German Bundesliga – 2008 in Review – Dortmund Wanderers

The German championship is over. In the next few weeks we’re starting with our reviews of the 2008 season. This week Dirk Fries is looking at the playoff teams of the northern division in the Baseball-Bundesliga.

by Dirk Fries

Dortmund Wanderers

The Dortmund Wanderers enjoyed a successful first go around at Germany’s highest level. Preseason opinions ranked the Wanderers as high as fourth place. And that’s just were they finished. It was a very close race indeed. Dortmund, Cologne and Bonn were knotted in a tight race throughout the second half of the season. And in the end the newcomers did outlast a young Bonn team by winning the head-to-head against Mathias Winterath´s Capitals. Al three teams had finished with an even .500 record for the year (14-14).

With Andreas „Buko“ Becker and René Herlitzius Dortmund had some very experienced players that helped bring the club forward and into the Bundesliga. The club also had some homegrown talent in pitcher Dennis Berg and infielder Daniel Groer. Together with Tobias Willach and off-season acquisition Raoul Vychodil (from Bonn) the team was confident going into the season. In retrospect it was Herlitzius and the foreign players that turned the Wanderers season into a Cinderella story. Pitcher Matt Kemp and even more so Josh Lively were the impact players  management had hoped for. They were the ones that got the solid team over the edge, turning Dortmund into a playoff-caliber team.

Even though their first postseason appearance against Heidenheim wasn’t very satisfying, the club seems poised to use 2008 as a stepping-stone for future success.

What the stats say:

Joshua Lively´s first year in Germany was a complete success. The American led his team in almost every offensive category. He even led the league in homeruns and RBI (6, 26).  Fellow American Jack Kopacz was not far behind in the average department. Bigger surprises were German players with limited Bundesliga experience hitting above the .300 mark. Tobias Willach, a former Solingen farmhand, ended up at .319 for the season and Daniel Groer actually was second on his team with .353.

Former National team Standout René Herlitzius could not quite match his numbers from Paderborn times at .284, but the did lead all Dortmund pitchers in ERA at 3.32 and in wins (6). He also led the team in innings pitched (84). American Matt Kemp was also solid at 3.67 (83 IP).

Compared with the rest of the league the first-year Wanderers held their own. Their .272 AVG put them just behind Cologne for fourth place. Their twelve homeruns tied them with Solingen atop the division. In regards to pitching the Wanderers finished third-best. We already mentioned their starters performances, but their bullpen was „best of the rest“. Bullpen ERA for Dortmund was at 4.99 and leading to an overall 4.59 team ERA. Defensively there is room for improvement, though. 59 errors in 28 games is average, but not spectacular.

Should the Wanderers be able to lure one or two impact players away from other clubs, the team would almost be a sure bet to improve upon this year’s performance.

‘2008 in Review’ continues next week

Previous:
Solingen Alligators
Paderborn Untouchables
Cologne Cardinals