The Mainz Athletics announced on Tuesday that Japanese shortstop Keigo Miyagi is returning to the club, where he played in 2007 and 2008. The 30-year-old was one of the key players during their championship run in 2007. He currently is playing in Japan, but will arrive in time for the final preparations before the upcoming season.
Miyagi batted .345/.465/.388 with 36 runs, nine RBI and 18 stolen bases in 38 games in the Baseball-Bundesliga. During the stretch run and in the playoffs in 2007 he also saw some time on the mound, going a stellar 5-1 with an ERA of 1.89 in six starts during the postseason. One season later he battled injuries and didn’t have the same impact on the performance of the A’s. Afterwards he left to pursue playing opportunities in the USA.
With the press release Mainz also revealed that Pat Haugen and Mike Larson will fill the other two foreign spots this year. Haugen is most likely going to be the second-game starting pitcher. The Athletics won its first two preseason games in Pulheim against the Gophers 8-4 and 4-0 last weekend. Together with the Mannheim Tornados they will travel to Montpellier, France next week to hold a training camp and to play in a tournament against French teams.
Photo: © Tanja Szidat