Czech Baseball Team Eyes European Championship Medal and Quality Preparation for World Baseball Classic

A historic first medal and quality preparation for the World Baseball Classic finals in Tokyo next March. These are the goals for the upcoming 38th European Baseball Championship, where the Czech national team will compete starting September 20 in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The championship, co-hosted by Italy and Belgium, will feature a new format. While the Czech team is missing several key players due to injury, Head Coach Pavel Chadim is aiming for a podium finish with his squad.

At the last continental championship, held two years ago in Ostrava and Brno, the Czech baseball team finished in fifth place. This year, the ambitions are higher. „We definitely want to catch up to the best teams in the world, so at the European Championship, we can’t have any other goals than fighting for a medal,“ states Head Coach Pavel Chadim. However, he defines success and failure pragmatically: „Personally, I will consider it a success if we finish better than we did two years ago. Breaking into the top four—among the giants like Italy, the Netherlands, Great Britain, and Spain—would be a great outcome for us. Conversely, I would consider it a failure if we don’t defend our top-eight position.“

The team will be without key pitchers Daniel Padyšák, Michal Kovala, Marek Minařík, and Martin Schneider, as well as outfielder Marek Chlup, who is the first Czech to play professionally in Japan. „We nominated 24 players, but not all of them are healthy. We have replaced them with eager young talent, and I believe the players will seize their opportunity,“ Chadim explains. On the bright side, Martin Červinka returns to the team after a long-term injury, and naturalized Canadian Ryan Johnson is also on the roster. Eight new players are set to make their Eurobaseball debut.

The team’s positive mood is confirmed by catcher Martin Zelenka, who feels in top form after the preparation games. „I’ve prepared as best as I could, and I’m glad that we could get back together as a whole team to play. I’m feeling good, especially after the last exhibition game, I feel like things finally clicked, and I hope to carry that form into the European Championship,“ says Zelenka.

The tournament features 16 teams in four groups. The Czechs will face Germany, defending champions Spain, and Sweden in the group stage. The top two teams from Groups A and B will advance directly to the quarterfinals, while the remaining two teams will play a Round of 16 match against the top two teams from Groups C and D. „It’s an advantage that we face strong opponents in the group stage, which is better preparation for the playoffs. However, if we don’t advance directly, we would have to play an extra game and use a top pitcher, which could be a factor later in the tournament,“ the coach explained.

The Czechs have had a solid preparation period. At the Prague Baseball Week, they reached the final, where they narrowly lost to Germany 1-2, despite having beaten the same opponent in all four of their other matchups this season. The national team’s overall record stands at eight wins and two losses.

Czech Republic Roster:

• Pitchers: Jan Novák, Michael Senay, Tomáš Ondra, Jan Tomek, Lukáš Ercoli, Ondřej Satoria, Jeff Barto, Lukáš Hlouch, Filip Čapka, Filip Kollmann, Tomáš Duffek.
• Catchers: Martin Červenka, Martin Zelenka, Martin Mužík.
• Infielders: Ryan Johnson, Vojtěch Menšík, Eric Sogard, Milan Prokop, Martin Červinka.
• Outfielders: Michal Šindelka, Max Prejda, Matěj Menšík.
• Utility Players: Willie Escala, Marek Krejčiřík.

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