Chris Demetral has been named manager of the Greek national team, Hellas Baseball announced on Monday. The California native now finds himself in charge of a national team whose jersey he first wore at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Demetral was active with the Greek national team from 2004 until the 2014 European championship and has accepted the position just months after Greece marked its return to the highest level of European competition by qualifying for the last year’s European championship.
Greece showed that it belonged among Europe’s top national teams, with a heart-breaking, 5-4, walk-off defeat to Belgium (box score) keeping Greece from advancing out of group play.
Ultimately, Greece finished 14th in the 16-nation competition.
Demetral was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 31st round of the 1991 MLB draft and appeared in 1,045 Minor League games in the course of an 11-year professional career.
