After two defeats at the Mainz Athletics, the Bundesliga baseball players of the Stuttgart Reds have to fear for the play-off participation.
The Stuttgart Reds had imagined things differently. Due to the 0:13 and 7:16 defeats at fifth-placed Mainz Athletics, the Bundesliga baseball team from TV Cannstatt are still in fourth place, but are facing the final double match day on Sunday, July 10, at the third Munich hair Disciples mighty under pressure. “We probably have to win both games, otherwise we run the risk of being intercepted by Mainz and missing the play-offs,” says Reds board member Felix Kandt. In game one, Mainz pitcher Tim Stahlmann dominated the scene, just leaving two runners on base. In game two, the Reds presented themselves better, in the meantime even led, but in the end “we had no chance of winning”.
Promoted to the Bundesliga in 2011
Ever since they were promoted to the highest German league in 2011, the Reds have been an integral part of the Bundesliga, have been unscathed in the play-downs for two seasons in a row and managed to stay in the league and then reach the last eight, i.e. the play -offs. In 2014, the team even failed in the semi-finals for the German championship.
The early years of the “Reds” had nothing to do with consistency, but rather with changes. It was Jan van den Berg who founded the Reds in 1986 after a successful baseball week at the Feuerbach sports association. At that time it was thrown and hit in the state league. Due to poor training conditions, the baseball players migrated to the tus Stuttgart in Degerloch in 1992 and formed a joint department with the American footballers – the Scorpions. The women’s variant of the sport – softball – was also offered. The next change of location followed two years later – up to the TV Cannstatt on the Schnarrenberg. From then on, the success story picked up speed, even if the long-planned place on the TVC site seemed to degenerate into a never-ending story. In 2004 it was inaugurated, the so-called “Field of Dreams”. Previously, the Reds played their games on the US Army pitches at Kaserne am Roten Stich. There were special requirements for playing inside the barracks: it was mandatory to always be able to identify yourself, and the armed military police carried out checks on the premises. At that point in time, Christoph Manske had already held the post of First Chairman – which he still holds today – for eight years. Over the years, more and more teams were added, the men worked their way up league by league to the Belleetage – the women’s softball players also celebrated successes, currently play in the Bundesliga and are third in the southern season.
Several German youth championships
In addition, the youth work was pushed and bore masterly fruits. Several German youth championships were celebrated, national players in the different age groups are no longer a rarity. The baseball academy opened in 2017.
With the demands, the infrastructure also changed – inevitably. The TVC Ballpark was the venue of the EM in 2010. The facility was expanded and remodeled for this major event – and it is currently in the process of doing so. The new stadium with a capacity of more than 650 seats and the new hall including office are to be inaugurated at the end of the year. “That’s the plan. We hope that there will be no delivery bottlenecks,” says Roland Schmid, President of TV Cannstatt. Schmid knows that the stadium roof and windows will be delivered in the next few days. Meanwhile, the planned construction costs of seven million euros can no longer be maintained. Due to the massive rate of inflation, the project will probably be two million euros more expensive, says the association president.
