The German National Team pitcher Manuel Moeller of the Baseball-Bundesliga club MAINZ ATHLETICS is going to miss the second half of the 2009 season, including the IBAF Baseball World Cup in Europe next September. The 25-year-old right-hander will leave his team after the first half of the year to prepare for the exams to become a physiotherapist in October. He confirmed his intentions in an interview with a local newspaper.
Moeller is pitching for the ATHLETICS in the Bundesliga since 2002 and made his National Team debut in 2003. Since then he played in four European Championships and the Olympic Qualifier last March. The 2007 Baseball World Cup took place without him due to similar reasons. In nine games (seven starts) for the National Team in major tournaments, Moeller has a 4-2 record with an ERA of 2.52 and 32 strikeouts (22 walks) in 35 2/3 innings.
Last year he had a 7-4 record with an ERA of 2.82 in 14 starts for MAINZ. He struck out 74 (34 walks) in 95.2 innings pitched. He lost both of his starts in the playoffs against the SOLINGEN ALLIGATORS. In 2007 he won the German Championship with the A’s.
Photo: © Tanja Szidat
