Baseball Jobs Overseas Podcast: Recent Episodes
Baseball Jobs Overseas
The International Baseball Community Podcast features interviews with college and professional baseball players and coaches who have taken their career overseas. The purpose of the podcast is to shed light on all the opportunities that are out there in lesser-known baseball markets such as in Europe and Australia. Host David Burns is the founder of http://www.BaseballJobsOverseas.com, a platform where players and coaches can connect with clubs around the world.
live data give you a real shot at getting noticedThe league runs November 21 – December 18 at a professional NPB spring training facility in Okinawa. Early bird pricing is available through the end of August.Don't wait — register as soon as spots open. Use code BBJO2026 for a discount when signing up here: https://japanleague.palettetree.jp/form/jwl2026📩 Contact: BBJO or reach Hiro directly on Instagram @coachsaka
Connor Perry, a left-handed pitcher from Arizona, went from a 5.66 ERA in college at Presentation College (NAIA) to building a professional career overseas. After joining Baseball Jobs Overseas, he found success in New Zealand and Germany—two seasons that transformed his game and confidence. Now, in 2025, he lives abroad full-time, pitching for a national team and facing former MLB players and prospects. In this interview, Connor breaks down how he made it happen.
When Tyler Aasland finished her collegiate career, the path forward wasn’t obvious. After redshirting at the Division I level and seeing limited playing time in Division II, she could have walked away from the game. Instead, she took a leap — and that leap took her across the world.In this episode of the Baseball Jobs Overseas podcast, Tyler shares how playing in the Netherlands, Australia, Austria, Germany, New Zealand, and Spain transformed not only her softball career, but her identity as an athlete and coach. Overseas, she became a consistent starter, hit over .400 season after season, and even captured a Best Hitter award after batting .611 at the European Cup Winners Cup.Tyler opens up about adjusting to new cultures and league standards, balancing life far from home, and stepping into a player/coach role abroad. She also dives into how her background in behavioral neuroscience shapes her coaching philosophy — especially her commitment to “explaining the why” behind every drill and adjustment.For athletes considering the overseas route, this conversation is a powerful reminder: sometimes the opportunity you’re looking for isn’t at home — it’s waiting in another country.
In this episode, we sit down with Canadian ballplayer Evan Symons to trace an unconventional and inspiring baseball journey, from little league in East Vancouver to becoming an overseas MVP. Evan shares how walking on at the University of Ottawa (Canada), helping transform its club program, and embracing leadership roles off the field prepared him for life abroad with BBJO. He reflects on his first overseas contract in the Austrian second division, a breakout season in his second season overseas, and the powerful community impact of coaching youth players. Evan also dives into his memorable performances with the Globetrotters at Finkstonball and the Milan tournament, being served dugout snacks by World Series winner Jeremy Guthrie, and overcoming long-standing “imposter syndrome.” It’s a story of resilience, open-mindedness, and how playing overseas can completely change a player’s confidence and their life.
On this episode of the Baseball Jobs Overseas Podcast, we chat with Ethan Skuija, the Canadian flame-thrower who once led the BBJO Globetrotters to a Prague Baseball Week championship by shutting down the Spanish National Team. Ethan was touching 97 mph and on MLB scouts’ radar, but the call never came. Instead, his journey took him to pitching at Fenway Park and now creating a fast-growing YouTube channel. Tune in as Ethan shares the inside story of chasing the dream, finding “second best,” and why it might just be better than the original plan.With a fastball sitting 94–96 mph and touching 97, Ethan drew plenty of attention from MLB scouts, but the call never came. While that frustration could have ended many careers, Ethan’s path instead led him to unforgettable moments—like pitching in front of a packed house at Fenway Park—and ultimately to his current role as a popular baseball content creator on YouTube. In this conversation, Ethan opens up about the highs, the setbacks, and how he turned what felt like a “second best” into a fulfilling career in the game he loves.
Five years after graduating from college, Pete Saldaña had a good job, making good money, just bought a brand new car, but he wasn't happy. Then one day, he saw an Instagram post of a former college teammate who was playing baseball in Hungary and that was the first of many moments that set Pete off on an adventure of a lifetime which saw him play baseball in Austria, Australia, Czech Republic, Germany, and a the small Caribbean Island of Saint Martin while forming lifelong new friendships along the way. The craziest thing of it all, is that Pete hadn't touched a baseball or swung a bat since graduating. The cherry on top following Pete's adventure and experience gained within, is that he now lives his best life back in the U.S working in baseball.
Trent Saharek graduated from a small baseball college program out of Minnesota and desperately wanted to play baseball overseas. After registering for a membership at Baseball Jobs Overseas, he still struggled to receive an offer because he was an outfielder, which are not in much demand to import, and was from a small DIII program. Until one day, Trent made a tweak to his profile at the guidance of Jimmy, and the next day he received his first offer. He jumped on the opportunity and never looked back, playing multiple seasons overseas in Germany, Australia, and Belgium. What was the tweak to his profile that he made? What steps did he take as an outfielder to continue to receive offers? You will have to listen to find out. Also, you don't want to miss his story of making a comeback to European baseball years after hanging them up and creating his best baseball memory in the process.
If you would like to make overseas baseball a long-term career and lifestyle, we recommend taking a page out of Tim Brown's playbook. Since 2012, Tim has been traveling the world playing baseball, foregoing a promising independent professional baseball career for overseas baseball. Today at 37 years old, he continues to seek new adventures and new countries every season. To-date has played in Australia x 5, Austria, Argentina, Croatia x 2, Czech Republic, Germany, Great Britain, New Zealand, Slovenia, South Africa, x 2 and Sweden. Most recently he spent a few months coaching in Egypt during the 2024-2025 off season and has now signed to play in France in 2025. In this episode, Tim shares with us why he has decided to make this a life choice and how he is able to continue competing at a high level. One thing for sure is that whenever the dust settles on Tim Brown's career, he will have made a major impact on the global game and fondly remembered by all those who were lucky enough to meet him. Fun fact: Tim is our longstanding active member and is now part of the BBJO staff.
After graduating from Holy Names University (NCAA II) with average numbers, Daniel Catalan discovered opportunities to continue playing baseball overseas. However, securing an offer proved challenging. Determined to keep his career alive, he took matters into his own hands—flying to Spain and walking on with a team. This was just one of many investments in himself that helped him climb the ranks, eventually leading to a role as a hitting coach in the Chinese Professional Baseball League. As of early 2025, Daniel is preparing for his second season with the CTBC Brothers—the reigning CPBL champions—turning his passion for baseball into a full-time career and living his dream.
Jeremy Guthrie shares his story of performing at the highest level in multiple sports while maintaining academics, passing up on the draft multiple times, stopping playing baseball and then returning to go on to become a World Series Champion, and his post MLB international baseball activities, including joining forces with BBJO.
Andy Cosgrove lost his love for the game while playing professional baseball for the Twins and in the Frontier League due to the business side of the game. He then discovered the opportunities that exist to travel the world and play baseball and jumped all over it. The pureness of the overseas game was exactly what Andy needed to fall back in love with it. At first, his plan was to play one or two seasons and hang them up, but Andy found himself playing his best baseball and living at a location aboard that he describes as the best "day-to-day living" he had ever experienced. Andy then wound up starring on a hit reality TV show while playing abroad, boosting his personal brand and leading to his next big break that will see him playing in front of crowds as large as 80,000 in 2025.
In this episode, we talk to Ben Meyer about how to work your way up the professional baseball ladder. After receiving limited playing time at a D3 college, Ben didn’t have many options. He played in a men’s league in Los Angeles where he developed as a pitcher and then flew himself to the Netherlands to play for a 2nd Division Dutch team. After a few successful seasons, he worked his way onto the top team in Europe, the Amsterdam Pirates where he won a championship. He then headed to the Japan Winter League where he earned a contract with the Ishikari Red Phoenix for the 2024 season where he recently won the championship.
In this episode, Matthew Malconian walks us through his decision to quit his corporate office job and pursue a baseball career overseas. After getting his foot in the door with a 2nd Division German team, the Füssen Royal Bavarians, Matthew invests in himself and attends the Japan Winter League with aspirations of playing in Japan. After a successful JWL season, Matthew signs with the Bibai Black Diamonds for the 2024 season where he was among the league leaders in nearly every pitching category.
Patrick Cromwell and Andrew Cosgrove are a rare breed of BBJO member. Both of these talented former division one players from top programs decided to forgo the MLB dream and use their talents to play baseball in some of the most desirable places to live overseas. But what separates them from most members with similar baseball backgrounds, is that they were less concerned about the level of baseball, as long as the location fit what they were looking for.
Whether opening for Green Day or pitching at Dodgers stadium, there is one thing for certain about Scott Radinsky........ he always brings it. In this episode, the former MLB pitcher and coach —who doubled as a punk rock singer for his band Pulley during the MLB offseason— talks about his simple approach to the game, whether facing Ken Griffey Jr. in his heyday or coaching a pitcher back from the edge of being sent down to the minors and onwards to a long MLB career. His approach —and punk rock attitude— proved successful, making him a fan favorite at both Comiskey Park and Dodgers Stadium during the height of his pitching career which saw him throw five of his 11 MLB seasons with a sub 3.00 ERA as one of the most used arms out of the pen.After a brief discussion to start the podcast about his other side gig as the owner of one of the biggest indoor skate parks in California, the talk turns baseball and never goes back as Scott uses his storytelling skills to share some cool MLB stories before diving deep into his approach to the game as both a player and a coach, balancing his two lives at a musician and professional athlete, and ending with some fun rapid fire questions about his playing, coaching and musical career.Today, Scott continues to tour with his band and is a free agent looking for a coaching or managing career in Europe.We invite you to listen to what we consider our best episode to date.
Seattle-born, Ethan Skuija, has always been a dominant pitcher. He dominated as a kid growing up in Canada, in junior college in California, and in division one baseball playing for CSU Bakersfield.
None of this changed since he decided to take his career overseas after missing the draft.
At the time of this interview, Ethan was about 6 weeks into a winter ball stint in Australia for the 2022-2023 season, his second season overseas that saw him go on to dominate. He was fresh off a dominant season in the Czech Republic where he posted a 0.62 ERA in 47.2 innings of work, with a whopping 90 strikeouts in what many regard as a strong hitting league.
Although Ethan was not a member of our website, he was a pitcher we could not ignore when recruiting for our Globetrotters team that would compete at Prague Baseball Week against the likes of the Spanish and Czech National teams.
In this interview, we talk about Ethan's career in baseball, his mental approach to the game, the unmatched energy he brings to the dugout when not pitching, and of course, all the goodness about his experience playing baseball overseas thus far.
Since this interview, Ethan has gone on to pitch for the Savannah Party Animals in 2023 —a role he claims he was "born for"— and then finished his 2023 summer in the Atlantic League with the Staten Island FerryHawks. Ethan's story is far from over and there will definitely be a part two to this interview.
Lenny Pietersz is a native of Curaçao who has always dreamed of playing professional baseball. He recently achieved that goal, but he had to invest in himself by flying to Japan to play in the Japan Winter League in November of 2022. After two junior college baseball seasons in the U.S.A., Lenny signed up for the California Winter League in hopes to gain a pro contract. After that didn't pan out, he signed up with Baseball Jobs Overseas and soon found himself playing in second division Austria. Lenny loved this experience but continued to pursue his dream of playing in a true professional league. That is when he discovered the Japan Winter League. In this interview with Lenny, he talks about his experience at the Japan Winter League and how that led to apro contact with an independent professional baseball team in Japan.
Japan Winter League 2023 Registration:
https://www.japanleague.co.jp/
BBJO discount code: BBJO2023
In this episode, Dave and Jimmy speak with coach Hiro Sakanshi (coach and translator)and president Issei Washizaki of the Japan Winter League. The JWL provides opportunities for existing and aspiring professional players from around the world to play professionally in Japan, whether it be the industrial leagues, company leagues, independent leagues, or even the Nippon Professional Baseball.
https://baseballjobsoverseas.com/kaleb-bowman-podcast-interview/A former Kaleb Appalachian State standout, Kaleb Bowman found himself undrafted upon graduation and made the decision to travel the world and play baseball. This journey landed him in Canada that very same summer after graduating, playing in a five-team semi-professional men's league in New Brunswick. After that season, Kaleb hopped on a plane to play for Surfers Paradise Baseball Club on the beautiful gold coast of Australia. After back-to-back very successful seasons overseas —including a single-season strikeout record in Australia— Kaleb took the summer of 2020 off along with the 2020-2021 winter. It was during this time that Kaleb worked hard at taking his game to a new level while also signing with the Regensburg Legionäre, a premiere club in Germany that has produced the likes of Max Kepler and Donald Lutz.Kaleb's hard work paid off, as he was named the German Bundesliga "Pitcher of the Year" in 2021 and 2022 in his two seasons with Regensburg and the league MVP & Triple Crown (Pitching) winner in 2022. Kaleb leveraged this success, and his Twitter account, to get noticed by the Gastonia Honey Hunters of the Atlantic League, the team with which he signed and finished the 2022 season.However, the success didn't stop there as Kaleb picked up where he left off, despite pitching against many players with MLB experience. In his 10 innings of relief with the Honey Hunters, Kaleb struck out 11 and produced a stingy era of 0.90. This didn't go unnoticed and led to his first-ever MLB contract, signing with the Milwaukee Brewers to play the 2023 season.In this episode, Kaleb dives into his unusual path to the minor leagues including his off-season program and how he took his game to a new level. He also shares how he utilized Twitter to get noticed by pro scouts. A strong theme throughout this episode is Kaleb's strong mental approach to his career, with an open mind towards overseas baseball while still grinding towards the MLB dream.2023 UPDATE:"Spring training went great," said Bowman on April 5th, 2023. "I got to go out early, so I was there for 6 weeks. About 40 minor leaguers arrived when the big leaguers did and got the extra spring training. Including practicing with the big leaguers and getting to pick their brains some."Kaleb was fortunate enough to back up 10 of the big league games."Sure enough, my first ever affiliate appearance was in a big league (spring) game!"Kaleb came in with a man on 3rd and two outs, facing the Guardians' #6 prospect Bryan Rocchio. He threw 3 pitches for 3 strikes and a strikeout.With about 3 weeks left, the rest of the minor league players came and they continued to scrimmage, play other affiliates, and practice daily."It was just an awesome experience that I was told by many different people to just soak it all in, and I sure did that."
After wrapping up his college career at Georgetown University with a successful senior campaign which saw him hit .344 and lead the Big East Conference in slugging percentage, Steve Anderson was hopeful of being drafted. When that didn’t come to fruition, he opted to forgo independent pro offers to pursue a business career as a management consultant.In 2018, Steve started his own consulting business (CoLo Consulting) and has been operating the company remotely while living in 10+ countries around the globe. Steve’s nomadic journey has taken him to Germany, Czech Republic, England, Hungary, the Netherlands, Georgia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Japan, Colombia, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Canada among other places.In 2021, while living in Canada, Steve decided to return to competitive baseball with the Fredericton Astros, who compete in the Capital City Intermediate Baseball League in New Brunswick, Canada. This led to a conversation with a good friend and BBJO member who had played overseas, prompting him to sign up for a membership. In 2022, Steve played for the Montpellier Barracudas on the south shore of France while continuing to work mobile. He made the most of that summer by joining the first-ever Baseball Jobs Overseas tournament team at both Finkstonball in Austria and Prague Baseball Week in the Czech Republic. Since the recording of this interview, Steve has gone on to play winter ball in Argentina for the Cordoba Falcons.We invite you to listen to this episode where Steve talks about his thought process as he transitioned from highly competitive college baseball to establishing his own consulting firm, to traveling the world while working mobile, to deciding to take advantage of his mobility with work by combining his love for travel and baseball.
As an indy pro pitcher in the Frontier League and American Association, Tim Brown spent his winters pitching in Australian state leagues — and some time in the ABL— for five straight years. Pitching year-round for five straight years. He even threw a no-hitter in the Frontier League during this time. Then, one day, he decided to forgo his stateside pro career for a full-time overseas travel baseball experience, playing in Europe in the summers and Australia, New Zealand and Argentina in the winters. To date, Tim has spent five winters in Australia, one in New Zealand, and one in Argentina. Since 2017, summers have been spent in the Czech Republic, Germany, Slovenia, Austria, and most recently in 2021 and 2022; Croatia. Tim has re-signed to play in Croatia in 2023 and after recording this episode, he signed to play the 2022-2023 winter in South Africa, the 6th continent he has played baseball on in his lifetime.In this episode, we talk equally about his experiences on the field and off the field, while also diving into his mindset, wisdom, and motivation to continue doing what he is doing at the age of 35.Hosted By: David Burns (@bbjoburnsy) and Jimmy Jensen (@jimboslice38)
https://baseballjobsoverseas.com/ Brett Holtz is an Ivy League first baseman who had his college baseball career ripped away from him by COVID-19 and Alec Lemmon had hung up the cleats and got the travel bug while backpacking in Australia and New Zealand before deciding to combine his new passion with his old passion; baseball. The two soon found themselves as roommates living in a small town in the Czech Republic and became fast friends on their way to a Czech championship.
UCLA Bruin alumnus Eddie Murray continues to work in the winter and play ball in Europe every summer at the age of 34. This includes four summers straight living in a student dorm in the middle of Paris.
In this episode, Baseball Jobs Overseas founder David Burns and co-host Jimmy Jensen interview Jacob Biller, a BBJO member who played his first season overseas in France in 2021 where he won a championship and even managed to get on with the French National Team as a coach for the European Championships in Italy.
Jacob is a former NCAA D1 switching hitting shortstop out of Kansas State University who spent the summer at the top of the batting order for the Rouen Huskies, the reigning French champions, joining them at the champions cup in the Czech Republic where Jacob and the Huskies competed again the best teams in Europe, including the top teams from Italy and the Netherlands.
What makes this story even more special, is that Jacob was a bit of a gamble to bring in as an import since he had not competed since graduating in 2018. In order for teams to roll the dice on someone who hasn't competed in that long and whom they haven't ever seen play firsthand, they need to have something special within their BBJO profile. So aside from coming from a big D1 school, what was it about Jacob that caught their eye?????
It was his coaching experience.
Ever since graduating he had been coaching at the junior college level and the Huskies were in the market for someone to help coach at their academy.
Bringing over import players who bring a coaching element has always been a theme with clubs in the low to mid leagues in Europe, or the teams at the bottom of say France or Germany, but the trend we are starting to see is that coaching is becoming more and more a part of the profile of many of our members who sign overseas with some of the top clubs or in top leagues.
Seattle University alumna, Lisa Maulden, first took her career overseas in 2015 and never looked back. Her first few seasons overseas were in lower leagues including the Belgian second division and Hungarian Softball League before moving up the ranks to higher-level leagues such as the Dutch Golden League, Premiere Women's league in New Zealand, and the Italian Series A. However, it never dawned on Lisa that she would ever play in the Japanese Softball League, which is a pure professional softball league and considered by some, the best women's softball in the world. Lisa is about to enter her third season in Japan in 2022 and sits down for this interview with us from her apartment in Japan where she lives year-round. She shares her experiences on and off the field and advises others on how to go about playing there and what to expect.
In my previous two podcast interviews with Bryan Ruby, he was not openly gay. Since our last interview, Bryan has come out and is now the only known active, openly gay professional baseball player in the world. His coming out was not just within his friend and family circle but on a national stage when his story was featured on the front page of the sports section of U.S.A. Today and at Dodgers Stadium when announced prior to singing the national anthem this past fall.
In this episode, Bryan talks about his fear of jeopardizing his career as a professional baseball player and a country music singer and songwriter by coming out. He also talks about his struggles as a closeted gay baseball player growing up. Although Bryan shy's away from all of the attention, he decided to use it to help broadcast an organization he started to help others athletes in the LGBTQ community titled ProudToBeInBaseball.
https://baseballjobsoverseas.com/ In this second interview with our globetrottin', country-music-singin', pro baseball player, Bryan Ruby, we talk about his experience playing winter ball in Guatemala in the fall/early winter of 2020 during the midst of a second COVID-19 wave and the Mavericks League in Oregon during the summer of 2021. This interview takes place two-thirds of the way through his 2021 season with the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes and shortly after Bryan's life was turned upside down, resulting in a feature of Bryan on the cover of the sports section of USA Today. Make sure to mark January 3rd, 2022 on your calendar as the date we publish our third interview with Bryan where he tells that story.
https://baseballjobsoverseas.com/ Ryan "RJ" Johnson is a player in high demand overseas for a number of reasons and is currently living in the Czech Republic year-round as an import for a club that is on the rise. The former American Association pitcher has re-invented himself as a high-level two-way player overseas and it is paying off as quoted below from the interview.
"I said make me an offer I can't refuse and they said 'here's our offer' and I went 'Oh boy!' The money is nice, don't get me wrong, but it was the coaching aspect and being here full time that was the low-hanging fruit."
Lindsay and Nicole Thomas took their twin pitcher-catcher act overseas in 2017, one year after graduating from UNC Greensboro where they were both standout players. A year into NCAA D1 coaching careers, both girls made the decision to put their coaching careers on hold and sign together to play in Vienna, Austria. Their international careers snowballed from there, both as a pair and as individuals. The girls continue to play overseas while doubling as virtual Mental Performance Coaches, a business they started together during the early days of the pandemic.
Episode notes:
Training Untamed Instagram handle: @training_untamed
Correction: Sarah Edwards’ email is s.edwards@softballjobsoverseas.com
Pennsylvania-born Bryan Ruby is a baseball player and country music songwriter who has traveled the world playing baseball while continuing with his career in music. Bryan's passion for country music was behind his decision to pass up a D1 baseball scholarship in order to study and play closer to Nashville, the mecca of country music. Bryan eventually wrapped up his college career at a D3 school in upstate New York in 2019 before taking his career overseas. In one of his final college games, Bryan played all 9 positions in a single game and it is this versatility combined with a little networking savviness that led to playing baseball in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Chile and Peru within his first year overseas. In this interview, Bryan talks about his European jet-setting baseball experience and springboarding that adventure to join a crew of international baseball players on a South American baseball journey. Bryan also provides some great tips on how he utilized his first overseas experience to draw in multiple offers and further his off-the-field career.
Best known for his unique Tomahawk delivery, former MLB pitcher and Baseball Jobs Overseas member Josh Collmenter talks about his baseball career starting from his childhood, through college, leading to his MLB debut and then overseas to New Zealand.
We talk about who is influencers were along the way, his "Tomahawk" delivery, making it to the MLB with a sub-90 mph fastball, his MLB debut experience, advice to his younger self and current aspiring pitchers, his experience in New Zealand and the Australian Baseball League, his future plans and much more.
After the summer of 2000 playing baseball in Vienna, Austria, Canadian baseball player Nick DeForest decided to forgo his final two years of college baseball eligibility and make Vienna his home. Twenty years later, Nick sits down to tell his story on the IBC podcast including what career in Austria he ended up in and how BBJO founder David Burns and Nick’s first encounter ended up on the front page of the Vienna newspaper.
In this episode, we hear the story of two corner infielders/ power-hitters from two different corners of the U.S. who first met in 2019 on a softball field in Austria as import players, leading their new team to the Austrian Softball League Championships. Brittany McGuire (Florida Gulf Coast University) hit a clutch, come-from-behind grand slam late in game 1 of the best-of-three semi-final series against the reigning champs, while Kailyn Campbell (Central Washington University) hit for the cycle in game 2 of the series en route to securing the sweep. The duo were the only two imports for the Wr. Neustadt Crazy Chicklets in 2019, so Brittany had to assume the role as a two-way player, despite not having pitched in college. Despite the lack of imported collegiate level pitching, the 3-4 combo of Kailyn and Brittany brought a much-needed 1-2 punch to the offense of a young Chicklets team, a team based in a small town of approximately 43,000 which is located about 30 minutes outside of Vienna, Austria. This was Kailyn’s second season as the Chicklets import, and she welcomed the protection in the lineup that Brittany brought, which was missing in 2018. Although very similar in what they bring to the table as a softball player, this single season experience will be a different moment in their softball career scrapbook. For Brittany, this was a one-and-done experience as she moves on to pursue a coaching career in the U.S. whereas, for Kailyn, this second season overseas is just one of many more to come.
baseballjobsoverseas.com/ New York native Ryan Rupp did not play college baseball but took advantage of his dual citizenship with Austria to get his foot in the door in second division Austria in 2013.
From there, he worked hard on his craft and in 2017 he won the Best Pitcher award and his second championship in the first division of Austria with the Attnang Athletics. He also became one of the go-to starters for the Austrian national team. In 2019 he won his third Austrian championship, this time with his new team, the Dornbirn Indians.
In recent years, as Ryan approached the age of 30, he struggled with the pressure to start a career off the field and leave baseball behind. He found himself in New York, unhappy and with extreme bouts of anxiety.
In this interview, we discuss how he was able to get through that, and the steps he is taking now to enjoy his summers of baseball while also progressing off of the field.
Some of the topics discussed in this episode include:
The different path of his baseball career and how he was able to develop into the pitcher he is today despite no college or professional experience. Finding success with the Austrian National Team and in the first Austrian division alongside teammate/coach and founder David Burns. How to continue to be in demand even when your numbers are not the best. How to switch from the anxiety and pressure that comes with starting a career and leaving baseball behind to doing what you love while also progressing off of the field.
https://baseballjobsoverseas.com/ In this episode of the International Baseball Community Podcast, I hop on a call with club representatives from around Europe to discuss the current status of the Coronavirus in their country, the effect it has had on their baseball seasons thus far, and any further insight into when the seasons could possibly start.
Specifically, I speak with Scotty of Korlarka Praha (Czech Extraliga), Eric of the Bonn Capitals (German Bundesliga), Mauro of T&A San Marino (Italian Series A), David of the Metz Cometz (French First Division), Trevor of the Stockholm Monarchs (Swedish Elite Series), Ron of Neptunus Rotterdam (Dutch Major League A.K.A. Honbal Hoofdklasse) and Andreas of the Attnang Athletics (Baseball League Austria).
David Burns and Jimmy Jensen from Baseball Jobs Overseas discuss how to position yourself for success in receiving offers from clubs overseas and once signed, how to make the most of that opportunity to further your career. This episode is particularly beneficial to those players who have yet to play professional baseball and are looking overseas as a career option but are still looking to play at the highest level possible.
https://baseballjobsoverseas.com/ After a lustrous career as an international import player and coach, Owen Reid decided to go to work for himself as an International Baseball Consultant and Mobile baseball coach. Now settled and based in Singapore, Owen has now traveled to five different continents and 21 countries as a baseball coach including some very unknown baseball markets such as the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, and Kyrgyzstan.
His international baseball story began back in 2009, when fresh out of college, Owen signed on with the Vienna Wanderers in Austria as an import player. This led to his first gig as a youth coach the following winter in New Zealand, then in 2010 as a player-coach with another team in Austria, eventually settling in Australia from 2010 through 2014. It is in Australia where Owen's international coaching career really began to take shape after playing and coaching with three different teams, assuming a role with the Perth Heat in player development and then as their operations and marketing manager. It was also in Australian where Owen met his wife, who continues to fully support his international baseball endeavours to-date.
The couple moved to Singapore in 2014 when Owen landed an Operations job at a major training facility, where he led a staff of coaches and rubbed shoulders with the likes of Albert Pujos and Augie Garrido.
In 2016 Owen found that his passions were no longer in line with his role at the facility, and this is where he found himself at a crossroads in his career, unsure what he wanted to do next, but knew it was in coaching. This is when Owen decided to take a risk and start Reid Baseball and market himself to the baseball world as a mobile coach and international baseball consultant. This role encompasses a number of different services including one on one-on-one coaching, coaching small groups, running specialized clinics, working with and creating training programs and curriculums for teams or leagues, coach education, building academies and mental conditioning.
The highlights of his international baseball endeavours include coaching in Dhaka, Bangladesh where he had to take a rickshaw from where he was staying through the dirty, crowded and polluted streets to the school where he was coaching or when he went to Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia to coach a group of kids on a small soccer field tucked in between two enormous rock formations which as he described '"ooked like out of a movie."
Some of the takeaways for baseball people from all different aspects of the game including how to:
-Open these doors and build your resume -Build your own baseball brand and found his own post-playing career baseball path -Connect with organizations around the globe -Work with kids of various groups sizes who don't speak English
https://baseballjobsoverseas.com/ American born and Wofford College alum, Eric Brenk, has been living and playing baseball in Germany since obtaining his dual citizenship in 2014, only 4 months after graduating from college. Eric not only helped bring home a championship for his Bonn Capitals in 2018, he has also been a major player for the German National Team, most recently at the 2019 European Championships, a stepping stone tournament to the 2020 Olympic Qualifier.
Less than an hour from Cologne, Eric lives year-round in Bonn where he is heavily involved in baseball and is currently working for an international company after obtaining his masters in Germany.
In this episode, Eric and BBJO founder David Burns discuss the application process for dual citizenship and how having dual citizenship has benefited Eric from a baseball and life standpoint. We also dive into the lifestyle and quality of life when living and playing baseball in Germany.
http://www.baseballjobsoverseas.com There are a large number of baseball players overseas these days looking to take their career overseas with a large variety of backgrounds. Those who may not have the strongest of backgrounds or the strongest of stats, may have to take matters into their own hands to get their foot in the door. Dave and Jimmy tackle that topic in this episode.
The Australian Baseball League has made huge strides in recent years, with the expansion to include a team from Korea and New Zealand in 2018 as well as the signings of former MLB players such Josh Collmenter, Gift Ngoepe and Pete Kozma. The league also featured Japanese NPB stud pitcher Shota Imanaga and some of Europe's top talent in Markus Solbach (GER), Alex Maestri (ITL), and Dwayne Kemp (NED) who all had standout seasons. Rounded out with a number of young affiliated players, top indy pro players, and top Australian talent, you have a very unique professional league that more and more professional players are looking to as a winter option.
With that being said, we at Baseball Jobs Overseas receive a lot of inquiries from players wanting to play in the ABL. In this episode, David and Jimmy discuss what it takes to sign in the ABL, and how some players have worked their way into the Australian Baseball League through the state leagues in the past and have gone on to sign affiliated contracts.
This episode provides content relevant to any player at any stage in their career who is considering Australia as a winter option, whether a college grad, released professional or current professional.
http://www.baseballjobsoverseas.com Jimmy Jensen went from cut from his high school baseball team, to All-American, to men's league baseball before he decided to give overseas a try. Little did he know that signing his first overseas contract in 2015 would change his life forever in multiple ways. List to part two of his story, continuing where we left off at the end of his first season on IBC Podcast episode 67
http://www.baseballjobsoverseas.com Baseball New Zealand CEO Ryan Flynn returns for the third time, this time to provide an update on the exciting times going on in the world of baseball in New Zealand, in particular the new Australian Baseball League professional franchise team based in Auckland. Some of the topics discussed in this episode are:
Growth of baseball in New Zealand in recent years New Australian Baseball League franchise team, the Auckland Tuatara and what the name means Signing of Josh Collmenter through Baseball Jobs Overseas and the impact of having a marquee player and MLB vet such as Josh on board Opportunity for imports with the Auckland Tuatara (ABL Franchise) and the new ABL roster point system Anticipated growth of baseball New Zealand and how import players and coaches will play a role at the club level Baseball Jobs Overseas role with future importing to New Zealand
In this interview with professional pitcher Arik Sikula, he speaks of his experiences both in Australia and Colombia pitching in the winter and why these experiences helped him improve as a pitcher and an athlete.
Three years ago on IBC Podcast Episode #26 I interviewed Zak Colby who was fresh off of his first season playing independent professional baseball in Japan in the Shikoku Island League. Zak has continued to play there working his way into a foreign recruitment role for the whole league while playing for the Kochi Fighting Dragons. His biggest signing to date was Manny Ramirez who he signed to play for the Fighting Dragons for the 2017 season, to hit fourth behind Zak in the lineup.
In this episode Zak tells us all about the league, the recruitment process and what they look for in an import, and finally, the signing of and playing alongside Manny Ramirez.
Recently one of the top pitchers in independent professional baseball decided to give up the lifestyle that comes with playing pro baseball in the U.S., which he said he loves, in order to play club baseball in the Czech Republic which play mostly on weekends. Sound crazy?
Soon to be 30 years old, Tim Brown has been playing professional baseball for 8 years now and while still at the top of his game, has decided to play baseball in Europe in 2017.
"At this point, I just want to travel and see the world and this is the perfect way to do it," when asked why he has given up the lifestyle of the independent professional baseball player for European baseball which plays on weekends.
Tim Brown has had a very successful U.S. independent professional baseball career which includes a no-hitter in the Frontier League. In fact, his multiple seasons of a sub 3.00 era had him labeled in a 2015 article as "One of the best pitchers in independent professional baseball history."
Tim claims that a big part of his success comes from playing baseball in Australia during the winter for the past five years which allowed him to face live hitters year-round.
In this episode, Tim walks us through his decision to use overseas baseball to develop his game while also using it as a tool to see the world. He also provides great insight from the perspective of a professional player playing the game in a completely different environment.
http://www.baseballjobsoverseas.com/e68 Daniel Catalan had a successful college career playing with Holy Name University where hit a very respectable .282 and a very nice OBP in his senior year of .410. He also led HNU in triples in both his seasons there and did not commit a single error in the outfield.
Like many talented college graduates, professional teams did not come knocking on his door. So he gave overseas baseball a try and signed up for a profile at the International Baseball Community website. Weeks went by and crickets. Why? Why are overseas clubs also not interested? Daniel surely has a lot to bring to the table and could definitely do well in any league Europe has to offer. The number 1 reason why: he is an outfielder, the position in least demand overseas.
In this interview Daniel explains how he earned a spot playing on a club from one of the most visiting cities in Europe, Barcelona and following that how he got to play in the South American Baseball Championship in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
http://www.baseballjobsoverseas.com Overseas professional import Jimmy Jensen tells his story how he made his way up from cut from his high school baseball team travelling the world playing baseball.
Josh Wyant grew up playing baseball in North Carolina and was never the standout player but always had a passion for the game and worked hard at getting better. He was a three sport athlete between cross country, baseball and swimming and as college grew closer, he was told his best shot was at running.
In his senior year of high school he moved to a new high school and was given the opportunity to improve himself to the level he needed through a coach who did more for him in that one season than any other coach in his life, Coach Pete Hardee. Between Josh's hard work and dedication and Coach Hardee's guidance, he was able to pursue a college baseball career with stops at Winston Salem State,Wilkes Community College and LeMoyne Owen College. Although these college baseball programs were within some of the lowest ranked conferences in NCAA baseball, Josh was able to put up some good numbers, even when playing some of the top schools in the nation during non conference games.
"Never in my life was I a highly recruited player so I basically made the decision to go overseas as soon as I heard about it," replied Josh when asked about why he decided to play overseas. "I was well aware pro ball was never going to be an option for me and if I was going to keep playing baseball after college I was going to have to make my own opportunities just like I had done for college."
During the fall of his senior year (2013) of college baseball Josh heard about the option to play in Europe after stumbling upon the IBC website while doing some research and signed up without even thinking much about it. However to Josh's surprise, within a few weeks he had emails from clubs from five different countries about coming to play.......
In 1995 Ryan Schurman was a 10th round draft pick of the Atlanta Braves. Twenty years later he is married with a baby boy and living in Germany and coaches cricket. Ryan is another remarkable story of how playing baseball overseas can not only be a way of extending a playing career, but also a life changing experience.
In 2012, Tanner Leighton, the #4 ranked NAIA prospect in the country from The Masters College in California, was one of many players in the independent ball system who had been in contact with scouts during his college tenure, yet had no luck come June. After a season of Independent ball, playing with both the Washington Wild Things and London Rippers, Leighton went to play winter ball in Australia for the Melville Braves of Perth. Tanner then spent the 2013 summer season playing with the Solingen Alligators of the German Bundesliga before signing again to play a second season in Australia. However, Tanner was pulled aside by Australian customs officials upon his return and spent two days in a detention centre as he did not have the proper visa to return for a second year. The end result was a three year ban from Australia which left Tanner without an baseball option for the next three winters.
Tanner returned to Germany for a second season with the Alligators, this time leading them to a German Championship. While in Germany, he spoke to another import in Germany who also had been through the same experience in Australia when also entering without a proper visa. This is when he learned of South Africa as a good winter option and he soon found himself in touch with the Durbanville Villains of Cape Town, a club that is known for importing players out of the German Bundesliga.
This interview took place in the during the 2015-2016 South African season and Tanner's second season with the Villians. Tanner tells his story and also answers a lot of questions about baseball in South Africa.
Will Thorp grew up playing baseball in British Columbia, Canada where he also started his college career at a local junior college. After a successful freshman year, he earned a chance to play at Lewis-Clark State College, one of the top NAIA baseball programs. In 2014, upon graduating from LC, Will decided to hang up his cleats.
"I had finished up college on a rough note. My 4 years at LC taught me a ton about myself, how to handle situations, how to look at the game in a complete different view and be a warrior. Unfortunately I could never prove myself to the coaches offensively and had minimal ABs in my years there."
Will did what many young western Canadians do, give in to the temptation to earn big bucks and went to work in the oil rigs up north. With not much to do other than work and sleep over the course of a few months, Will had plenty of time to dream about baseball. It is thus no surprise that without hesitation Will jumped on an opportunity presented to him by an old teammate to go play baseball in Australia with the Northern Districts Reds.
For the 2015-2016 winter season, there were a total of nine IBC members sign contracts in the Capital Territory State League based in Canberra, Australia. This is one of six state leagues in Australia that regularly import baseball players from abroad.
This interview is with Graham Vickers, the president of the Ainslie Bears, a club who have utilized the website to import players over the past couple of seasons. Here is an earlier interview from 2015 with Andrew Medeiros, an IBC member and former Ainslie Bear from the 2014-2015 season. Between the two interviews you can get a good idea of what the life of a baseball import to Canberra may be like on and off the field.
Sam Siddall is a graduate from the Midland University (NAIA) where he spent three years as a relief pitcher with limited action. Post college, in 2013, he was playing in a mens league in Alberta, Canada when a friend presented him with an opportunity to coach youth in Australia after receiving the opportunity himself and having to decline. Sam had some coaching experience but no experience as a head coach at the time. He jumped on the opportunity and soon found himself in Adelaide, Australia with the Northern Districts Reds coaching the U17 and U15 teams while playing for their second division mens team.....
After finishing up the 2010 season with Almere and Hamburg and achieving his long term goal of pitching the Dutch Head Class, Boomer was undecided what to do about his baseball career and was leaning towards focusing on finishing law school and getting a job. After back-to-back years with no offseason and pitching 7-9 innings every start, his arm definitely needed a rest.
However during the 2010 summer while on break from pitching in Holland, Boomer visited a girl living in Budapest (Hungary) whom he met while in Italy. While visiting her, he looked up baseball in Budapest online and found a local club of which he contacted by email with the help of his friend as a translator. They invited him out to practice and Boomer soon found himself practicing with grown men at a level he had never seen before, which was an interesting experience in itself and an eye opener. The Hungarians were immediately amazed as they had never seen anything close to a mid to upper 80's fastball and said to Boomer that they "would be honoured to have a chance to try and hit him." Boomer obliged and proceeded to mow them down throwing at about 75% velocity. Soon after they offered him a job to coach the national team for the following year but Boomer did not take the offer too seriously at the time because he was still playing for Almere and had not thought that far ahead about his playing career.......
In IBC episode 58, Justin "Boomer" Prinstein walked us through the beginning of his international professional baseball story which was a wild one with lots of ups and downs with stops in Belgium and Israel. This was all in the span of one season as well. He returned home for only a month before committing to the Southern Districts Hawks of the South Australian Baseball League for second half of the 2007-2008 winterball season. He arrived at the beginning of December, well into their season, just in time to qualify for the playoffs. However he had to play one miserable inning after being on a journey for 45 hours just to make this qualifying game.
Luckily for Boomer, he had the next month off as the league went on break for Christmas. This gave him time to adjust to the time zone and settle into Adelaide with his new family, the Crabbs, home to his Aussie teammate and roommate Adam from the Israel Baseball League.
Boomer took full advantage of the month off and did a lot of travelling in South Australia, enjoyed the wine that the province is famous for and managed to meet an Australian model by simply using his Detroit accent. "You don't need to be a good looking guy or even a professional baseball player, if you just have an accent in Australia as an American, it seems to do wonders for you. I was definitely batting out of my league there, " said Boomer of his good fortune, something that was rare in his overseas adventures up to this point in his story.
More stories at: http://www.baseballjobsoverseas.com Justin "Boomer" Prinstein has been involved in baseball overseas since he first came to Europe in 2006 as an import pitcher. The former George Washington University pitcher his junior and senior years in the shadows of some of his teammates. In fact, half of his team from his junior year were drafted. He was a bit undersized (5'11") and his high 80's fastball was figured to be maxed out as far as scouts were concerned.
In 2006, upon graduation, the assistant coach at GW and former international player brought it to Boomer's attention that overseas would be a good option for him. Boomer's mind frame back then was to just "Keep playing somewhere and something good will happen", after witnessing players close to his level at pro tryouts get signed and work their way up to the AAA level.
With the help of his former coach, Boomer sent his resume out to numerous clubs in Europe and received a number of offers. He decided to accept an offer from a Belgium club because financially it was the better offer and it was close to the Netherlands and the Dutch Major League, his longer term goal.
At this point of his life, Boomer had never travelled outside North America and did not know what to expect. In fact, little was communicated between him and the club as this pre-dates Facebook, Skype and any other form of popular communication available today. The club, who will be left un-named, was also a little uninformed of Boomer's background and who he was as a person. "I thought you were taller," were the first words that Boomer heard from the club representative who picked him up from the airport. This was probably the first red flag that this club may not be for him.
More international baseball stories at: http://www.baseballjobsoverseas.com The Euro League Baseball (ELB) is a new professional baseball league in Europe set to launch in 2016. There has been a lot of hype over the league during the offseason as players and imports anticipate something that has a lot of potential to be great. As the new year rings in and spring training is approaching fast, there are many rumours circulating about if the league will actually launch in 2016 and if so, how many of the 10 teams are actually going to move forward with it.
CEO Wim van den Hurk has been searching high and low for a major sponsor to help subsidize the expenses that will be incurred by the teams involved. At this point, there is no major title sponsor. In a meeting in late November with the owners of the ELB and the managers of the clubs involved, it was discussed if they can proceed given the lack of a major sponsor. Estimated costs were outlined and strategies were discussed and all clubs were given time to meet with their own board to determine if their participation is feasible.
This interview with van den Hurk clears up where exactly the ELB stands at this point in early 2016 while also discussing the option of other clubs in Europe entering the league in the future.
After listening, I ask you all to please share this on Facebook so we can get Wim's message to as many ears as possible in hopes of securing more financial support for the league. Also, please, please comment so we get some dialogue going on how to make this league successful.
With all the violence that has taken place in France as of late, I can understand why someone may be hesitant to consider playing baseball there in 2016. However, when considering the alternative of staying and playing in the U.S. (for most of you), is France really any more dangerous? The U.S. by far dominates international headlines with regards to violent shootings, so why not take your career over to Europe? My ignorant impression from the outside as a Canadian living in Europe is that you are just as likely to come across senseless acts of violence or terrorism in the U.S. as you are in France. In the end, I guess the question we should ask ourselves is, "Should I allow the acts of terrorists to change my path in life or pass up on opportunities such as travelling the globe while playing baseball?" Only you can answer that for yourself but I know what my answer is and I am pretty sure what these guys would say.
Born in Montana, Kris Richards spent most of his life in North Carolina where he grew up playing baseball. After high school he remained in North Carolina as he signed on with the NCAA D1 University of North Carolina at Greensboro where he played ball from 2008 to 2012. In his senior year he hit .342 in what is regarded as one of the best college conferences in the country, the Southern Conference.
Richards was drafted by the Orioles where he spent two years as a shortstop in A ball before being converted to a pitcher at the age of 23. This quickly led to a elbow injury and a year on the sidelines recovering from Tommy John surgery. Upon recovery, Richards decided to not continue to chasing a career as a player, and turned his focus to coaching.
While coaching at an academy in North Carolina run by Mike Griffin, a former Czech National team coach, Richards was introduced to the possibility of jumpstarting a coaching career in the Czech Republic.
"I had no idea where the Czech Republic was to be honest with you. I still thought it was called Czechoslovakia."
Next thing he knew he was on his way to the Czech Republic in the winter of 2014-2015 with Griffin and his academy coaches and had the opportunity to experience the country before committing.
Born in Annemasse, France, Owen Ozanich at a young age moved to the U.S. where he grew up in South Burlington, Vermont. Like many boys his age growing up in the U.S., he fell in love with the game of baseball. He found success early on as a little leaguer as the winning pitcher of the New England state championship game that was televised on ESPN2. In high school this trend continued as he led the South Burlington Rebels to a 20-0 record and the Vermont State Championship. In the fall of 2007 Ozanich made the University of Vermont Catamounts (NCAA D1) as walk-on and appeared in 35 games over two seasons.
Upon graduating from college, he continued to play baseball in a men's league in Vermont before discovering that there is baseball in France and that he could use his dual citizen to jumpstart a career overseas. In 2011 he joined the top team in the French Elite League, the Rouen Huskies, and has been with them ever since as one of the league's top pitchers year-after-year. In 2011 McKenzie was a sophomore outfielder for a small community college in California before he was converted to pitcher for the state championship when his team was out of arms after taking the backdoor route to the championship. He went on to pitch a complete game victory in the championship and was named tournament MVP. From there McKenzie went on to a successful college career as a pitcher for Cal State Bakersfield where he won pitcher of the year both seasons he was there. In 2013, he was drafted in the 28th round by the Chicago White Sox and continued to find success that year in rookie ball as he posted a 4-0 record with an impressive 1.44 ERA in 25 innings pitched. In 2014 he bounced back and forth between rookie and A ball before being released. After being released and trying to decide what his next career move would be, McKenzie found himself questioning his passion for the game....
In IBC E53 I interview Cody Cain, founder of the Perfect Game Academy (UK), who is in search of quality player-coaches to come work at the academy while also playing baseball within the United Kingdom. The opportunity to travel Europe while coaching is also available and and strong possibility for the right candidates.
An American graduate of the Lewis and Clark College baseball program, Cody has been living and working in London off and on since the mid 90's. He has remained involved in baseball as a player and coach throughout his time in the UK and has most recently launched a baseball academy in 2014. As someone who has been heavily involved in UK baseball for 20 years, Cody has the right connections and has built a reputation as a knowledgeable baseball person. Now as his primary focus and employment, the academy has become exactly quite successful and is growing rapidly. He now has "more work than he can handle" and is on the lookout for any coaches or preferably player-coaches who desire to come live and work in baseball within the UK.
Preferably candidates would have an EU passport and have played at a high level of baseball, but he is open to non-EU residents as well who have the proper baseball background and knowledge. Coaching experience is obviously preferred but young players fresh out of college who enjoy working with kids are also urged to contact him.
Growing up in Wessington Springs, South Dakota, Sam at a young age was fascinated with woodwork and had a talent for making things out of wood. One of his high school hobbies was carving formula one cars from the quarter scale drawings featured in Road & Track. It is an annual pursuit he still follows today.
He was also heavily involved in sports including football, basketball, track and field, and sporadically baseball. He had no idea it was the latter sport that he would eventually have a huge impact on. However first he spent 22 years as a stagehand for the National Arts Centre before finding his true calling of producing baseball's first maple bat.
Growing up in Southern California, Clayton Carson had the regular baseball dreams and aspirations that any young kid would have. Coming from a good baseball family and community, he had the opportunity to make the most out of the game of baseball. In college he jumped around from a few different colleges before settling in with San Diego State University under the helm of MLB great Tony Gwynn in 2005. Clayton played third base and shortstop for Gwynn and led the team in base hits and RBIs after 13 games before undergoing a career ending second back surgery. Clayton turned his focus to coaching and international baseball which has lead him on a path to remember.
Since I arrived on the baseball scene in Europe in 2004, there have been two American names that seem to keep popping up wherever I go, Ty Erikson and Justin (Boomer) Prinstein. I didn't know much about either but it was apparent these two were well connected within European baseball circles.
I learned more about Ty in 2013 when his travel baseball team from the U.S. came to play at Finkstonball, our international tournament in Austria. They were called the International Game and they consisted of aspiring professional players who had paid their way to Europe to travel and play various European clubs over a two week period in hopes of getting picked up and at the very least develop some contacts for the future. It was at Prague Baseball Week that Ty told me about another project that him and Boomer are involved in, an annual college showcase in the U.S. for young European talent. A passion project of theirs which began in Florida in 2013 and then Washington DC in 2014, will now be held in Pheonix Arizona in early October 2015.
Andrew Medeiros was a standout in his NCAA III conference as a speedy catcher who hit for average with power for Westfield State College. After an all to familiar story of a talented player slipping through the pro baseball cracks in the U.S. Andrew decided to start looking for a 9-5 job. Before he really even got started looking, a friend told him about the International Baseball Community website and Andrew threw up a profile immediately and contacted me. Within two weeks he was on a plane to Canberra, Australia to play for the Ainslie Bears in the Capital Territory State League.
Currently there are two professional baseball leagues in Europe, the Dutch Hoofdklasee and the Italian Baseball League, both of which struggle to get fans out and the latter known for it's financial troubles. The rest of European baseball is amateur but operate in a semi-professional manner and the majority of these clubs bring in 1-3 foreign players professionally. With that being said, some of the top clubs in the better amateur leagues in Europe measure up well in European Cup competition against the clubs from Italy and Holland. Also, some of these clubs such as Regensburg Legionaere (Germany) and Draci Brno (Czech Republic) do quite well financially and bring in a decent fan base.
With European baseball struggling to establish itself as a popular sport, it is the belief of Jan Maartin Kops and Wim van den Hurk that a new continental Europe professional league could be just the answer that European baseball needs. Both gentlemen have taken on this initiative and recently founded the Euro League Baseball (ELB) in hopes of a launch in 2016. Kops is the founder and creator of Collegiate Baseball League Europe (CBLE), the only collegiate baseball league in Europe. With his experience starting a league from the ground up combined with van den Hurk's connections and experience organizing a European big league tour which saw major league players give free clinics to kids across Europe, the ELB has a fighting chance.
Alex Lee grew up just outside of Boston attended Wofford College (NCAA D1) in South Carolina where he played baseball for the Terriers and graduated with a business degree in 2011. An injury in his senior year left him with little options to continue his post college baseball career so Lee decided to pursue a coaching career once he realized that a regular 9-5 office job was not for him.
After moving around the U.S. for various coaching jobs, Lee was presented with an opportunity to play and coach baseball in Austria in 2014 through a friend of his that had done the same the previous year. The Tulln Ravens hired Lee to coach all ages from the men's teams to all three youth teams. He also played on the Ravens top men's team which play in the Regional League East, which is Austrian third division baseball.
Jaz Shergill first contacted me in September 2014 looking to take his career overseas to Australia for the winter, with a goal of getting on with a club in the Australian Baseball League (ABL). At the time, the Eastern New Mexico University grad had already attempted to play Indy ball in the states but struggled to find clubs who will sign him, largely due to the fact that he was Canadian which comes along with visa complications. He went on to play a summer of semi-pro baseball in the InterCounty Baseball League (IBL) in his native land of Canada before he decided that he needed to look overseas to pursue his dream of playing pro ball.
With a good sinking fastball hovering between 88-91, I knew that Shergill had the ability to play in the ABL, but to get directly into the ABL especially that close to the beginning of the season, would be a difficult task.
Knowing this, I advised Shergill that we should try and get him on with a state league club (second division) by offering to fund his own flight and work, thus freeing him up contractually to play with an ABL club should the opportunity arise. He was on board with the plan so the next step was to find him a club.
Almost immediately he received some interest from the Redcliffe Padres of the Queensland State League, who offered him accommodations with a host family and a job as a doorman making $22 AUS an hour. Shergill jumped on this opportunity and within two weeks of our first communication, he was on a flight headed for Australia.
Shergill hit the ground running as he immediately reached out to the Brisbane Bandits of the the Australian Baseball League to inquire about the possibility of trying out as a walk on. His emails, however, went unanswered but from a distance the Bandits were watching as he pitched in his first outing for the Padres. It was when Shergill pitched in a scrimmage game with the state league all-stars against the Bandits when he finally caught his break as he impressed former big leaguer, Bandits GM and Aussie baseball legend Dave Nilsson who then made him an offer to play for the Bandits shortly after.
Every year more and more aspiring professional baseball players decide to take their career abroad. Those that are fortunate enough to find a job overseas have not only extended their career, but have enjoyed experiencing a part of the world that they may otherwise not have seen. The majority of these players spend a season, possibly two, overseas and then hang them up. A few, however, take full advantage of this opportunity and ride the overseas baseball wave as far as possible.
A few names come to mind when I think of international baseballers who have used baseball as their ticket to see the world. However one name stands out the most in terms of baseball and travel.
Owen Reid first signed a professional contract with a baseball club overseas in 2009 and never looked back. His journey has taken him on somewhat of a world tour which includes side trips to nearby countries while abroad for baseball. In November, 2014 I wrote this blog post that summarizes his international baseball experience from 2009-2015.
This interview with Owen elaborates on his story as he shares detail about his amazing adventure, but also provides plenty of tips on how other aspiring professional baseball players and coaches can best use baseball as their ticket to see the world. He also goes in-depth about Australian baseball and the top destinations within for travelling baseball players.
To see and read more about Owen's adventure, visit his website at http://owenworldwide.com/.
Born and raised in the windy city, Chris Michals played shortstop for a community college in Chicago named Oakton. In 2007, his freshman year, he was overridden by a division 1 transfer and often found himself on the bench as a platoon infielder, despite putting up good numbers. He decided at that point to leave the team and focus on school only to return in 2010. Upon finding that the team was lacking in pitching and talent was still deep in the infield, he quickly taught himself how to pitch. To the shock of his coaches and teammates, Michals not only made the starting rotation, he went 7-0 that season and only had one no-decision on route to leading his team to the 2010 Sectional Championship, sending Oakton Community College to it's first final four in school history.
Post college Michals took a job as a baseball instructor. While at work, he discovered the opportunity to play baseball in Europe through a fellow instructor who had just returned from a stint playing pro ball in Slovakia. Michals was at first skeptical about the idea of playing baseball in Slovakia but after a few months he found himself intrigued and soon signed a contract to play with the Trnava Angels of Slovakia for the upcoming 2012 season.
Mauro Mazzotti has been a manager in Italian baseball since 1987 since the age of 28 and is the only manager to win championships with three different clubs in the Italian Baseball League. Most recently he won three straight titles in 2011, 2012, and 2013 as the general manager of T&A San Marino, a huge accomplishment in a league where the championship usually changes hands every year.
Known for recruiting baseball’s secret weapons the Caribbean and Latin America, this accomplished scout for the Baltimore Orioles sheds a lot of light on the importing of foreign players to the Italian Baseball League. He elaborates on where he finds his players, how many Americans are imported to the IBL, what their backgrounds are, how much they are paid, and his thought process behind importing. I don't let him off the hook easy as I poke and pry to extract as much information as possible on import regulations, visa issues, etc.
As an un-drafted graduate of a small NAIA school, Mark Boyer was not getting a lot of opportunities to continue his playing career until he set his sights on third division Germany. Being a true utility guy, he knew he could help a small club in more way than one, and when combined with some coaching experience at the high school and college level, he could be an asset to a club's youth program as well.
Like any aspiring professional player, Boyer desired to play the highest level of baseball possible, but was aware that he may first have to prove himself at a lower level of baseball like the German third division in order to make a name for himself overseas. Boyer got his chance with Ingolstadt Schanzer, a club from Bavaria, Germany, home of Oktoberfest.
After rushing back from Tommy John surgery for his senior year, Noah Shaw was unable to pitch like he once could. He thought his baseball career was over until he discovered the International Baseball Community website.
Rob Herrmann tells his story of being overlooked and underrated within professional baseball in the U.S.A. and how he has built a successful career overseas. He has now played in Australia, Germany and France.
34 year-old Kieran Mattison spent nine years playing baseball professionally in the U.S. reaching as high as AAA within the Cleveland Indians organization. The big 6' 205 lb righty amassed an ERA of 4.12 over the course of his tenure in professional baseball which also saw stints with the Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Dodgers and in independent baseball.
In 2013 Mattison decided to go back to school to get his masters degree and set his sights on Schiller International University - Paris to get the international experience. After speaking with his brother who is now a resident of France since coming over to play professional American Football in 2001, Kieran decided to approach the Paris University Baseball Club (PUC) to see if he can get on in a coaching role and perhaps earn a little extra money while studying.
In October 2013, Jeff Barto decided to get an early start contacting clubs in Europe for the 2014 season. The NCAA division one grad from the Utah Valley University had a number of opportunities quickly pop up soon after creating a profile on the International Baseball Community website. After exchanging a few emails with about 8 different clubs, his inbox dried up and all leads fizzled up. Just before the new year and right around the time when Barto starting wonder if he was going to get another opportunity, a club from second Division Austria made him an offer and he jumped on it. Second division Austria was not the ideal level of competition, but Jeff knew it was a chance for him to harness his coaching skills and get his foot into professional baseball overseas.
Upon arriving in Austria, Barto was whisked off to Florence, Italy, where the team spent a long weekend for spring training. When the season finally rolled around, Barto and his young squad found themselves at the top of the standings early on. The drastic level of talent and age in the league was something new to Barto as he was surprised to find himself playing alongside a couple of 16 year olds. Eventually the inexperience of his team succumbed to a few of the more experienced clubs in the league who also had some talented imports on their roster, including former indy players out of the U.S. and Japan. The club managed to finish a respectable fourth and made strides in their development as a whole, absorbing the knowledge that Barto brought with him.
Barto enjoyed the benefit of living near the Alps near the border of Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and Germany. He also had the opportunity to play at one of Europe's largest international tournaments (Finkstonball) with a team formed of imports playing across Europe. Barto finished the tournament with an era of 0.00 and walked away with the best pitcher award. When asked about the tournament Barto referred to it as "A party with a little baseball".
Upon recording this interview in mid-August as the season in Austria was winding down, Barto announces that he has recently signed on to play winter ball in Perth, Australia. A foot in the door no doubt.
Late May 2014, Eric Brenk wrapped up his senior year at Wofford College, an NCAA I school from the Southern Conference, and had hit a very respectable .268 on the season and started every game in this final season. One era had come to an end and another was just about to begin, a journey that Eric was about to embark on would take him on an unforeseen path of playing on a national baseball team that does not dawn the red, white and blue that Eric had grown up routing for.
Two players from two different NCAA Division 1 backgrounds tell their stories of their summer in Germany playing for the same team. This is part 1 of a 2 part series due to an extraordinary twist that this experience has taken for one player.
After suffering shoulder problems and receiving surgery, University of Michigan pitcher Matt Broder found himself on the sidelines after being passed up by a number of independent clubs. Not willing to give up on his dream to play baseball, Matt decided to turn his focus towards clubs overseas. Within days of creating a profile on the International Baseball Community website, Matt had his first offer and he jumped on it. Within a week he was on his way to play in Germany.
A month into Broder's stint in Germany, Eric Brenk wrapped up his college career at the NCAA D1 school of Wofford College in South Carolina. Brenk knew early in his senior year that he probably wasn't going to get drafted but wanted to continue his baseball career post college. He did his research early and come May, 2014 he found himself inking a contract to play in the German Bundesliga alongside Broder. In this episode, the two tell their story of playing baseball in Germany as well as in tournaments in Austria and the Czech Republic. Brenk's story has a remarkable twist which will be covered in part two of this two part interview.
Other features on this podcast -Mine Wood bat giveaway -Introduction of featured segment: The IBC Shoutout
Episode sponsor - Mine Woods Bats
This episode is a goldmine for pro baseball players as it offers detail on a Japanese independent pro baseball showcase and an opportunity to win a free Mine Wood Baseball Bat.
This episode introduces the first IBC podcast giveaway. Mine Wood Bats has stepped up to the plate for this giveaway by giving away one of their bats to a listener that answers six international baseball trivia questions correctly over the next six episodes. Those with 6 correct answers will have their name entered into a draw for the bat and have the bat shipped directly to their house. Each trivia question is injected randomly in a podcast episode so listeners will have to listen to me yak at least for a little bit.
In addition to numerous opportunities to see the world while playing professional baseball, there are opportunities to see the world and lend a helping hand to the less fortunate baseball markets around the globe. Organizations like the Kosovo Baseball Initiative and Baseball Without Borders do just that, provide lesser known baseball markets with the opportunity to learn the game and use the equipment that they otherwise do not have access to. Through these non-profit organizations, baseball players and coaches from around the world have the opportunity to travel to Kosovo, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Israel, Ecuador to share their knowledge of the game. It's time to sacrifice playing baseball at a higher level for the sake of helping the game grow in markets that need our help the most while also having the experience of a lifetime.
On the International Baseball Community website, there are nearly 100 member in the "walk-on" group, a group created for players and coaches who are willing to pay their flight overseas for a chance to play or coach on a team. With that being said, there are plenty of baseball destinations that would love to take on these players and coaches with open arms, particularly clubs at destinations mentioned in this podcast episode. The Bothasig Knights of South Africa are one of those clubs and in this episode I interview their head of marketing and long term member Patrick Stark. I also mentioned destinations throughout Europe that are actively seeking players who will pay their flight in exchange for accommodations and sometimes a food allowance.
I also introduce a concept in the works that I am putting together called the Import Exchange Program. This is somewhere between professional baseball and travel baseball. A number of clubs from around the world have contacted me seeking players who are willing to finance their way in exchange for a place to stay and sometimes a job or small food salary. This demand has led me to the idea of a arranging a cooperation between clubs from different countries who will combine their resources to support the trip of a player or coach who is willing to pay their flight over.
Another problematic situation in European baseball is the visa issue. Within the Schengen zone, a group of EU countries where a traveller can pass borders freely with a visitors visa, players can stay up to three months but then they have to leave. Some countries are more relaxed with this law and others are very strict, such as the Netherlands. Then there are countries in the EU that are not part of the Schengen zone which allow travellers to stay up to 6 months. I am currently exploring an import exchange cooperation between clubs who currently do not import because of either visa or budget issues that are inside and outside the Schengen zone. For example, a club with a budget in the Netherlands that does not import due to tough visitor laws, can provide the financial backing for a player to live while in Europe, while the club with no budget in England (outside the zone) provides that same player a job and housing in exchange for play.
Anther example, would be a club Spain on a low budget that can house you from March through May and provide an opportunity to earn a little money while playing baseball and coaching their youth. When the three months are up (visitor visa limit) the player can then fly out or take the train to a club in Ireland who put them up for 3-6 months and provide a job while playing baseball.
This program will take some time to build but the purpose of this episode is to get the word out there that if you have some cash flow, there are opportunities. If you are interested in being a part of the program, whether a club or a player, please email me with the subject heading "import exchange program" to d.burns@baseballjobsoverseas.com
Kevin Bosson spent the winter of 2013-2014 in Perth Australia with the South Perth Cubs living the dream and playing against the likes of IBC podcast episode 27 guest Jon Rodriguez and the Rockingham Rams. Right off the bat Kevin reaffirms what Jon said in episode 27, that the baseball in the Western Australian State League is quite high and more than one might expect. He also shares a comparison between the baseball in Western Australia to the ball in other parts of Australia where close friends of his have played. This can shed some light on those who seeking to play the strongest level of baseball possible in the land down under.
Kevin provides info on compensation as pro player, visas, the baseball schedule and the unreal lifestyle off the field.
Clayton Carson had a strong desire to take his career overseas and after being overlooked, he decided to take his fate in his own hands and buy a ticket to Europe with no job prospects on the horizon. Given that the 2014 season in Europe was well under way (late May), one would think his chances were slim to get picked up somewhere, especially given the fact that he has had three back surgeries and his best days of baseball were behind him. Clayton's first goal was to get on with a club as a coach who can play if needed. After visiting with clubs in the Netherlands, Germany and the Czech Republic, he found that there was simply no room for another import with most clubs at this time of the year. He then made his way to my neck of the woods in Austria for our annual invitational tournament Finksonball, a relaxed tournament/party for three days that features clubs from 10-12 different nations every year.
Clayton showed up, crashed on the couch, and took advantage of this opportunity. We got him a spot with the Polish national team for the tournament which allowed him to show off his baseball skills, and a spot on the grounds crew to show off his work ethic. He took advantage of both opportunities as he found himself leading the team in the stats department and off the field as a very likeable workhorse, both which left a lasting impression. Clayton did not stop there as he networked with as many people as he could while at the tournament. Part way through the tournament, it became known that a club in Austria's second division had a representative on the Austrian national team and he became aware of Clayton's availability. Within 24 hours Clayton signed a contract with the Hard Bulls and found himself living on the west side of Austria, right next to the Swiss, German and Lichtenstein borders.
The Bulls then turned their season around and made a run for the top as they tried to earn their way into Austria's first division for the 2015 season. They ended up a game short but in the end, the decision to bring Clayton on board paid off for both parties involved.
Clayton has most recently signed a contract with a club in Australia and will be flying out in the next month. Without taking this aggressive approach, Clayton most likely would not have found himself travelling the world year round, playing and coaching the game he loves.
An inspirational story to say the least, have a listen as I interview Clayton from the comforts of my house shortly after the Finkstonball tournament. At this point, he had no idea of the things he was about to accomplish.
The Pacific Coast Baseball League (PCBL) in New South Wales Australia is not the top level of baseball on the continent (in fact considered third division), however it presents plenty of opportunity for those who have yet to find a home for the winter.
PCBL league president Luis Almenara shares in detail what opportunities exist for the professional player seeking to take his career abroad to New South Wales (NSW) and the various leagues within the state. He also dives into the New South Wales State league, the Australian Baseball League, and the Sydney Metro League and the opportunities within them. On top of that, he elaborates on the differences between each league including the summer and winter leagues.
Luis also has a vast knowledge of Australian working visas and is more than happy to clarify the options foreign players have. He talks about working visas, student visas and options for those looking to stay longer term.
Lastly, Luis walks us through each NSW State League club, their name and where they are located geographically in the region.
From a strong NCAA D2 conference, Melvin played pro ball in Texas which eventually led to a role in the movie Moneyball. After Moneyball, Melvin had numerous independent baseball offers but decided to take his career overseas to experience other parts of the world and ended up in the Netherlands. Now, four years later, Melvin is still playing Dutch baseball and is heavily involved in youth development within the club.
Melvin shares a lot of information on the second Dutch division and the opportunities within and is also able to speak on the opportunities in the first division, Hoofdklasse a.k.a Dutch Major League. Unfortunately, Melvin tells the same story as other IBC interviewee's on Dutch baseball, which is that of a steady decline of importing of professional players from the US due to visa restrictions. This has presented an opportunity for Canadian baseball players who play at a high level as Canada has a working holiday visa agreement with the Netherlands. Australia has the same deal with the Dutch and are also in higher demand these days. Using his experience in Dutch baseball to draw from, Melvin goes into detail on the level of baseball and the level and type of player that Dutch clubs are looking for.
At 49 years old, married and with teenage children, retired high school and college coach Ron Frazier decided to throw his hat in the coaching ring again but this time his focus was overseas. With the support of his family, Ron created a profile on the International Baseball Community website and began sending out emails to clubs all across Europe. Within a weeks he has a number of responses and soon found himself in the luxurious position of having multiple options. When considering level of baseball, location, and compensation, Ron decided to settle on the Nada Split of Croatia, right on the Adriatic sea.
Split plays in the Interleague, which is a league formed with the top clubs in Croatia, Hungary and Slovakia. This international aspect is one other reason Ron decided to turn down an offer from a top Czech club for more money. With Split, Ron has the opportunity to see more of Europe and develop baseball in a country that has more room for growth.
David T. Burns (me) interviews David J. Burns on his experience playing baseball in Italy. He explains how he went from the verge of hanging them up after college to using his Italian heritage as a ticket to a professional baseball career in one of Europe's top baseball countries. For those of you who qualify for duo citizenship in Europe, David provides a good tip on speeding up the process. I also pipe in before the interview with some info on the value of players with duo citizenship, and also why Canadian and Australian baseball players are of high value to many leagues around the Europe.
Being one of only two professional leagues in Europe, David takes us through the lifestyle on and off the field and what playing professional baseball in Europe has to offer.
We then take the interview in a direction on careers off the field and David's current role in professional baseball and how he stood out from all the other professionals seeking jobs within professional baseball.
At the end of the interview, David provides some of the most solid tips I have heard on my podcast to date.
At the end of the interview I ramble on more about other options for playing baseball internationally.
Jon Rodriguez at only 27 had the experience of a lifetime in the winter of 2013-2014 as the head coach of the Rockingham Rams in beautiful Perth, Australia.
Fresh off of this experience and back in California for the interview, you can hear the energy in Jon's voice when telling his story. If this interview doesn't get you fired up to take your career overseas, you need to take up badminton or something.
Jon explains that Western Australian baseball is so big, that his club and the others in the league are so large, that there are three different levels of men's baseball within each club. State league baseball is the top level next to the Australian Baseball League , and below that is AAA and then AA. The beauty of it, they welcome imports at all levels! The Rams had five imports for this past season but not all were paid the full package, however all were minimally set up with a place to stay and a job.
What I love the most about this interview is Jon's ability to paint a story about baseball in Australia when he goes into detail about the family atmosphere and the lifestyle that comes with a gig in Perth.
NAIA All-American and World Series Champion Zak Colby fills me in on his experience playing independent Japanese baseball and how others can go about doing the same.
We dive into everything from the process for getting on with a club, how many independent clubs there are, the monster stadiums and decent size crowds, what pay can be expected, the insanely long pre-season, the list goes on.
By the end of this interview one thing was clear, Japanese Independent baseball and their importing of foreign players is on the rise and this trends appears like it will continue.
In this second interview, Chris provides listeners and aspiring European baseball professionals with great info on:
1) History of going from non-drafted to playing in three of Europe’s top leagues. 2) Detail on the Dutch Major League. Weekly schedule, top clubs, opportunities. 3) The subtle differences between European baseball and baseball in the US. 4) Differences between the EU leagues he has played in. 5) Two great tips for newcomers to European baseball.
In this interview with Aaron Brandt he tells us how the International Baseball Community website helped him to take his career to Belgium in the summer of 2013 and then how that was immediately followed up with a winter stint in Melbourne, Australia for the winter of 2013-2014. Aaron landed a job with Belgium club the Namur Angels and then immediately moved on to the St. Kilda Saints of Melbourne, Australia.
He goes into a lot of detail about both the leagues in Belgium and Australia (Melbourne) , the compensation, the schedule, the opportunities within, and the lifestyle. At the end of the interview Aaron provides some solid tips on what to do prior to signing on with a club overseas.
The International Baseball Community podcast Episode #23 features back-to-back interviews on Czech baseball. First I interview Draci Brno GM Arny Nesnal and then Lucie Cubikova, director of international affairs for Czech baseball. Between the two of them, listeners are able to get a clear idea of what Czech baseball has to offer.
Mr. Nesnal fills IBC listeners in on what is going on in Brno and why they have won 18 of the last 19 championships. We also dive into the importing that has been going on over the years and what their imports usually bring to the table. Mr. Nesol also elaborates on the lifestyle of the Draci import and why they seem to always want to return for a second or third year.
Ms. Cubikova provides a more broad view on Czech baseball and of the various clubs around the league and opportunities within for professional players and coaches.
Lastly, I introduce a new intro that I am very excited about. One of my favourite bands and local Austrian talent, Wham Bam Bodyslam allowed me to use one of their songs that is very appropriate for the podcast.
Ryan Flynn, CEO of baseball New Zealand put me in contact with Jacques Levy at New Caledonian baseball recently as they are in need of someone to come help them grow the game of baseball. This small Island that is just 1000 km's off the coast of Australia in the South Pacific, is seeking a young, energetic and motivated individual who is passionate about teaching the game of baseball and enthusiastic about helping develop the game overseas.
Baseball in New Caledonia is very small, with members hovering only around 200 with, spread out amongst 5 clubs on the South end of the island. This experience will also involved side trips to Australia and New Zealand for competitions.
For those interested, please submit your resume and a short cover letter explaining why you would be the perfect candidate for taking on the responsibility of creating a baseball buzz on this small island. This year long contract would begin in April 2014 so if you are interested you need to act quick.
In this episode I interview Baseball New Zealand CEO Ryan Flynn for the second time. Ryan takes us through his story of how he followed his passion to work in baseball from the unlikely country of Guam to his current position as CEO of Baseball New Zealand. Listen to Ryan explain how he used international baseball to build his resume and eventually uproot his family in the US to move to New Zealand for his new position as CEO. I also include a list of "do's" and "do not's" for first year international baseball players who are seeking longevity in the sport internationally.
In Episode number 20 I interview Drew Samuelson, the Australian Baseball Federation’s Player & Coach Development Coordinator as well as the Performance Manager of Southern Australian baseball.
Drew takes us through his story of how he dropped his promising 9-5 career to follow his passion, a career in baseball. After some short stints within baseball in the Northwest, he worked his way in to the administration side of Australian baseball and hasn’t looked back.
In addition to sharing his story, Drew provides some info on the development strategies in Australia which could be beneficial for listeners who have a hand in the development of foreign leagues.
Lastly, I drill Drew about the opportunities around the various state leagues and where the hotbeds are for foreigners looking to play or coach in Australia.
This interview with Austin Weymouth goes into areas yet to be covered on the podcast including an alternative way to selecting your team, working your way into Dutch baseball from a much lower league within one year, visa requirements, a vivid idea of what life is like in Europe, playing for small town clubs, the list goes on. In this 45 minute, very informative conversation where we talk about just about everything you can think of with regards to the lifestyle of baseball in Europe. Austin even talks about tulips in the Netherlands!?!?
Jan Maartin Kops of the Collegiate Baseball League Europe (CBLE) is on the podcast to tell us about the league he started in 2010. CBLEStarting in early July and continuing on for three weeks, the CLBE takes players from around the world, drafts them onto four teams, and then takes them on a European tour with stops in the Netherlands, England, Spain and France. This is not only a great experience for young players, it also gets them a lot of looks by European clubs in and around these countries for future considerations.
Baseball is the fastest growing sport in New Zealand as numbers have risen from 800 to 6000 in the past three years. Also, the level of play on the national level is rapidly increasing as New Zealand climbed in the world rankings in the past year from unranked to 28th.
CEO of Baseball New Zealand, Ryan Flynn, informs us in this episodes of how this exponential growth has opened up opportunities for import baseball players and coaches to take their career to New Zealand. He provides insight into what they are looking for and how you can go about getting a chance to ride this baseball wave to a long term career in baseball on and off the field.
An Interview with Rainer Krankl, President of one of the more successful European baseball clubs Rainer Krankl has been with the Attnang Athletics since 1993 and took over the role as president in 2004. Immediately after Rainer took over as president the organization began to grow rapidly. The Athletics went from a mediocre organization with a backyard park with a couple of beer bench seats to one of Europe’s more successful baseball organizations.
In this episode Owen and I continue where we left off in Episode 6, discussing the opportunities for import players and coaches in Australia.
About half way through we take the interview in a direction that is more beneficial to clubs that are looking to take their organization to the next level as Owen shares his experiences as a key person in operations for the professional baseball club the Perth Heat.
Dennis Kelly takes us through his experiences playing baseball in Sweden (Karlskoga Bats), France (Montpellier Barracudas), Australia (Sandringham Royals) and Germany (Mannheim Tornados). If you are lacking in motivation to play baseball overseas, listen to Dennis tell his story which took him from the beaches of Australia to the beaches off the coast of France all within one year.
He provides insight on how he was able to see so much of the world while playing baseball and also provides advice on positioning yourself to be able to do the same. Dennis also let’s us in on the details of some of his contracts and the unique contracts that were offered from country to country. Lastly, Dennis does a very good job of comparing the level of ball within these countries.
Podcast episode #9 continues to focus on the various baseball hotbeds in Australia, this time with Brisbane, one of the largest baseball regions in the country. Jeff Tezak spent two years in Austria playing for the Vienna Metrostars and has since taken his game to Brisbane for the past couple of years to play with the Redcliffe Padres Jeff is a true utility player which puts him in high demand with many clubs in Europe and Australia that are a tight budget.
Jeff fills us in on the opportunities Brisbane presents, the lifestyle, and of course, the baseball. In a future episode I will interview Brisbane native Scotty Mulhearn and dive more into what Brisbane presents as a place to live in comparison to other Australian baseball destinations.
In this interview you will find that baseball in the Australian state leagues are quite a different experience than playing in Europe and the contracts offered also vary in comparison to Europe.
This episode switches things up a bit by focusing on what is probably the most valuable tip for baseball players looking to take their game overseas: use your coaching experience as your ticket or gain coaching experience if you don’t have any. Owen and I discuss the coaching opportunities that are present in Europe and Australia and some unique ways to break in as a coach or player-coach. We dive into some of the challenges you will most likely face as a coach in an environment where perhaps English isn’t the native language, baseball is relatively unknown or where local clubs lack structure in their program. I put Owen on the spot and ask him to give a specific drill he might use to motivate or retain the kids in such places. We discuss how to prepare yourself for a coaching career overseas and how to achieve longevity as a player-coach or coach.
As a compliment to a recent post titles “Top 5 Reasons EU Imports Go Home Early and How to Avoid Them“, I had a short but content rich discussion with Owen Reid on the same Skype session as our last interview about the trial and error of the relationship between professional baseball import players and clubs overseas. We discuss many of the same topics in the post and speculate as to why players are sometimes sent home prior to contract end other than the obvious reason of not making the playoffs. The issue of relationships gone sour in recent years was prevalent in EU baseball and needs to be discussed as I believe there are communication gaps between many European clubs and players and solutions to help smooth out this struggle.
In IBC podcast episode 14, I interview international baseball coach Trevor Rooper and player Scotty Mulhearn.
Trevor has coached in Holland, Austria, Sweden , Brisbane (Australia) and now has signed on with a club in Sydney Australia for the 2013-2014 winter. In 2011, Trevor led the Attnang Athletics of Austria to an all time record of 24-4 and most recently coached Stockholm to the 2013 championship title.
Trevor gives us detail on the opportunities for import players and coaches in Sweden and Australia and the compensation one can expect. He provides information on the leagues and the clubs within both the Swedish Elite League and the Greater Brisbane Baseball League.
Scotty is a native of Brisbane, Australia and plays ball in the same Brisbane league that Trevor coached in. He has also played baseball in Japan, Sweden (Karlskoga) and most recently with the same club Rooper coached in Austria, the Attnang Athletics. Scotty has since signed on for a second season with the Athletics in 2014.
Scotty goes into a lot of depth about baseball in Brisbane and shares a lot about Swedish baseball as well. He tells his Japan story as well.
He speaks on the opportunities to play in Brisbane and to work your way up to the Australian baseball league from the Brisbane league.
Both gentlemen are asked to compare baseball in Sweden to Austria to help listeners form a more accurate view of baseball in the two countries and what they both present to the baseball professional.
At the end of the interview I introduce a new feature to the podcast which is dubbed the “IBC Insider Tip” where I share a relevant tip that is exclusive for IBC podcast listeners who are seeking every advantage they can get in their pursuit of an international career in baseball.
I am super stoked about this interview with Perth Heat GM Lachlan Dale as we dive into taking a professional baseball career on and off the field to Australia and using it as a fast track to pro ball in the States. We discuss how many roster spots are typically filled within he Australian Baseball League by foreigners and how to go about getting a shot at one of those spots. We also discuss the opportunities for coaching in Australia.
The German Bundesliga Baseball 1 is regarded as the next highest level of European baseball below the big two, Italy and the Netherlands. Rob Herrmann spent 2013 playing for one of the frontrunners in recent years, the Paderborn Untouchables.
Rob’s story is an inspirational one as he made his way through hard work and perseverance from D3 college ball to Indy ball, to Australia and finally to Germany (read about his story in a related article). Rob PaderbornRob is living proof that non-drafted players can make their way into top clubs in top European leagues and do some damage while there. Rob hit .333 and threw out more than half of attempted base stealers from his spot behind the dish. Rob has been invited back to play in 2014 after a season ending hand injury kept him on the sidelines during the playoffs.
Rob goes into detail about the German Bundesliga, what it was like to play for Paderborn, the compensation, and the networking advantages when signing on with a top club within a given country.
This podcast episode also has an intro by a music artist named The Consoultant who is promoting her new baseball track “Hit it out of the Park”.
The focus of this interview and many future interviews is to extract more information about the lifestyle of the import player or coach living in various cities around Europe. I also try to get more inside info on what the league is like, the clubs within the league and which clubs are the most desirable to play for when considering level of play, location, facilities and of course pay.
In this episode, I threw together two separate 10 minute interviews with U.S. players who spent the 2013 summer season in Switzerland and France with the Bern Cardinals and the Beaucaire Chevaliers.
Dana brings us 15 years of European baseball knowledge and sheds a lot of light for those of you looking to take your U.S. pro career to Europe. We talk Dutch, Italian, German and Czech baseball in depth. Dana provides some great tips on how to break in, where to break in, and what to expect. We also dive into the top organizations and baseball destinations in Europe.
Interview topics: - Experience playing for the Rouen Huskies in the French Elite League. - The South Australian Baseball League; import opportunities, level of play. - Owen’s jump to the Australian Baseball League’s Adelaide Bite. - Owen’s experience playing for the French national team in Florida at the September 2012 WBC qualifier and pitching in the dramatic game vs. South Africa. -Owen’s experience pitching against a top Dutch team at the Eurocup final four in 2012.
In this episode I interview pro baseball player Kris Edwards, the 2012 import pitcher for the Attnang Athletic of Austria. Kris made the most of his European pro debut with the Athletics as he used the opportunity to travel Europe and play the game he loves.
Kris’ background
Kris played for the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and then ran into some arm troubles and had to have Tommy John surgery. After recovering from Tommy John surgery Kris had three strong seasons with the University of St. Thomas and was part of their 2009 national championship team. He was ranked among the NCAA Division III earned-run average leaders in 2010.
In the summer 2010 Kris played with the Green Bay Bullfrogs of the Northwoods League. He went on to sign with the St. Paul Saints of the American Association of Independent Baseball in the summer of 2011 before coming to Austria.
In this episode you will hear about Kris’ experience on and off the field and how he was able to take his baseball career overseas.
It was my pleasure to interview Chris, a humble big man standing at 6’10″ (2.09 m), former USC Trojan and soon to be veteran of not only European baseball, but of some of the top baseball Europe has to offer. Chris recently signed for the 2013 season with UVV, a club in the The Honkbal Hoofdklasse, the highest level of professional baseball in the Netherlands.
Chris played with the Rouen Huskies of the French Elite league in 2012 where he dominated on the mound, effectively using his unorthodox delivery and his giant body to deceive batters. Chris was named the best pitcher of the French elite final series as he lead his club to their 9th french title in 10 years. He also was a major contributor to the club’s success in the 2012 European cup as they made it to the final four, the first time any French club has done so. Chris’s fondest memories were not of the final four but of the Rotterdam round of the Cup that got them there, a round where he got the win in a huge upset over the DOOR Neptunes, one of the top Dutch clubs and most successful clubs in all of Europe. He also had a stellar relief appearance in a big win over the 2012 German champions, the Buchbinder Legionaere Regensburg.
This podcast episode is an interview with Owen Reid, an international baseball player who has made stops in Austria, New Zealand, and Australia since 2009. Owen has held jobs as a player and most recently in management with Australia’s most successful professional baseball club, the Perth Heat.
This interview with Nick goes into detail about how he took his baseball career to Europe and what others wishing to do the same can expect.