Mid-Season Review: No Win Yet, but Clear Progress

Despite Strong New Additions and Intensive Preparation – We Are Fighting Our Way Forward Step by Step

At first glance at the standings, we had hoped that we might have a chance against the teams that, like us, had only recently come together. However, they also proved to be very experienced and filled with extremely strong players.

Despite intensive preparation and very strong new additions, we have not won a game yet. It should be noted, however, that we are still achieving increasingly better results than at the beginning.

The detailed rules of baseball are not yet completely established for us – unlike soccer, where the player simply has to kick the ball into the goal, in baseball it is not enough just to catch the ball; you also have to make the correct throw to a teammate. One particular baseball rule that is causing us considerable difficulty is the so-called “Dropped Third Strike.” This means that the batter, despite striking out – for example after missing the ball three times while attempting to hit – may still run to first base. In this case, the catcher can either tag the batter or throw the ball to a fielder at first base.

By analyzing the techniques used by the various players and carrying out numerous drills to optimize technique, we have already been able to identify improvements. During batting practice, some of our youth players are already showing the same technique as players in Major League Baseball (MLB). Defensively, however, we still need to continue with infield drills and outfield drills for long fly balls, which ideally should be caught in the air. Finally, bullpen drills are also important, for example when the pitcher throws the ball to the catcher. A whole series of movement sequences has to be correct in order to achieve our goals.