The Bonn Capitals announced this weekend that they have signed Maurice Wilhelm for the upcoming season in the German Baseball-Bundesliga. The 25-year-old is coming from local rival Cologne Cardinals. Born in Berlin, Germany he grew up in San Diego and attended Point Loma Nazarene University in California.
This year Wilhelm joined the Cardinals and impressed with a strong showing at the plate and on the mound. He batted .346/.416/.682 with nine homeruns, nine doubles, 21 runs and 46 RBI in 28 games during the regular season. He led the northern division in RBI and was second in homeruns. On the mound he went 2-4 with a save and an ERA of 1.91 in ten appearances (five starts). He struck out 54 in 47 innings, walking 17.
Since Wilhelm has a German passport he is not considered a foreign player and can be used as pitcher in both games each weekend. Several other teams around Europe were interested in the services of the utility player, who was used mainly as first baseman and pitcher in Cologne.