Just a few hours after we reported the resignation of Georg Bull has head coach of the Mannheim Tornados Mister-Baseball received word about his successor. Matt Kemp is leaving the Dortmund Wanderers to join the Tornados as player-coach. The 28-year-old American is not only going to take over the responsibilities of Bull in Mannheim, but also will pitch game two each week.
2011 was his fourth season with the Wanderers, the last two also as head coach after Jens Hawlitzky departed for the HSV Stealers. Prior to coming to Germany Kemp spent three seasons playing professionally in the independent Frontier and Northern Leagues. In the Baseball-Bundesliga he is one of the most dominant pitchers in the league. This year he led the northern division with nine wins and an ERA of 1.28 and was second with 111 strikeouts and 98 2/3 innings pitched.
Kemp will spend the winter in Melbourne, Australia working as a player-coach and is scheduled to arrive in Mannheim at the beginning of March. He will use his time Down Under to recruit foreign players for the Tornados, having the chance to evaluate them through a full season.