Dornbirn Indians sign Catcher Will Thorp

25-year-old Canadian Will Thorp is going to play for the Dornbirn Indians in the 2015 season. The graduate of Lewis-Clark State College in the United States played for the Adelaide Bite this winter in the Australian Baseball League. He batted .240/.345/.240 in 25 at-bats through ten games. The Indians posted a short interview on their team website.

Indians: Hi Will, welcome to the Indians. I know you were looking for a team to play for in Europe after your season in Australia ends. Have you ever been to Europe before? What do you know about baseball in Austria?

Will: I have never been to Europe before. To be honest I didn’t even know there was baseball in Austria. I know I’d heard it has rich history in music, Arnold is from there and that it’s absolutely beautiful. Beyond that I am excited to see the different culture of baseball. I know going from North America to Australia there was a big difference.

Indians: You went to Australia to play for a club team in South Australia and then got picked up by the Adelaide Bite to play in the professional Australian Baseball League. How did that happen? How was your experience with the Bite?

Will: I don’t know the exact dynamics of how it happened. I know they had a Triple A catcher whom was phenomenal defensively and he went home for unknown circumstances. Then their other catcher broke a finger. They were in need of a catcher and I was lucky enough to get the call. It was a little nerve racking at first but once I settled in with the team it turned into one of the best experiences of my life. It was a very close knit team and a competitive one, two big factors that go into a winning team. In the end it was a great experience.

Indians: Last year’s foreign catcher Kieran Bradford also played in the ABL, but for another team. Did you get a chance to talk to him during the recruiting process? If so, did he help make the decision easier?

Will: I never got the chance to talk to Kieran. However I talked with lots of other guys who played in Europe and they absolutely loved it. Talking with Devery a fellow Canadian a few times after initial talks definitely played a big role in seeing it as a comfortable place to go.

Read the full interview at www.indians.at