Mister-Baseball talked with Andy Fleischacker, head coach of the Solingen Alligators, as he will leave the club at the end of September after two years at the helm. But before that, there will be Baseball-Bundesliga playoffs and the European Cup Playoff in Rouen.
Mister-Baseball: You are parting ways with the Solingen Alligators after two seasons as head coach despite winning two northern titles. What are the reasons and what will you do next?
Andy Fleischacker: Yes unfortunately I will be leaving Solingen at the end of this season. This was not by my choice but by the club. Unfortunately a few players did not like me personally so even though we are winning and players have gotten better through their hard work and mine a change was needed the board thought. It is very disappointing to me as I really love the club and the city but you have to move on. As for what I am doing next I really don’t know. As of October 1 I will be a free agent so I will be looking for a new club. I would really like to experience Holland, Italy, Czech Republic or maybe a top team in France. But I don’t rule out any teams anywhere. As long as they have dedicated players who come to practice and work hard and want to win I will listen to any offer. And that includes any Bundesliga teams out there. Going to the south would be a challenge with all the good clubs there.
MRBB: Are you satisfied with your time in Solingen? What would you consider your biggest success even though the current season is not over?
AJ: I am very satisfied with the team. We have won 2 north division titles, had a third place overall finish last year and have won a cup qualifier. As for what my biggest success here has been is the fact that we are still winning as we integrate some young players into the team. Unlike some of the other top teams we are actually very young, by average age the second youngest in the league. So to see these young players get better and become good Bundesliga regulars is something I am very proud off. Also we have had a lot of turnover in personal these past couple years so I never got to coach a Kai Gronauer or had Enorbel Marquez and Andre Hughes for 1 year. So losing lots of talent while still bringing in young players and new talent is something to be proud off.
MRBB: You’ve coached in the Baseball-Bundesliga before. Do you see improvements in German Baseball?
AJ: Yes this is my second stint here in Germany and baseball is so far improved here it’s scary. There is a lot of great player’s development out there now and players are starting younger and younger and that’s great. 1 thing that needs to be said is a lot of credit keeps going to the national team and its coaches and they have done a fantastic job but these players where developed by homegrown German coaches and other import coaches who are here for the whole season. I mean you have an American here like former major leaguer Mike Hartley, Guys with college coaching on their resume like me and some tremendous German coaches out there like Red Fechtig, Georg Bull and Matthias Winterrath. So the clubs themselves are really doing a great job. Another big reason for improvement is the fields and facilities are better. Some clubs like Solingen have covered cages where we can hit every day no matter the time of year and no matter the weather. Paderborn has a fantastic indoor facility and this alone will get players better.
MRBB: During the European Championship many people said that Baseball in Europe saw major improvements in the last few years, but now it is time to fill the stands with a better overall product. You know about Baseball in the United States. What does European Baseball need to make the sport more popular?
AJ: Well making baseball here in Europe will still be an uphill battle. But making it more available on TV is 1 way to start. It needs to get onto regular TV not just on ESPN America or a tiny bit on Eurosport2. I mean Big league games to be shown where everyone can watch them. Also getting good German league games on TV would be a step up as well. Clubs needs to individually get out there and do better and more PR work. Get into the schools and get kids interested in it. German baseball can do its own version of the MLB road show as well. Have a roving caravan of interactive things and use some of the German national team members who are in that particular area. Also getting MLB to have some spring training games here in Europe would be a huge boost. There are stadiums in Italy and Holland as well as Regensburg that can handle them. Look at the world cup when Germany played 10,000 fans came most of any single games including the finals. Put 2 major league teams in there and you got sellout for sure.
MRBB: How do you like your chances in the upcoming Bundesliga playoffs and in Rouen at the European Cup Playoff?
AJ: Well I like our chances in the playoffs. The north this year has prepared us much better this year as every team in the league would have at least 1 really good pitcher. We go down to Haar and I don’t know much about them to be honest. But when I roll out a nice 4 deep pitching staff and our lineup I like our chances. After that we look at possible Heidenheim the team that knocked us out in 5 games last year and the team that now has our 2 Americans from last year. They are a great and talented team and it will be a battle that’s for sure. But I feel if we play our best baseball than we can play with any team in the Bundesliga.
As for Rouen we go in against them and Karlovac so it will be a tough 4 games but with the pitching depth we have I am very optimistic about our chances. The only thing that really concerns me is if the other 2 teams decide to try and pick up players from other French teams or Croatian teams to offset their rosters. I think this is against the rules but even if it’s allowed we will only be using players who have been on our roster all year or have been playing all season. No foreign mercenary for 1 tournament. But it will be fun and we really want to get Germany that second A-pool spot.
Mister-Baseball thanks Andy Fleischacker for answering our questions.