Baseball is always considered a North American sport. However, the first recorded game of baseball was in Surrey, England in 1749. Since then America, Canada, Japan and various other countries have become the real hotbeds, leaving Europe behind. With soccer being huge in Europe, it is often hard for baseball to become a first choice. “People in Europe don’t always want to watch a long and sometimes slow game, they would rather watch soccer,” said Klijn, a 2nd baseman for the Haar Disciples of the German Bundesliga.
But now seems to be the time for baseball in Europe to thrive. A steady flow of European players are getting signed by Major League organizations. And it’s only a matter of time until a European born player makes a huge mark in the MLB. In 2017 baseball in Europe could be set to reach new heights, specialists note.
Euro League Baseball (ELB) was already held in 2016. It was be the first year that a professional baseball league in Europe ran with teams from multiple European countries. There are currently two professional leagues in Europe: the Dutch Hoofdklasse and the Italian baseball league. This ELB however, was a true reflection of the best teams in Europe. So far, there were three teams from Germany, two from Holland, two from France, one from Italy, one from San Marino and one from the Czech Republic. Philipp.
“The big clubs in European baseball are moving forward with huge strides and would like to make money out of their passion for the sport”, – sport commentator noted. So according to him, who lives in Germany, the only way to make money is a professional league.
The best teams in Europe will mostly be made up of homegrown talent, but there will be opportunities for overseas players, if they can pay travel and living costs.
Europe is a very attractive prospect for many foreign players and there are already a number of so-called ‘import’ players scattered around in different European teams. Playing in Europe gives them a different experience and is also beneficial for the teams. The players are often asked to help with coaching local children to help grow and improve the game, which is a win-win situation for all sides.
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