The Buchbinder Legionaere Regensburg have added two members of the Czech national team to its 2010 roster according to a press release. Catcher Petr Cech and starting pitcher Boris Bokaj (in the picture together with head coach Martin Helmig) will leave their home town club Arrows Ostrava to play in the German Baseball-Bundesliga.
Bokaj is 23 years old and made his debut in the Czech Extraleague in 2003. He was nominated to the national team four years later, appearing in the 2007 European Championships, the 2008 World University Championships and the 2009 Baseball World Cup. In 2009 he had a 9-9 record with an ERA of 2.63 in 19 games for Ostrava. He went the distance ten times and struck out 102 batters in 137 innings, walking 54.
The 22-year-old Cech was the first position player from the Czech Republic to play in the minor leagues according to Baseball-Reference.com. One year after playing in the 2005 Baseball World Cup he signed with the Cincinnati Reds organization and spent three seasons with their Gulf Coast League and Pioneer League affiliates from 2007 to 2009. He batted .231 (OBP .288/SLG .269) in 49 games during this time. He also played in the 2007 Euros and the 2009 Baseball World Cup for the Czech national team. Besides playing in the US he continued playing for Ostrava, including an 8-for-25 run during last year’s playoffs.
Cech will split time behind the plate with German national team catcher Christopher Howard. The two new guys won’t be the first Czech players in Regensburg. In the past few years they also had Jakub Vancura (2005-2007), Simon Kudernatsch (2007&2008) and Jakub Sladek (2008) on the roster. The Buchbinder Legionaere open the season on April 5th in Mannheim against the Tornados.
Photo: © Buchbinder Legionaere Regensburg