Our “2008 in review” series about the German Baseball-Bundesliga goes into the last leg. This week Dirk Fries is looking at the four southern teams in the play-downs. The other European leagues will follow.
by Dirk Fries
Gauting Indians
Gauting had quite a turbulent offseason. The club brought in a new coach very early in the year, but both parties parted ways after only a few days. Christopher Howard, who was rehabbing a hurt knee at the beginning of the year, took over as interim manager. He led the club until Ryan Garcia, an American vacationing in Munich with his girlfriend, a Haar softball player, took over. Garcia led a very young and talented club (average age 23.7), guiding them to a 13-25 record (including play-downs) and a seventh place finish. Gauting then beat Bad Homburg in the relegation series to retain the right to play first division in 2009.
Besides their American imports, Gauting went into the season with almost the same team as 2007. Last year the club finished in seventh place also, and had to endure relegation just as this time around.
What the stats say:
Gauting´s offense finished in sixth place with a batting average of .220, one percentage point ahead of Haar (.219). In the end the offense stood at 199 hits. Because of good plate discipline, the Indians were able to reach base at a .318 clip. 30 hit by pitches and over 100 base on balls underline that Garcia’s team tried to use every possible opportunity to reach base.
Extra base power was a problem for the Indians. A league-worst 24 doubles, only one triple and four homeruns in total are a surprisingly low output by a club featuring strong Mitch Stephan, Chris Howard and two foreign players on its roster. Gauting was a very aggressive team on the base paths attempting 60 steals, being successful 48 times (third in the league).
Overall Gauting scored 118 runs, but still was heavily outscored by its opponents (118-206).
Chris Howard was the club’s most dangerous hitter. His .299 average was tops on the team. He amassed 26 hits, and a team-high 23 RBI. American Seth Binder, who hit only .206, was the club’s best scorer. He managed 24 runs. Quick between the bases, he led the Indians with 15 stolen bases, playing a solid shortstop.
First baseman Mitch Stephan was invited to join the men’s national team during the year. A young and talented hitter with good pop, he led the under-21 to a very good third place finish in this year’s European Championships. The success he had there was no surprise considering his abilities. Things just didn’t go as smoothly for him in league play. Stephan hit only .192, showing hardly any power, except for one homerun and two doubles. Johannes Jung managed a very respectable .284 average, American David Bredhoff hit .264. Lasse Bischof and Georg Starek were solid at .233 and .270 respectively.
Pitching for the Indians was little weaker in comparison with the team’s offense. A 5.49 team ERA was seventh best, ahead of only Neuenburg. Starters finished at 5.36, while relievers worked to a 6.10 ERA (6th). Strikeouts were fairly high for a seventh place team, ranking right behind Heidenheim at 162. Being on top of the walks statistic is less encouraging. 176 walks are almost 40 more than the next team (Saarlouis at 137).
Dominik Hartinger anchored the Indians staff. During the regular season he worked exclusively as a starter, while also was used as a reliever in the play-downs. He posted a 4.61 ERA. He led the team in strikeouts with 81 (in 95 Innings). Given his solid ERA, his 1-11 record comes as a surprise. His team could not score for him enough, making Hartinger the hard luck loser almost on a weekly basis. American Matthew Fuller pitched only a bit worse statistically (ERA 4.85), but contrary to Hartinger received the necessary support to go 7-5. Alexander Howard and Georg Starek were used more seldom. Starek worked eleven innings, while Howard posted the third best ERA on the team at 5.14 (in 21 Innings).
Gauting´s future is still undecided. The Indians have the option to try avoiding relegation next year. Another option might be to try and join forces with the other Munich team, the Haar Disciples. If the club decides to voluntarily descend, a core of young players could make the move to Haar.
Tomorrow: Neuenburg Atomics
Previous:
Solingen Alligators
Paderborn Untouchables
Cologne Cardinals
Dortmund Wanderers
Mainz Athletics
Heidenheim Heidekoepfe
Mannheim Tornados
Buchbinder Legionaere Regensburg
Bonn Capitals
HSV Stealers
Hanover Regents
Neunkirchen Nightmares
Saarlouis Hornets
Haar Disciples
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