BRNO, Czech Republic – Extra Innings’ reporter Gabriel Fidler talked with German head coach Greg Frady after his club’s 5-2 victory over the Czech Republic. The decision left Germany 4-4 in the 2014 European Championships and in fifth place.
Extra Innings: You had trouble getting the bats going in this tournament, but you finished on a high note with 13 hits.
Greg Frady: The bats were a challenge. It’s a young team with lots of nerves, all trying to prove themselves. In that situation, you get guys trying too hard and are a bit over eager. The pitching, though, was the best it’s ever been. We have a really good group of pitchers and, considering how young our hitters are, we couldn’t have played a whole lot better.
EI: Had a few balls gone differently, you might be in a different position tonight.
GF: One play can dictate positions in the European Championship. Aside from the eighth inning against Spain and the walkoff with France, we played really well.
EI: So what’s next for German baseball?
GF: I feel like we took a step forward professionally, athletically, and competitively [in this tournament]. I think it’s no secret that several teams put their best guys against us. That’s a positive thing for us and it makes us better as we have to make improvements [against them]. We’re missing a lot of good young hitters: Donald Lutz, Max Kepler, Kai Gronauer, Julsen Kamara, and Sascha Lutz, among others. We’re missing five top players, but the team really pulled together to replace them. We have a group of strong, young pitchers, but we’ve got to develop more position players. I feel really pleased to finish fifth in this tournament and feel positive about the guys we had here and what they accomplished.
EI: Thanks, coach.
GF: Happy to chat.
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