Joseph Vreonis new Manager of Greek Baseball National Team

The Greek Baseball Federation (HABF) hereby announces the selection of Mr. Joseph Dennis Vreonis as the new Field Manager of the Greek National Baseball Team.

Vreonis is an American of Greek heritage and his family was originally from the beautiful Greek island of Zakynthos.  He has an extensive CV with many years of coaching experience with the Greek National Team in every tournament that Greece participated in from 2010 to now.  He was both Pitching Coach and a player who Pitched for the team on several occasions. 

Since 2013 he has been the Head Baseball Coach at Liberty High School in Brentwood, California, U.S.A.  Earlier in his career, he has also held various Head Coaching positions at a variety of schools in California where he consistently coached winning teams.

http://baseballua.com/2017/07/20/joseph-vreonis-new-manager-of-greek-baseball-national-team/

Ukraininan Championship 2017, Division “B”, South group

Four matches were held during the fourth round of the Ukrainian Championship 2017, Division “B”, South Group.

The “CYSS Komunarivets “team from Odesa lost “West Side” with the score 11-15. But in the second match the “CYSS Komunarivets” team took the lead and beat “West Side” with the score 9-8.

Also two games were held between the “Sea Devils “team and “CYSS Komunarivets”. The matches finished with the victory of “Sea Devils” with the score 10-6 and 11-4.

Results:

“CYSS Komunarivets” – “West Side”

11-15; 9-8;

“Sea Devils” – “CYSS Komunarivets”

10-6; 11-4;

http://baseballua.com/2017/07/20/ukraininan-championship-2017-division-b-south-group/ 

Odd Baseball Facts That Are Too Strange To Be Made Up

1. When Jimmy Pearsall hit his 100th home run in 1963, he ran the bases in the correct order but facing backward to celebrate.

2. Babe Ruth's top salary was $80,000 (in 1930 and 1931). Adjusted for inflation, that's the equivalent of a little more than $1.1 million today (a little less than middle reliever Antonio Bastardo made last year).

3. During World War II, the U.S. military designed a grenade to be the size and weight of a baseball, since "any young American man should be able to properly throw it."

4. Pitcher Jim Abbott was born without a right hand and had a 10-season baseball career.

5. Bobby Richardson won the World Series MVP in 1960 after hitting .367 with 12 RBIs — he played for the losing team.

6. Bank robber John Dillinger was once a professional second baseman, although he never made it to the major leages.

7. Eddie Gaedel was the shortest man to ever play in a Major League Baseball game. He was 3 feet and 7 inches tall.

8. Geddy Lee from the band Rush had a huge collection of autographed baseballs from the Negro Leagues; he donated over 200 balls to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in 2008.

9. Ralph Kiner is the only player ever to lead the league in homers for seven years in a row.

10. There is an actual minor league baseball team named after the Springfield Isotopes of The Simpsons episode "Hungry, Hungry Homer." They are the Albuquerque Isotopes.

Read more about odd baseball facts in our next publications.

http://baseballua.com/2017/07/20/odd-baseball-facts-that-are-too-strange-to-be-made-up/

Regular season concluded in German Baseball-Bundesliga

The regular season in the German Baseball-Bundesliga ended this past weekend without any further surprises regarding the standings.

In the northern division the Bonn Capitals will be joined by the Solingen Alligators, Dohren Wild Farmers and Untouchables Paderborn in the newly Interleague round. In the south the Heidenheim Heidekoepfe, Mainz Athletics, Munich-Haar Disciples and Mannheim Tornados were known for a couple of weeks.

The new Interleague round starts after the Fielders-Choice.de All-Star Game in Munich-Haar (July 23) on July 29. The top four of the north and south will meet in a four-week round-robin, which will determine the standings entering the quarterfinals in early September. Results from the regular season against fellow interleague participants will also count towards these standings. In the quarterfinals the first seed will meet the eight seed and so on.

North:

South:

http://baseballua.com/2017/07/19/regular-season-concluded-in-german-baseball-bundesliga/

Results Italian Baseball League July 13 to 15, 2017

In the Italian Baseball League week number 13 was played this past weekend. ASD Rimini downed Novara 1-0 and 6-2.

Meanwhile Padule celebrated a 3-1 upset over T&A San Marino in game two of a doubleheader after losing game one 6-14. Tommasin Padua and Unipol Bologna also split their two-game set. Angel Service Nettuno and Parmaclima also shared wins.

Results:

Standings:

http://baseballua.com/2017/07/19/results-italian-baseball-league-july-13-to-15-2017/ 

Dutch Hoofdklasse: L&D Amsterdam won Series against Curacao Neptunus

In the Dutch Hoofdklasse only one series was played this past weekend. L&D Amsterdam won a three-game set against Curacao Neptunus Rotterdam.

After Thursday’s 12-0 shutout by the Pirates, Rotterdam answered with a 7-5 win on Saturday. On Sunday Amsterdam then prevailed 5-4 in a nail-biter. L&D Amsterdam is leading the standings in the Dutch Hoofdklasse.

Results:

Standings:

#          Team                           GW      W        G         V       MIN      Pnt        RV       RT

1          L&D Amsterdam         27        22        0          5          0          44        214      69

2          Curaçao Neptunus       27        19        1          7          0          39        201      115

3          HCAW                         30        17        2         11         0          36        158      123

4          Hoofddorp Pioniers     27        14        1         12         0          29        154      126

5          DSS                             30        10         0        20         0          20        129      250

6          Pickles UVV               27         7          3         17        2          15        113      166

7          De Glaskoning Twins  30        6          1          23       0          13        133      253

http://baseballua.com/2017/07/19/dutch-hoofdklasse-ld-amsterdam-won-series-against-curacao-neptunus/

Taiwan’s Tom Peng re-elected president of Baseball Federation of Asia

Taiwanese construction tycoon Tom Peng was re-elected to another four-year term as president of the Baseball Federation of Asia (BFA), which represents 23 nations as the continental arm of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC).

New BFA leadership includes Yang Hae-young, the Secretary General of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) professional league, who was elected as a vice president.

Representation on the BFA executive board includes officials from seven nations: China, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Pakistan and the Philippines.

“Asian nations have achieved several historic baseball milestones in recent years, and this is positively impacting the global spread and evolution of our sport,” said WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari, who attended the BFA Congress.

Peng also serves as a vice president of the WBSC Baseball Division and as honorary president of the Chinese Taipei Baseball Association.

Asian nations currently occupy three of the top five places in the WBSC Baseball World Rankings, with No. 1 Japan, No. 3 Korea and No. 5 Chinese Taipei.

http://baseballua.com/2017/07/19/taiwans-tom-peng-re-elected-president-of-baseball-federation-of-asia/