For that, I am thankful as well!

Erin departed and made it home safely. The drive back to Paderborn was quiet and lonley, and although I am having a great experience for the most part I realize I would much rather have these experiences with her by my side.

She made it hom saefly and we agreed that we did the responsible thing as she had work related things on the Friday she got back to Portland.

All in all, what a fabulous week, and Dusseldorf was by far my favorite day and city of the year! I will see Erin soon enough as she is heading back out here in July for a two week excursion of Europe during my two week break.

(Here is a little footage from Dusseldorf)

Rainy Days and German History

2010-05-03T16:26:00.000-07:00

With Travel on our minds, Erin and I had planned to find our way out of Paderborn once again on Monday and venture east. I knew I would be tired from catching a double header the day before, and when I tried to wake up on Monday morning I was not feeling it. We had thought about Berlin for the day and night, but a train was 300 Euro round trip which is about $400. Renting a car was not much better. We soon decided to grab the backpack, our trusty guide books, as well as some beer and venture out to the train station about 5 miles away. There is a muni train station that runs about every twenty minutes or so near my house and I figured it would take us to the train station.

First we stopped at the store where I must have had a metabolic breakdown. I walked in to buy some snacks, and when I came out I was literally shaking with hunger and I had an amazing appetite for ANYTHING! Talk about a really bad time to walk into a store. I must have bought everything that looked good. The second I got outside, I told Erin what was going on, and as worried as she was, she understood and started to help break open packages of food. Although I had eaten a solid breakfast just hours before, my body feels the need to refuel itself the day after I catch 18 innings by telling me to eat every hour or so. I stuffed my face and immediately felt better. I guess it is not a bad problem to have because Erin was laughing the whole time.

At this point we found the muni-train station and tried to find our way to a town called Munster which was about 150kl north of us. We couldn't read or understand anything so we asked a girl waiting for another train if she knew how to get there and she informed us that the train we watched go by us just moment earlier was the one we wanted. It would be another hour before the next train came heading in that direction so Erin and I walked back to my house to come up with another plan. When we got back neither of us could decide what to do or how to do it because the weather was bad and it was the afternoon already.We never had a concrete plan so we decided to stay home, enjoy each others company and watch movies.

My roommate Franke has a great selection of DVD's so we picked from four we each had either seen or wanted the other to see. Well, one of the selections was Shindler's List. I surprised Erin, and even myself, when I realized I had actually never seen the movie. I had mainly seen bits and pieces. It also surprised me that the movie was in our house considering where we are, and the fact that German's are not proud of these past events.

Erin talked me into the movie and I realized why everything had happened the way it did. I was supposed to see this movie for a few reasons. One of them being that the next day we had planned to ride our bikes about 14 miles away to the Wewelsburg Castle which was the Headquarters for SS Nazi Leaders and organizers of the Holocaust. There is a great museum in the castle that explains the history of the SS and the Nazi Party, as well as the lies, deceit and elitism the Nazi's were trying to accomplish while murdering millions of people during that horrific time.

To say the least, Shindler's List only made me accept things a little more the next day. The movie was so hard to watch that I had to take a break from it and watch something else. However, I did finish the movie. Later that night Erin and I braved what looked to be a rainy night and headed out for dinner. We dodged the rain and managed to find a great Italian place where we enjoyed a great meal. I ordered a pizaa with eggs on top, a first for me. Erin loved it. Erin also debated a glass of red wine and a Beer at, needless to say the Beer won because we are in Germany. That was a first for me at an Italian place.

The next morning, Erin and I trekked out into the Beautiful German countryside through a few small towns and one very creepy forest to Wewelsburg and the Castle that Heinrich Himmler, (the man who plotted the entire Holocaust alongside Adolph Hitler) called Headquarters for the SS.

The entire museum was educational. The displays broke down everything and it was made clear that this was not a Nazi museum for Arian followers or Nazi worshipers. Throughout the years following the Holocaust many evil worshipers have pilgrimaged to this site to worship the Nazi symbol embedded in the ceiling of the Crypt, as well as the symbol of the black sun in the room directly above.

The displays in the museum were very descriptive on the history of the SS, Hitler, Himmler, the Nazi party, as well as the Niederhagen Concentration camp that was adjacent to the castle. Of the 3,900 prisoners, 1,285 died, as 56 were formally executed. This camp was mainly the site for Soviet POW's and followers of Jehovah's Witness. It was extremely sad to learn about.

After the museum we ventured to the Castle to see the infamous Nazi Crypt and chamber of the Black Sun (SS Generals Hall).

As we recorded video (see below) and took pictures in the Crypt Erin and I both got a very strange feelings. It hit her first, but we both felt the same thing. The dome shaped crypt made even a whisper sound like a surround sound system in a movie theater. This was something I had never experienced and after about 3 minutes and standing alone in the middle of the room all alone taking pictures, (Erin left because she felt so uncomfortable) I myself got the chills and had to rush out. It was an evil feeling! One neither Erin nor myself will ever forget.

On a side note, the castle at Wewelsburg is now a youth Hostel. Many school's throughout Europe and the surrounding area take advantage of the educational experience of the museum by having children spend the night in the same place that some of histories most evil men planned the most inhuman act in modern and world history. Great idea huh?!?! The castle is a must see for anyone in Northern Germany as it is an errie reminder of Germanys dark past.

With time running out before I had to go to practice we headed back into Paderborn only to stop and have a great lunch with a beautiful view. We talked a little bit about our experience and realized just how important it was for us to experience the museum and even the castle.

Small World Indeed

2010-05-03T15:17:00.000-07:00

The day after our trip to Cologne we played a double header at home in Paderborn on a beautiful sunny day. It was the warmest weather since our arrival in Germany, and poor Erin had to wear long sleeves and jeans because she did not want to burn. I was excited because Erin got to see us play for the first time in Germany. It was the first time she had seen me play since we were In little league and she played against me.

I love the fact that I played little league games against Erin. Both my older sister Keri, and Erin pretty much dominated farm league at Reno National when they were ten, a testimate to both their athletic prowness and maturaty at that age! Come to think of it, both dads were so competitive (lawyer thing I guess) that they would never let their daughters become anything but the best baseball players in little league.

Back to the double header against the Dorehn Wild Farmers.

We won both games, (11-1, 2-1)

Danny went a ridiculous 7 for 8 at the plate and drove me in from first base 3 times. He pitched strong in game 2 as he threw a complete game alowing only 1 run. I was 2 for 6 on the day with three walks and an RBI. I hit my first triple in about a decade during the first inning of game two and I felt it the rest of the day with my tired legs. Our outfield is the fastest thing I have seen since the invention of concrete and pretty much everything hit in the gaps goes for at least a double due to the hard ground and German outfielders terrible routes to cuting off the ball. It is great to see them try and catch anything Danny hits to left.

The funniest thing of the day were 2 of Danny's routine fly balls (soaring might I add) that stayed in the air so long that both center and left got to it, and must have had to much time to talk about who did NOT want to catch it. One fly ball fell right in between both of them untouched for a stand up double. The other fly he hit made the left fielder look like a wanna be MC Hammer with bad dance moves followed with a reverse cartwheel. Left, right, back, forward, fall down. It is the latest dance move among German outfielders when the big Auslander from Paderborn hits the ball. I was on first both times and couldn't help but laugh out loud. I also told Danny how jealous I was because I could use a couple of those hits to even out all the balls I have hit hard right at people.

We played against two Americans from California, one of which was the best position players we have faced in Europe, amongst one of the nicest as well. In his second at-bat he said hello in an American accent, and I started chatting with him. I asked him where he was from and he said Lake Tahoe. I thought he was joking and maybe he had found out where I was from, but soon told me that he played ball at Nevada. "No kidin, I grew up in Reno, my dad played at Nevada." He smiled, laughed, and we talked during his entire at-bat. He caught the second game and it was more of the same. The American pitcher was from UC Davis, and Danny and I had faced him all of four years ago when he was a starter at UC Davis and we faced the Aggies in a three game series at Portland. He threw very well, and I cannot emphasis how GREAT it felt to have a guy challenge us with a good fastball. Most of the guys we face top out around 80mph at most with shitty breaking stuff. I have gotten myself out on most occasions due to impatients and cockiness. But nonetheless, the Davis pitcher threw harder than anyone we had seen and it felt great to be challenged by a guy who was not afraid to attck the strike zone with hard stuff. Good old fashioned baseball! After the game I reminded him that the Pilots had swept UC Davis the year we faced him and he reminded me that he had a torn muscle in his throwing arm the entire year. Understandable I guess. Both of the California boys from the Dorehm Wild Farmers were cool guys and we talked for a while after the game.

Baseball is such a great game, with such a small community. To think that we played against a guy who grew up only a few miles from me and played at Nevada, as well as a pitcher we faced over 4 years ago and 5,000 miles away only to see them in Europe. It is truly a small world.

Check out some of the great footage Erin got during the game.

The Week Worth Waiting For..... Continued

2010-04-30T05:52:00.000-07:00

Travel has been on my mind as much as a second chance at playing baseball for the past four years! Coincidentally the two have presented themselves in one opportunity. Although, since the arrival to Germany I have spent most of my time playing baseball, attempting to get back in "baseball shape," spending time on Skype with Erin, Family, and friends, as well as exploring a bit of my surroundings on foot and bike.

Growing up with my Mom owning a travel business had all the benefits of going places I could only dream of. Her successful travel agency did not mean tons of money, it meant she was rewarded opportunities to travel with her family as though we had millions to spend. First class international flights, Five-Star Hotels, classy restaurants, and all the amenities that come with those types of things. Yet with all of that I always credit my Mom and Dad for teaching and sharing new cultures, places and faces.

As a young adult thrown into the real world, I soon realized what a rare and fortunate upbringing I had with not only my wonderful family, but the places they took my siblings and I. Places like Europe and Hawaii were normal places for the Kosach family to travel to.

After college was over, and full-time jobs and grad school on the horizon, I had almost forgot how important traveling was to me. It soon came back when I realized I could create my own freedom with work, I met someone who wanted to travel as much as I do, (Erin) and of course I could afford to do it. All in all, after creating a decent income, paying for grad school with no debt, and saving enough money I ended up in Thailand at the New Year with Erin and friends from Reno. Just like that, my passion returned with 20 days half way across the world and the desire to inherit more knowledge about foreign places!

Since I met Erin I accomplished a few different things. I finished my Master's degree at St. Mary's, started a fall baseball program, traveled all over North America, California, and South East Asia, and now the baseball gig in Germany...... All with her right by my side.

In a way I never would have gotten a second chance at playing baseball without her in my life. We were in Portland when I met and tried out for Red and the Untouchables because Erin was moving to the area and I wanted to help her get settled in. The Untouchables skipper, Red, just happened to be in the same place as me one day when I went to visit Sper Dogg and the rest of the Portland Baseball Crew. (Sperr Dogg is the nickname for our college head coach, Chris Sperry) The rest is history.

Part of the reason I came to Germany was the fact we don't play games everyday and I would be rewarded the opportunity to travel on days off. Now that Erin is in town for a week, travel is on the agenda.

First stop of the week was Köln (Cologne). Saturday was a beautiful day so Danny, Erin and I jumped in our roommates car and headed south on the autobahn. We did not have time to venture far from Paderborn because we had two games the next day. The two hour drive to the largest city in Northern Germany seemed like a good day trip, and as it turned out it was an AWESOME day trip!

We had so much fun and the highlight of our day was the Dom (Pictured on the left) and the gorgeous weather walking alongside the Rhine River. When we arrived in the city around noon, we parked the car and walked to the city center near the Dom and the train station. Trying to find good beer and food was not hard as we found the Fruh brewery and tried a couple of different Kolch style beers that were pretty amazing.

We learned a little bit of Cologne's history and during World War II, 95% of Cologne was destroyed due to bombing from allied Western forces. The Dom is one of the only remaining structures in the city and even though it was hit 70 times by bombs and different air raids it still stands with as much amazement as its gothic architecture. It is definitely a sight to see. The city itself is one of the oldest in Europe with history as early as 38 BC.

We had a great time sampling all the local food, beer, and culture. We couldn't help but notice that there was not a outdoor table or seat available at any place near the town center or near the river.

Like anyone from the Northwest, the Northern Germans realize how awesome and rare sunshine and warm weather is in early Spring, and like us, they made sure they put their Saturday to good use by enjoying the sun. Cologne was an awesome city, and I have no doubt that we will go back soon.

The Week Worth Waiting For!

2010-04-26T09:34:00.000-07:00

Since I left Portland a month ago, Erin and I have been privileged to have technology on our side. With video chat (Skype, Gmail, and ichat) it makes the trip and time separation bearable. Although it is not her next to me, it is great to see her everyday and have conversations with video. I have seen and talked to my entire family through Skype and it is great to catch up with everyone each day or week.

So, here I am in Paderborn, playing again, patiently waiting with the thought of people visiting and seeing me play for the first time in Germany. Erin has already decided to come in July so we can travel during the European Baseball Cup. (The league takes a few weeks off each year so each countries previous champions can participate in the European Baseball Championships) What a long wait it seems like! Erin has been doing and having a great time in Portland. She loves it! She got into school, found a fantastic place to live, and has done a great job finding work as she has been offered a very lucrative job with a great company! Not to mention she has had friends and family visit. Although she starts soon, she had not yet been given a start date. The thought of her hanging out in Portland with nothing to do the next few weeks led to one thought. Get Erin over to Germany! With a few weeks to spare before she starts work, we called the worlds greatest travel agent (my mom) and found a good deal. Like that, our countdown went from 85 days to only a weeks wait with the click of a mouse.

The journey however, became much harder than we had originally planned. Within 24 hours of getting her a flight, the Iceland Volcano exploded dumping so much ash into the Atlantic sky that all flights to and from the U.S. and Europe were cancelled. One day, two days, three days, four days went by. All flights still cancelled into Northern Europe. By Sunday night I was very worried! Still no flights, and she was due to come out on Tuesday morning PST and arrive Wednesday morning in Germany.

With news circulating that flights would continue on Tuesday, Erin made the courageous voyage to Atlanta where her connecting flight was still "on-time" to Dusseldorf. When she left Portland we knew there was a very good possibility of it being cancelled when she was in the air, which would have stranded her in Atlanta with countless others trying to get overseas.

Fifteen minutes before she landed in Atlanta her flight to Germany was cancelled. At this time very few flights were leaving from the U.S. to Europe. Although there were a few, the problem became she was one of thousands stranded and trying to get over the Atlantic. Chances were very slim. However, with the bat of her pretty eyes, a contagious smile, luck of the irish, along with good advice from the worlds greatest travel agent, (my Mom) Erin managed to find a flight to Amsterdam with a Delta customer support agent in Atlanta. She got on the plane and headed to Amsterdam, about 350 Kilometers from Paderborn. She was getting over the Atlantic!

With Erin in the sky, my mom once again came through and helped us devise a plan to connect. I drove two hours northeast to Duisburg, Germany while Erin got on a train and headed south into the area. After blind faith on the autobahn and google maps, as well as frantically searching the large Duisburg train station for twenty minutes, she appeared out of nowhere with a smile and a kiss! What a great moment! She was finally here! It is funny, but we picked up right where we left off a month ago and it was as if nothing had changed, which it really had not.

Erin traveled for over 24 hours, wheeled and dealed in Atlanta with little hope, got to Amsterdam to find out she had no luggage, then jumped on a train in a place she had never been and had no real idea where she was going. After all of that, she still found me! Pretty cool!

The drive home was great and we soon started making plans for the week. Travel and quality time were in store for the two of us, and even though I had baseball everyday, we would still find a way.

We rode around Paderborn with the bikes the next morning, got her some clothes and enjoyed our time together. We had a great time catching up and actually seeing each-other in real life and not on a computer screen. She really loved Paderborn and by the time we got home on Friday, her bag had arrived. What a great feeling! Having her in Germany meant so much, and she was finally going to see me play baseball.

Hamburg Split and Dortmund Orchestra

2010-04-22T03:57:00.000-07:00

With the weeks blending together very rapidly, we have come to approach our weeks similar to an American Football Player. We play once a week, usually Sundays, take Monday's off, and get back on track with practice and workouts on Tuesday-Saturday. This past weekend we played in Hamburg on Saturday. We woke up at 5 a.m. to make sure we got there on time because last year traffic was so bad they had to forfeit a game because the team was late. Not this year! It was a four hour drive which to many Germans is like driving from Seattle to Fresno. Non-stop complaining as you would imagine. We arrived in Hamburg at 9:45a.m. for our 12pm double header and the team looked like we had been out all night partying. Not the case for Danny and I at least. The first game went well. I hit the ball really hard, although right at people and I walked twice. Danny got two hits and we won the first game 6-4. Our German starter, Eugene, is a Russian immigrant who is pretty legit. He has 4 good pitches and throws what ever I ask him to throw in any count. I love the expression on a hitters face who is ahead 2-0 and gets a nasty slider or change-up. Classic! Eugene aka "Aulga" and his brother Alex are both Russian Germans playing for the Untouchables. They have great accents which I constantly try to master and they love baseball. Our team is composed of many different ethnic groups who are German as well. Russia, Mexico, America, Poland, France, England, and of course Germany are some of the descents of much of our team. Danny and I are the only ones that are not German citizens though.

After our game one victory we learned that the Hamburg foreign pitcher was not playing this week because he was stuck in Sweden due to the Volcano. Nobody could fly in and out of Europe and he was stuck. The German rules are that foreign players cannot pitch until game two. This is the game Danny always pitches. We had no idea what to expect and when I took my first at-bat I quickly told myself to dumb it down a little. The pitcher they had was topping out at 72mph.... Maybe! It was so slow and the first pitch I saw looked like a giant beach ball floating in the air. I took the pitch, stepped out and said "wow, that was really slow." I think Hamburg did the right thing in throwing him because he was effectively slow! It completely deflated our line up. On top of that was the wind blowing straight in from left-center, knocking down anything hard hit in the air straight into a defensive players leather.
Danny pitched well, but he gave up a few 0-2 hits and walked a few. The biggest thing that hurt him was the lack of defense, which I was also a part of. After a botched double play that would have ended a scoreless inning, Hamburg scored three unearned runs. with two outs and the bases loaded Danny gave up an 0-2 hit to the 8 hitter and rounding third was a big guy looking to barrel me over. A perfect one hop throw from our center fielder took me a little bit to my right, but I snagged it with plenty of time and dove down to my left to apply the tag. He was running 100% and when he arrived at the plate he delivered a low shoulder which included a fist to my mask, not to mention I had exposed my body with my arms reached out to his feet. I applied the tag, got knocked in the face, and as I was whipped around from the force of the contact, the ball literally flew out of glove to the backstop which allowed another runner to come into home. After the hit I was out of it. A combination of little sleep, fatigue from catching the first game, and now a blow to the head and I was out of it. I was more pissed than anything, but I had a really bad headache after the play, and mainly was embarrassed because I dropped the ball. No matter how hard you get hit at the plate, it is always worth it when you hold onto it and get an out. I didn't do that, and I felt it too. After that I had to get myself together which took a few innings which included me giving up an at-bat due to a lack of focus. I did get a hit in my last at-bat, but by then it was too late, and we could not put anything together as a team. We lost our first game of the season in game two by a score of 4-0. The unfortunate victim of the loss was Danny.

The ride home was bitter sweet because we split, but we had fun with the time.

With our games over for the week on Saturday, we had two days off from baseball which is a rare occasion. We had talked with our coach Red earlier in the week about doing something or going somewhere on our days off and he told us he was going to do something for us. Honestly, after our loss I was in no mood to think about two days off. I wanted to play the next day, which in America would usually be the case. I always felt that after a bad day you always had the next day to look forward too. Now we have six days to look forward to. This is a major adjustment for Danny and me.

When I woke up Sunday, I felt refreshed, ready to explore, and better about not playing well the day before. We got a call from Red and told us to be ready at 2 p.m. We were going to Dortmund to see a live European Football game. The Dortmund club plays in the German 1st league and they are very popular in Northern Germany. Ballspiel-Verein Borussia in Dortmund was founded over 100 years ago, and to many Northern Germans is a religion. Westfalenstadion von oben is the stadium they play in and it holds over 81,000.

Now when I think of soccer it usually includes a big "Ehhh, whatever?!?!" But for some reason I was excited. I had heard this place was awesome, it hosted a semi-final in the 2006 World Cup, and was rated as one of the best stadiums in the Soccer world.

On our hour ride to Dortmund, Danny and I enjoyed a few German beers, which by the way is totally legal. As long as you are not driving you can drink in a vehicle. When we got to the stadium it reminded me of Saturday College Football in Berkeley, or Sunday NFL game day In San Francisco. The weather was beautiful, the crowd was excited and I could never have imagined what I was about to experience.

There is no real way to explain the shock I experienced amongst my first glance at the goal side section of 25,000 screaming and signing German Soccer Hooligans. It was literally a small army waving flags and signing like the largest Orchestra in the world. The Bleachers on one side of the North goal seemed to never end, and I quickly learned after my initial reaction to the monstrosity of the section that it was the largest single bleacher section in all of sports. Unbelievable!

Seeing Barry Bonds hitting #756 at AT&T. Seeing the San Francisco Giants win the 2002 NL Pennant. Steve Young's touchdown pass to Terrell Owens in the 98 playoffs. And now, the first time I ever walked into a European Soccer Stadium. One of the best sports moments I have experienced.

The game was not really that exciting, as most soccer games usually are not exciting to me, but I enjoyed it.

See the footage below to get a small idea of what the weekend was like, and what it was like walking into the stadium for the first time.

Care Package from Home!

2010-04-15T17:03:00.000-07:00

It is easy to take advantage of all the accessible things we get everyday in the U.S. Here in Germany, although we have been taken care of in every way possible by the club and coaches, the little things we take for granted back home are a hard to get a hold of.

Monday morning I heard a loud knocking at our door and I quickly made my way over to find a DHL man handing me a package addressed to me. I signed and quickly ran to my room to open it. My girlfriend, Erin, had so generously sent me a care package with all the essentials I could not find here in Germany. Enclosed were two pair of Good Feet insoles/arch support (I have terrible flat feet) which are EXTREMELY helpful, along with plenty of candy, chew (for the German players who can't find it over here....not me!) Choulula Hot sauce, (which I usually put on everything!) protein powder, sport socks, Advil, and yes, confetti cake and frosting which I thought was hilarious! Thank you so much Erin! It made my week! It was awesome to see how much effort you put into such a small package, and you know the old saying! HAHA.

Erin, I appreciate you everyday! It is amazing to think I found someone as beautiful, confident, successful and most of all supportive as you are. You appreciate my silly dreams, support our relationship even though I am thousands of miles away, and give me confidence in everything I do. It is really hard being apart from someone who puts as much effort into things as you do! I miss you, love you, and think about you by the minute.

Luckily, Erin doesn't start working for a few weeks with her new job in Portland and we found a great deal for her to come over this coming Wednesday. (Pending the stupid volcano ash from Iceland!!!! YIKES!) I will keep my fingers crossed and pray to my lucky stars that everything works out for the best.
She will hopefully get to see me play for the first time next Saturday! Very exciting!!!

Dying a Hero and No-No's during a No-No!"

2010-04-15T15:08:00.001-07:00

Danny and I experienced our first home game this past Sunday against Dortmund, and it was a whopping 36 degrees when we got to the field. I forgot what it was like attempting to warm up and get loose when it is that cold. Growing up in Reno, Nevada there were plenty of times when it was snowing or well below freezing during baseball. I learned to deal with it at a very young age, and playing college ball in Portland wasn't always easy wither. Trying to hit with a metal bats in that temperature feels like you are swinging an icicle, and with wood you just don't want to break your stick by getting jammed or hitting it off the end. Not to mention the terrible "bee sting" feeling you get when either of those things happen with any type of bat, especially in the cold.

In my first at-bat of the day I came to the plate with a brand new maple bat. Maple is the best type of wood, usually the strongest and the hardest to break, so I figured I was safe. (They usually cost about $70-90 per bat) Danny was generous enough to let me have this bat since it was 33 inches, and he uses a 34. For the past 3 weeks I had been using an ash bat that feels great but started to flake due to overuse. I had to tape the barrel, which means I cannot use it during a game. (Baseball rules) I had not even taken a swing outside of the on-deck circle with my new stick when I came to the plate with runners on second and third, no outs. As a lefty hitter all I could think about was pulling the ball hard toward right field in order to score a run or two and give us an early lead. I took the first pitch for a ball, and with a 1-0 count, sitting dead red fastball, I took a big hack and hit a dribbling grounder right past the pitcher to the short stop. I was waaaaaay out front and although I should not have swung, I committed to the swing and made contact. The shortstop threw me out easily, but I got an RBI as the runner from third scored on the play.
Even though I got an RBI, I was really pissed! Not only should I have not swung at a 1-0 change-up (I was being way to aggressive) I BROKE my bat on one swing! "S.O.B. threw me a 1-0 change; one swing and the bat is done!" I got back to the dugout and was congratulated by a few guys for the RBI and others laughed because they knew what had happened. All I could say was, "Well, at least he died a hero. He got me an RBI on his death bed." I would have preferred to see another pitch or two and drive the ball, but like the old saying goes, shit happens! The bat is sitting proudly in my room, as the crack was not too bad, I may use it for soft toss and front toss.

On a positive note, I got a 2 RBI single in my next at-bat and went 1-3 with 3 RBI's and another hit-by-pitch in the game. (I got hit in a much better spot this time so I wasn't complaining as much to Danny this week.) Danny went 4-5 as the left fielder had a hard time with all the back spin and top spin he put on each ball hit to left. It is really funny to see outfielders react to most of the balls Danny hits to them. Mostly, it looks likes a golf fan trying to get out of the way of a Tiger Woods 4 iron because they are hit so hard. I am usually not running as fast as I can when I am on base because I am laughing really hard. The best part of the day was the wind blowing straight in from center. Danny hit a ball that would normally hit the Mango Hunt Center at UP (which is about 500 feet from home plate in Portland) but the Gail force wind put it softly into the center fielders mitt for an out. Neither of us got a hit in the second game which was disappointing, but we ended up winning both games. (15-5 and 6-4.) Danny pitched stellar in game two and only gave up a couple of real cheap Texas League hits.

For all you savvy baseball fans, (and even novice fans who want to learn something really, really important about baseball) see the video below, there is a great story which you will love...... One of the many "No-No's during a No-No!"

Sliders & Slivovitz

2010-04-10T12:21:00.000-07:00

Easter Sunday turned out to be a great experience for Danny and I as we visited with a fellow teammates in-laws, who happen to be an Orthodox family from Serbia, which is the same religion and background I grew up with on my fathers side. Mischa and Branca are the father and mother in law to our teammate Hieko Schumacher (Sheumy). Mischa also happens to be the groundskeeper for the Untcouchable's field in Paderborn so we see him everyday. The first day I met Mischa he greeted me with a "Kako ste Nikola?" (How are you Nikola, in Serbian) Knowing a small amount of the Serbian language, I responded back "Dobro, falla." (Good, thank you) My Baba Sophia would be so proud!
The night of Easter we were treated to a great dinner with their family. We were treated so kindly and we ate and cooked off the table grill which neither Danny nor myself had ever done. We also sampled some of Mischa's homemade šljivovica (pronounced Slivovitz).Now for those that have never heard of this alcohol, it is a plumb brandy famous in Serbia and Eastern Europe. It is about 50% alcohol, so it usually puts a little hair on your chest every time you take a shot. Danny and I both had a shot with Sheumy and Mischa, and to my surprise it was a lot better than any Slivovitz I had ever had.
Well done Mischa. Hopefully he can teach me the secret to making good Slivovitz this season, although that might not be a good mix during the baseball season. All in all, we had a great meal, enjoyed awesome company, and at the end of the night we ever had a competition with hard boiled eggs as we tried to crack each others eggs with the tip of our own egg. (An old Serbian Easter tradition). Branca won!

On Monday, Danny and I had our first league double header vs. the Cologne Cardinals. After coaching on Saturday and Spending Easter Sunday with a our new Serbian friends we traveled to Cologne early in the morning this past Monday. The drive was pretty easy and we had some time to get lose and check out our surroundings before our games. One of the coolest parts of this experience is seeing new baseball fields in places we have never been, or we believed the area had never heard of the game.

Cologne is a really cool city, and although it was only a day trip, it was cool to see a little bit of the area as we breezed in and out of town. Danny and I both had a good day! In game one we gave up a 1 run lead late in the game and went into extra innings..... Not for long though! Danny lead off the top of the tenth and hit a MONSTER homerun to left field on the first pitch. WACK!.... "Yay-vohy!" (That is what the German's yell when something good happens! See the video below.)
I nearly knocked one of my teammates in the jaw with an elbow as I jumped off the bench to watch the flight of the ball. Needless to say, Danny was the hero in game one for sure! I went 2-4 at the plate with an RBI. I got a hit in my first at-bat which was a really nice feeling, then I got hit in the back of the hammy the next inning, and had to catch 18 more innings with a lump in my leg. Just one of the many parts of the game I had forgotten about until it happened. (Below is a picture of one of my hits, above is Danny's Homer.)

Danny started on the bump in game two and did not have the best control, which I later found out had to do more with the terrible mound condition and the "Auslaender (foreigner) strike zone." Wow! We had some really interesting calls, and although Danny threw only four innings, nobody came close to a hit. He did however walk a few guys, and after four innings had a pitch count around 90 which is where he should be around the 8th inning. At one point Danny made a perfect pitch right at the knees, and as I held the ball in my glove waiting to hear "strike," I heard nothing. I asked very sarcastically..... "Was that pitch my fault? I must not have given you a very good look at it huh?!?" To my surprise, the umpire did not pick up on my sarcasm as he said "Yes, thank you, you tried to frame it too much and I could not give you a strike." (Keep in mind, I didn't even move my glove) My reply was "Oh, ok, thank you, I guess I will have to explain to my coach and pitcher that although he threw a pitch you thought was a strike, you cannot call it a strike if I try and frame it too much. Thank you for making that clear to me." The best part was, he really thought I was serious and continued to talk about it. I am not sure who was messing with who, but it became a common theme for the rest of the game as more and more good pitches were not called strikes.
On a funny note, Cologne had an American from California who was hitting late in game two when a god awful smell swarmed the home plate area.... "Was that you bud?" I asked as I laughed. He looked at me, and as honest as a guy can be said while laughing, "No way man, but I would DEFINITELY claim that one if it was...... That was a good one!" Curious as to who cut the cheese, and also agreeing with my fellow American about claiming your own brand, I asked the umpire if there is anything he would like to tell us? No joke, just like the balls and strikes, he says, "Oh gosh, I don't know what that is, maybe it is the bbq because they just put out the fire." WOW, not only can this guy not claim he missed a pitch or two, he once again blames something else. Pretty funny stuff.

We ended up winning game two as well, Danny got 2 hits and finished the day at 3-8 with a few walks and a very memorable homerun. I finished game two with a 3-6 with a double, and 5-10 on the day. I felt I gave away about 4 at-bats because I was so tired. I had never caught 19 innings in one day, and I was exhausted by the time game 2 was half way done. I guess I will get in better shape as the season goes on, but until then, I will continue to suck it up and play hard.

Check out the video below if you want to see a little of the baseball action, as well as our Easter dinner.

Good Friday...... Good day to explore Paderborn!

2010-04-03T15:22:00.000-07:00

So ever since Danny and I arrived in Germany we have been pretty busy. Everyday is filled with things to do, especially with baseball. Since we arrived last Saturday we have been trying to find some time to catch our breath and take everything in. Well, yesterday was the day to do it so we decided to jump on our new bikes (purchased for 90 Euro's at the train station) and we got lost in our new city. Below is a little video footage if you want to watch. Enjoy!

Jet-Lag knocks and 20/15 vision

2010-04-02T16:03:00.000-07:00

The first morning I woke up I didn't really know where I was. We had to be at the field at 8 a.m. for our team photo shoot and individual pictures so we did not get a chance to sleep a ton. I was going with the flow and I knew we had a game at 1pm as well, although I had no idea where. I was really excited, but extremely tired. After the photo shoot we jumped in the team van and headed southeast down the Autobahn to play the Solingen Alligators, who are a very good team in the German pro league. One of Germany's best players is from Solingen, Kae Gronauer, is a catcher with the Mets double-A team and played there three years ago. As I learned many of my teammates names and a little bit more about Germany, I found myself once again thinking about how excited I was to play! Thousands of miles away from home, I am going to play baseball for the first time in 4 years.
We arrived in Solingen about an hour and a half before game time and to my surprise I was really impressed with the park. I would compare it to a good junior college, as they had a nice field, a covered batting cage area, and guest locker rooms with showers. The stands weren't bad either. The funny thing about the whole day was that I was not nervous about anything. I was so happy to be on a field playing catch, taking batting practice, and getting ready that I didn't even think about not performing well, or not living up to expectations. was the same way. He was very energetic and excited to play. We were both really excited to play in an actual game. One of the best parts of the day came right after warmups when our head coach, Red, pulled both Danny and I aside and told us both that he was really happy to have us and not to worry about today. "I want you guys to know there is no pressure today, I want you to enjoy this and have fun. You are not going to get sent home because you don't do well so just have some fun!" From a coaching standpoint (and now a players standpoint again) it really meant a lot to hear him say that, and although we didn't feel any pressure to begin with, it was nice to know that our skipper has our back and is looking out for our best interest. He is a very good manager with as much passion for baseball as anyone I have ever seen.
As the visiting team we hit first of course, and when I saw the lineup for the first time I was hitting second, while Danny was third in the lineup. Now, I hadn't faced a pitcher since the city league in 2007, and had not faced good pitching since college in May 2006. The only live swings I took had come from batting practice in a cage. As the game began I found myself going through a routine on deck like I had never left the game. I got my timing down, took in the surroundings and started to clear my head and breath. It felt great. The leadoff hitter walked on five pitchers, all fastballs. As soon as I stepped in the box I had one thing in mind.............I wanted to take the BIGGEST hack I could at the first good pitch I saw. Since the pitcher had a hard time throwing strikes to the first hitter, I knew he was going to give me a "get me over fastball." Even after all this time, the mental side of the game never leaves you, and neither does the competitor within! I walked to the plate, swiped my feet back and forth in the batters box like I had done thousands of times before, and pointed the bat out to the pitcher to acknowledge that after all this time away from hitting, I was ready. It was so strange to stare down at a pitcher again, and it felt amazing! The pitcher was a tall guy throwing maybe mid 80's, but to me I might as well have been facing Tim Lincecum again. As the pitcher went into his first windup and came forward with the release of his pitch I felt my motion go back, hands load, front foot land forward, and hips and hands fly to the ball. WACK! I connected with the first pitch. The ball started to sail high and hard to center, and my first reaction was "Damm, fly-out to center." Yet, as I started running down the first base line I noticed the numbers on the back of the center fielders jersey, and he never turned back around to catch the ball. Now, with as much objectivity as I can muster, I will say it was not the best ball I have ever hit, but apparently they were playing me pretty shallow. (This is a photo of my first swing, courtesy of Eisenhuth Photography, notice the ball in the top right corner of the pic.)
As the ball continued to stay in the air I realized the center fielder might not get to it, and sure enough, the ball landed about fifteen feet over his head. (The fence read 420 ft. from the plate but I wasn't that close to it.) All of a sudden I found myself on second base breathing hard, and our runner from first scored. 1-0 Paderborn on the first pitch I saw. Stand-up double. My teammates were applauding from the dugout and like a scene from Mr. Baseball, the Solingen shortstop says "Hey man, nice piece, where are you from?" While still gathering my bearings I said thank you and told him " All over man, that was a trip,I can't even think straight right now, that is the first pitch I have seen in four years and I just got here last night." I continued to chat with him throughout Danny's at-bat as he got hit with an 0-2 pitch in his first at-bat. The Solingen shortstop was an older guy who had played JC and indy ball back in the states, and ended up in Germany this season. He was a cool guy and it was fun chatting with him about our experience while the game was going on. The inning ended with a double play ball and I raced into the dugout to get my gear on and was welcomed by all of my teammates with high fives and fist pounds.
As I got my catching gear on I thought about the fastball I hit, and it occurred to me I had never seen a pitch so clearly! I saw the seams and movement! I didn't even realize how well I could see until this moment. Wow! Back in October I received lasik surgery and my Doctor (Dr. Mills in Reno, Nevada) told me that it was one of the best operations he had performed. I am seeing 20/15 which is better than perfect, and unbelievable to me. I used to wear contacts every game, and even then I struggled with vision because of dust and dirt on the lens. What an incredible feeling to see the ball that well. (That and the pitch was an easy 84 mph....)
Catching was another great experience.
As the first inning started I felt very comfortable and our pitcher had three good pitches working for him. It was a cool experience, and he did a great job. I loved calling the game as well. We finished the day with a 9-0 win, and Red told us after the game he could not remember the last time Paderborn beat Solingen that bad. He was really pleased, especially since his two American's finished the day a combined 5-8, 2 doubles, a triple, 5 RBI's, at the plate, with 3 runs scored. I also caught a complete nine innings and threw a runner out at second on a steal attempt

Danny finished 3-4 with a triple and 4 RBI's, while I went 2-4 with two doubles, 1 RBI, and 2 runs scored. We both agreed that this summer should be a lot of fun and we are looking forward to the experience.

Pretty cool day for our first baseball experience in Germany!

The Arrival

2010-04-02T08:13:00.000-07:00

The afternoon we arrived in Paderborn, our skipper (head coach) Stefon, a.k.a. "Red" showed us around the facilities and the baseball field. He welcomed us with a beer mixed with cola (The Germans LOVE to dis on American beer, but they are ok with a cola-beer mix....?) I had never had a one before, and don't really care to have another one considering Germany has over 30,000 different Beers..... No joke. Upon arrival I was informed that it would take you 93 years of drinking 1 different beer everyday to try all of Germany's different beers. So, I quickly told Red that I wanted to start trying the good stuff!
The workout facilities are pretty amazing. As Red showed us around, we learned we have been granted a full-time membership at the Ahorn, which is and indoor workout center complete with indoor batting cages, a track, 4 basketball courts, badminton, (which Danny and I love!) and three super large batting cages. The batting cages have to be three times the size of any cage I have ever seen and they are awesome! The entire facility itself is about the size of two football fields side by side. As we continued to explore our new area we hit up the grocery store, got supplies, headed home, and settled in. As I mentioned before we have a great setup. Wireless internet, nice comfy beds in our own rooms, and a gigantic big screen projector which is pretty amazing. We will be hooking our computer up to watch MLB.com when the season starts so we won't miss anything back home!
Later that night Red took Danny and I out for dinner and by the end of the night we were once again spent. The adrenaline shot of arriving at our new home had worn thin, and once our meals were complete we once again felt the jet-lag. At that point I had slept about 6 hours in the last 60 hours or so and I was done! On a side note, we live with three other guys, and people love to come over here and hang out, so there is a ton of noise. It kind of reminds me of my college days. This particular Saturday night lots of people were over and wanted to meet us and hang out, so once we got home we visited for a hour or so and got to bed! Finally, sleep was here! Even with all the noise, we slept hard.

Trippin

2010-04-01T04:41:00.000-07:00

So Danny and I made it!

It only took about 26 hours, (When it was supposed to be a 17 hour trip with layovers.) but we got to Paderborn, Germany safely. We left Portland, Oregon on March 26th at 6:30 a.m. PST and we flew to Chicago. It was a really short flight as we slept the entire way. The plan was to Fly from Portland to Chicago, Chicago to Toronto, Toronto to Vienna, then Vienna to Dusseldorf where we would drive about 174 kilometers (110 miles) to our new home in Paderborn.
Well, as crazy of an itinerary as this may sound, that would have been really nice! Instead, upon arrival in Chicago, we were told to switch gates to a different plane. (We were supposed to stay on the same plane from Portland all the way to Toronto) Having about an hour, Danny and I quickly got off and looked at the outgoing flights and gates. United Flight 132 to Toronto reads "CANCELLED." What the hell? They tricked us! We quickly walked through the Chicago Airport to United Customer Service, and for everyone that have never been to O'Hare Airport, it is a big city all in its own. This Airport is one of the worlds largest as it has hundreds of flights coming and going daily, so the walk from the gate to customer service was about a mile.
We waited in line at customer service for about 45 minutes and then the real fun begins. Everyone is trying to get to Toronto!!! Apparently, United Airlines was giving a lot of people the run-around, including us. After about an hour and a half of trying to find the right solution to get us to Dusseldorf on time, the United customer service representative, Carlos, said he got us on a Canadian Airlines flight to Toronto where we could catch our connecting flight to Vienna. He said we did not need to check in at the gate and handed us our boarding passes. Danny and I quickly made our way another mile away in the airport and got to our gate. "Ahhh, we are good, we will make our connecting flight to Vienna," we said. Once it was time to board the plane we got in line and walked to the gate. The gate agent took our paper ticket that Carlos had "issued" and said....... "Um, these are stand bye tickets, go get in the gate line with the rest of the stand bye passengers."......... WHAT!!!!
At this point we were pretty pissed. I was on the phone with my mom who happens to be a travel agent, and she was also pretty pissed about everything. We went to the ticket counter at the gate, realized there were 20 others in line for an oversold flight, and headed back to speak to Carlos at the the United ticket counter which was another mile away!....Again!
Upon our arrival at the customer service and another 45 minute wait in line, we got a chance to give Carlos (who was a really cool guy by the way) a little jarring! He laughed a little, but since we were with another agent at the counter this time he tried to help as much as he could.
At this point we could not get to Toronto, Vienna, or Dusseldorf on the original itinerary. We had to start from scratch. The biggest problem was that United Airlines could not get Austrian Airlines to release our funds so we could get another flight. This took about 80 phone calls, three and a half hours, and splitting Danny and I up for a flight to London at 6pm from Chicago, then a 5 hour layover in London before our flight to Germany.
I left Chicago about an hour before Danny and when I got to the United gate counter I was making sure I had a seat! Things got interesting once again when the gate agent at the counter tried to tell me that I was on standbye and was probably not going to get on the flight. "You are getting me on this flight!" I told him. After hovering over the agent and making him feel a little uneasy, and not letting him push me around, he handed me a boarding seat with an actual seat! FINALLY!
The flight to London was long. No entertainment because the media system was down, and the pilot even told us that he almost cancelled the flight because none of the screens were working. Since when did a flight get cancelled because the entertainment system was down? At that point I didn't care, I tried to get my mind off of how tired I was and I tried to think about baseball and the experience that was ahead of me. I ate some good old fashioned airline food, had a beer, and tried to sleep....... Which I did not get! I guess I could not sleep because I could only think about being away from home, my family, girlfriend, and friends for the next six months because I am chasing a dream which arrived late. In a way, I feel I am four years late to the prom....... but I still got asked!

The Sunrise was beautiful over the Atlantic! I watched the horizon change with beautiful colors for about 30 minutes and was amazed!

When I got to London, I called Erin, Mom and Dad, and felt miserably tired. One more flight to go! Danny found me in the terminal and we tried to talk about our trip and what we were looking forward to, but I was out of it! I could not wait to get some sleep, and about an hour before our flight, I literally could not function. Danny helped me a lot, and thanks to him, we made it to our flight safe and sound.
We arrived in Dusseldorf at 3pm in the afternoon which was 6pm PST, and our bags were there waiting for us. WHAT A RELIEF! That could have turned out really bad with all the changes we went through. Good for United! We got through customs very easily and caught a ride with a friend of our coach. The best part of our trip was the car ride on the Autobon. We cruised an easy 120mph all the way home and we were getting passed on the left by BMW's, Mercede's, and Audi's. Pretty amazing!

So, after about 26 hours and not much sleep we arrived at our new home in Paderborn. We have three German roomies, two of which we will play with, and each of us has our own room. Pretty nice setup as well!

Can't wait to play!

How it all began........ For the second time!

2010-03-26T01:32:00.000-07:00

Sooo.....

I am sitting in the hotel near PDX in Portland, Oregon at 2 a.m. in wonderment. I am flying to Germany in 4 hours and as I try and spend the last few hours fighting off sleep and spending time with my girlfriend Erin, I cannot help but think that these next 24-48 hours will turn my life upside down. For the past few years I have been coaching baseball. I enjoy it very much; the teaching, the development of players, the control of game situations, the game itself....... I love baseball! There is however, one thing that has bothered me the entire time I have been coaching these past few years. I always felt I was good enough to PLAY beyond college after having a successful career at the Division 1 level. At the time college had ended, I had been a starting player at The University of Portland for four years and was thinking that the only option I had was to play organized minor league ball with an affiliated MLB (Major League Baseball) team. I had heard of independent teams around the country that took players from college, but I wanted bigger and better. To me, playing independent baseball meant to delay the inevitable, which was a good job, good pay, and a stable life after earning a great degree from UP. When I did not sign with either of the two MLB clubs who had said they would like to sign me after my senior year of college, I quickly became discouraged and optioned out of going on and playing professionally. Especially if it meant I would have to grind it out in independent ball just to get looked at by MLB organizations!

Fast forward about four years later........... And back to the hotel room at 2 a.m.
As I sit here and write I am still amazed how this happened.

Five weeks ago I was in Portland, Oregon with Erin as we had both decided that we wanted to move here shortly. I love the area, and as we have been dating and traveling to Portland a few times she grew to love it as much as I do. Done deal! I would finish my teaching and coaching duties in the bay area and I will move up in June........ In the meantime Erin wanted to make the move on her own before I came up. So, on no particular day we drop by the University of Portland to use the library to print off some resumes. We park the car in the main parking lot which oversees the left field side of Joe Eztel Field at Pilot Stadium...... My old stomping ground, and home to the UP Baseball team! Erin obliged me for a good ten minutes as I watched UP throw intersquad. "Oh how I miss playing," I thought to myself!
We walked away to print off some resumes and about five minutes later I told Erin I wanted to go say hi to my old coach and watch some more baseball. The funny thing is Erin completely understands my passion for the game and gives me all the time I need with it. She is a tremendous supporter of my coaching and passion for baseball and she is learning the game very quickly.
I quickly walk to the field and enter above the third base dugout in the stadium bleachers. I quietly watched for a moment and one of Portland's assistant coaches Larry Casian saw me and said "Hey, we don't need any St. Mary's guys in our stands!" in a joking voice. (It is nice coming back to Portland and always being reminded that I coached at SMC, a WCC opponent) I say hello and again a few moments later I hear my former head coach Chris Sperry say "Is that Nik Kosach!?" I smile and wave, walk to the end of the dugout he is standing to shake his hand.
"What are you doing here, I was just talking about you today at lunch?" he said. I told coach Sperry I was planning on moving back to Portland soon and that Erin and I were around the campus. And as if he had not heard a thing I just said he tells me "There is a fellow here from Germany that I think you ought to meet, he is here looking for a catcher and I mentioned your name and told him about you today at lunch..........I had absolutely no idea you were in town, this is really bizarre!!...... Come down to the filed and I will introduce you to him."
Now at this point I have no idea what is going on. It is amazing how quickly life can change...... One moment you are looking so hard for a ordinary job, and the next moment you have a dream job land in your lap.
As I walked to the field I couldn't help think to myself, "Why the hell would he mention my name to catch? I haven't played in years!" As I get down to the field I start talking to a few of the guys, then walk over to Sperry and he tells me about the situation. " There is a guy here from the German professional league looking for someone who can catch Danny Meier." Danny was a former teammate of mine at UP who was released by the Houston Astros last season and was looking to play this season. He was an excellent player in college who pitched and played in the field. No easy task at the Division 1 level. Danny is good at everything, and he has an absolute cannon of an arm and hits the ball very, very hard. I believe he threw anywhere from 90-93 mph on the mound when he was in college. I had caught Danny when he was a sophomore and I was the starting catcher at Portland so I knew I could catch him.
As I continued to talk to coach Sperry he told me to come talk to the German coach, Stefon, aka "Red." Red was an interesting guy to begin with. He spoke very good English with a German accent of course and as we approached him coach Sperry says to him, "The gentleman that I was talking about today at lunch, who lives 700 miles from here in San Francisco, who can still play and catch, is standing right here." "I had no idea he was even in town" he said.
Red looked at me, looked at Danny, and back at me. I knew exactly what he was thinking because I would have done the same thing. Danny is a big strong guy, 6-2, a very lean 210lbs. Me on the other hand, I have stayed in very good shape, but have lost about 25lbs since college baseball and I stand all of 5-10, maybe 172 now soaking wet. Sperry quickly spoke up again and pointed at me, "Now this guy will lead your team in batting average, and catch as good as anybody." He points to Danny and says, "And this guy will lead your team in strikeouts as a pitcher, and homeruns as a hitter." Red once again looks at both of us and says to me "Yea, you can play a little but, yea? I need a guy who can handle Danny's stuff, my catchers will have a hard time with his fastball and breaking ball." I told him I could definitely still catch him, I just wasn't sure what the competition was like in Germany. I didn't even know they had a league. Remember, I haven't played competitively for four years, and my mind has been totally fixed on coaching, and only dreaming of playing.
As the conversation went on with Red, Danny, and myself, he explained that he could have three foreigners on the team and that Danny was definitely coming over. "If you want to think about possibly coming over I need to see you play." He told me. "I cannot just sign you because people tell me you can play, but if you are good enough we have a nice place for you to stay, a good stipend, free meals, and we pay your way to and from Germany." As my mind was still in shock, I thought about how cool it was that I might get to play again and even whether or not I could. I had not taken bating practice since college, and the only baseball I played was in the San Francisco city league in 2006 right after college. Red told us he wanted to discuss more later, and as we were leaving the field he told me to meet him later that night for a beer. We also decided that I would try out for him at the field the next morning. Honselty, I was more excited to hit and catch the next morning because I had not done it in so long.
That night we met up with Red and learned a lot about our German Baseball opportunity, and Red. (He is a character, but a good guy) The next day I was catching Danny at 10 a.m., throwing down to second base, and hitting. To say the least I still have it! I hit well, I caught well, I threw well. After the tryout we headed down to a workout PT clinic to do some conditioning and Red asked both of us to come to Germany....... I finally made it!! He shook my hand and said, "You are going to do really good over there, I really want you to come, are you in?"

"Done deal!" I told him.

3 years, 9 months since my last college game. 1 year of field sales in San Francisco, 16 months of coaching division 1 baseball at St. Mary's College, and 15 months of coaching youth baseball and teaching in Lafayette and Moraga, mixed in with Graduate School at St. Mary's with a finished master's degree........ And I finally got a chance to get paid play baseball.......In Germany.

Weird!