Mainz Athletics
The Baseball and Softball Club Mainz Athletics 1988 e.V., commonly referred to as Mainz Athletics, is a German baseball and softball club located in the city of Mainz in Rhineland-Palatinate. The Athletics, along with Regensburg Legionäre, is one of the largest clubs in the Baseball-Bundesliga Süd in terms of membership, claiming to have hundreds of active players. The club has played in the Baseball-Bundesliga for more than two decades, winning the German Championship in the 2007 and 2016 season.
| Mainz Athletics | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Information | |||||
| League | Baseball-Bundesliga (Bundesliga Süd) | ||||
| Location | Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate | ||||
| Ballpark | Ballpark am Hartmühlenweg | ||||
| Year founded | 1988 | ||||
| League championships | 2007, 2016 | ||||
| Division championships | 1999, 2000, 2004, 2016 | ||||
| Colors | Green and gold | ||||
| Manager | Will Kilgore | ||||
| General Manager | Nici Wiecert | ||||
| Website | www | ||||
History
The team was established in 1988 as a split of the Mainz Rangers and played its first games in 1989 under the name Mainz Athletics. This name was chosen because, amongst the founders of the club, none of them had the Oakland Athletics as their favorite team, so the nickname Athletics was selected.[1]
Season by season performance (1st Bundesliga)
| Year | Rank | Games | W | L | Win% | Season Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 2 | 26 | 19 | 7 | .731 | Defeated Regensburg Legionäre in Finals, 3-2, to win 1st League Championship[2] |
| 2008 | 4 | 28 | 18 | 10 | .642 | Lost in quarterfinals to Solingen Alligators, 1-3[3] |
| 2009 | 4 | 24 | 9 | 15 | .375 | Lost in quarterfinals to Solingen Alligators, 0-3[4] |
| 2010 | 7 | 28 | 9 | 19 | .321 | |
| 2011 | 3 | 24 | 14 | 10 | .583 | Lost in quarterfinals to Solingen Alligators, 1-3 |
| 2012 | 3 | 24 | 15 | 9 | .625 | Lost in quarterfinals to Solingen Alligators, 0-3 |
| 2013 | 4 | 28 | 19 | 9 | .679 | Lost in quarterfinals to Bonn Capitals , 2-3 |
| 2014 | 5 | 28 | 14 | 14 | .500 | |
| 2015 | 4 | 28 | 17 | 11 | .607 | Lost in quarterfinals to Bonn Capitals , 2-3 |
| 2016 | 1 | 28 | 24 | 4 | .857 | Defeated Regensburg Legionäre in Finals, 3-1, to win 2nd League Championship |
Ballpark
The Mainz Athletics played their home games at Sandflora Ballpark between 1988 and 2010. The field is located between the neighborhoods of Mombach and Gonsenheim, an area that was previously the grounds of an American military installation. Sandflora comprised a baseball and a softball field, both of which were occupied by the Athletics. Since the fields overlap, games could be played on both fields at the same time.
The Bundesliga All-Star Game and the European Cup were held at the Sandflora several times. The field also hosted the 1999 Junior European Championship and in the inaugural 2002 Softball All Star Game.
The field lies in a residential neighborhood, the because field can become loud during games, the Athletics had to find a new place to play. In 2011 the club played their first game in a new ballpark along the Hartmühlenweg, about 500 meters east of the former facility.[5][6]
Sandflora Baseball Park, stands overlooking third base line, April 2010
Sandflora Baseball Park, April 2010
Sandflora Baseball Park, Athletics mural, April 2010
Sandflora Baseball Park, baseball field in background, softball field in foreground, April 2010
References
- "Die Vorgeschichte – Mainz Athletics". Mainz Athletics (in German). Retrieved 9 June 2022.
- "German Baseball: Final Standings « Mister Baseball".
- "Semi-finals in Bundesliga set « Mister Baseball".
- "Results German Playoffs/Playdowns July 11&12 « Mister Baseball".
- http://www.mainz-athletics.de/2010/09/20/softball-auf-der-sandflora-ist-nun-geschichte/ (German)
- "Der neue Ballpark der Mainz Athletics | Just another WordPress weblog". Archived from the original on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2010-10-22. Official page for new park