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04/26/2005 Archived Entry: "Europe News: The German Baseball Leagues"
The German Baseball Leagues, by Gene Newman
Perhaps it’s the American influence after so many decades of an American presence in the country, but baseball is flourishing in Germany. As the 2005 season goes along, I’ll be providing an occasional update. This first piece, though, will be a brief introduction to the setup there.
I have provided a table below listing the current leagues as they are presently set up, listed from the bottom up.
At the very bottom are the Regional Leagues, then the Second German League and finally, at the top of the pile, the First German League.
The procedure for determining league makeup is basically the same as followed by the Japanese industrial leagues. I am most familiar with the volleyball setup in Japan, but many sports are similarly organized.
At the end of each season and following a Playdown series, the eight-place team in the First League goes down and the first-place team of the Second League moves up for the next season. The seventh-place team from the First League plays a series against the second-place team from the Second League and if the Second League team wins, it moves up and the other team moves down.
1. REGIONAL LEAGUES
NORTHWEST REGION
1 Bonn Capitals 2
2 Hilden Wains
3 Hannover Regents
4 Ratingen Goose-Necks
5 Braunschweig Knochenhauer
6 Braunschweig Knochenhauer
NORTHEAST REGION
1 Frohnau Flamingos
2 Hamburg Oysters
3 Hamburg Marines
4 Kiel Seahawks
5 Frohnau Flamingos
6 Kiel Seahawks
SOUTHWEST REGION
1 Mannheim Tornados 2
2 Mainz Athletics 2
3 Kassel Herkules
4 Mannheim Tornados 2
5 Darmstadt Rockets
6 Bad Hamburg Hornets 2
SOUTHEAST REGION
1 Augsburg Gators
2 Freising Grizzlies
3 Goepingen Green Sox
4 Heidenheim Heidekopfe 2
5 Ingolstadt Schanzer
6 Mannheim Tornados 2
7 Regensburg Legionare 2
8 Schriesheim Raubritter
9 Sindelfingen Squirrels
2. SECOND GERMAN LEAGUE
NORTHERN LEAGUE
1 Berlin Challengers
2 Bremen Dockers
3 Dohren Wild Farmers
4 Dortmund Wanderers
5 Elmshorn Alligators
6 Paderborn Untouchables 2
7 Wuppertal Stingrays
SOUTHERN LEAGUE
1 Bad Homburg Hornets
2 Frankfurt 1860
3 Haar Disciples
4 Ladenburg Romans
5 Neuenburg Atomics
6 Neu-Ulm Falcons
7 Regensburg Legionäre 2
8 Tübingen Hawks
3. THE FIRST GERMAN LEAGUE
THE GERMAN NORTH LEAGUE
1 Bennigsen Beavers
2 Bonn Capitals
3 Cologne Cardinals
4 Joboxers Holzwickede
5 Lokstedt Stealers
6 Neunkirchen Nightmares
7 Paderborn Untouchables
8 Solingen Alligators
THE GERMAN SOUTH LEAGUE
1 Baldham Boars
2 Fürth Pirates
3 Gauting Indians
4 Heidenheim Heideköpfe
5 Mainz Athletics
6 Mannheim Tornados
7 Regensburg Legionäre
8 Saarlouis Hornets
Replies: 1 Comment
That´s amazing, I´ve never thought about it, it´s the largest baseball activity anywhere else besides USA...... Great for baseball really becoming a more global sport.
Posted by Carlos Fragoso @ 04/28/2005 12:54 PM EST
