After Marco Mazzieri was honored with the EBCA Career Achievement Award on Friday, the European Baseball Coaches Association (EBCA) also revealed the winners of the Coach of the Year and Grassroots Awards on Saturday during the 2017 EBCA Convention in Antwerp, Belgium.
In difference to the Career Achievement Award, fans were able to cast their vote for the other two awards. However not only the popularity played a role, but also an EBCA jury. 2017 EBCA Coach of the Year is Hiro Sakanashi. The Japan-native, who has been living in Vienna, led Austria to winning the European Championship B-Level in Belgrade, Serbia this summer. 2017 EBCA Grassroots Award winner is Benjamin Kleiner, from Berlin, Germany for his services to the Berlin Baseball community.
