Extraliga begins. This year for the last time with ten teams

Czech baseball will welcome new season on Friday, when Extraliga begins with three games. The start will see some restrictions due to Covid-19 and at the end of the season there will only remain eight teams in the best Czech baseball league.

Will Draci defend the title?

Draci Brno returned to Czech baseball throne last year after beating Arrows Ostrava in the Czech Series. Team from Brno doesn’t hide their ambition to win the league again and earn twenty-third title. This year, however, they will not be able to rely on the MVP of the finals Petr Čech, who returns to Ostrava. Additionally, Martin Schneider returns to Olomouc and Tomáš Polanský announced the end of his baseball career. It will be the time for young players to show what they are made of. Draci are known to have a large player base in their youth teams that they also send on loan to different clubs, so they should not be worried about the lack of experience. That’s why Draci are one of the favorites to hold Extraliga trophy at the end of the season.

Ostrava without foreigners

While other clubs were searching for the players abroad, Arrows Ostrava enters the season without foreigners. Team from northern Moravia has until the end of the regular season to bring someone and to increase their chances in playoff and Champions Cup. The lack of foreigners gives them space to play more of their young players. But don’t be surprised if we don’t see Arrows at the first or the second place. With the foreign players Arrows will once again try to reach the Czech baseball title.

Will the newcomers stay?

Hluboká and Jablonec were promoted from the First League last season. In the year, where Extraliga narrows down to 8 teams they will have their work cut out for them. Hluboká didn’t take any chances and brought in several experienced players (Mužík, Novák, Roemer). For this reason we can consider them the sleepers of the league, who could slip into TOP 6. On the other hand, Jablonec will have much smaller chances, as their team wasn’t bolstered by many big names. The team from the north Bohemia relies on the team spirit, but will it be enough to stay in Extraliga?

TOP 6 battle

Playing in TOP 6 will mean much more this year than before. It will allow the teams to avoid tough fights in the promotion stage, where only 2 out of 8 teams will play in Extraliga 2022. That’s why it didn’t come as a surprise when Tempo Praha signed Isreali International Wagman. Even if he is not likely to play in TOP 6 due to the Olympics Game, his contribution in the regular season can boost Tempo’s chances.

Another team with a lot of ambition is Hroši Brno. With Alex Derhak and John Hussey in charge, the youngest of the Brno clubs will be a tough opponent. If they can keep healthy and keep a professional approach to trainings and games, Hroši can finally reach TOP 6.

On the other hand, Prague teams Kotlářka and Eagles may see themselves struggle. Both lost several players and it will be difficult to fill their spots in the roster. Considering Třebíč brought interesting foreign players and Jeff Barto as the manager, the Prague teams position in TOP 6 can be endangered. Let’s not forget Blansko, who can also be a surprise. All things considered, we can expect battle for TOP 6 to be exciting till the last match of the regular season.

Covid

The pandemic situation brings strict rules for the games. All the clubs had to invest to player testing and at the beginning of the season, no fans will be allowed in the stands. This is tough especially in Jablonec, which is known for its great atmosphere.

When it comes to games themselves, any positive test result can affect the team as it can sideline key players, or postpone the games.

Streams

If there is something positive to see in the current pandemic situation, it’s the way Czech baseball approached the no-fans rule. In the last season clubs made huge strides in streaming of their games. More and more of them will add commentary to their streams allowing the fans to enjoy the games even if they can’t be present. ČBA created tv.baseball.cz where fans will be able to find the streams and play-by-play links for all the played games. We hope things will go well from the beginning of the season.