The Baseball-Bundesliga club COLOGNE CARDINALS has a new head coach. The 35-year-old Ryan Sowards succeeds Georg Apfelbaum, who steps back due to the birth of his son. Sowards was selected by the LOS ANGELES DODGERS out of Walla Walla Community College in the 36th round of the 1994 amateur draft and stayed three years in the minor league system of the Major League organization. He played in a total of 132 games, reaching High-A in 1996, and batted .273 (OBP .395/.390) in his three-year career.
After his release he became a scout for the DODGERS in 1998 and worked in this position also for the COLORADO ROCKIES (since 2007). Sowards already was in Germany last fall to meet the team and is taking over from Apfelbaum at the beginning of February. The club is optimistic to repeat its success of last year, a playoff berth.