Alex Schmidt sees the MVP title as confirmation – but the real goal is the shared title next year. The national player about an idol, the #LegionaireFamily and the “coolest sport in the world.”
The most important thing first: The MVP of the Bundesliga South 2024, the shortstop of the national team, the human highlight reel will also be on the field for the Guggenberg Legionnaires Regensburg in the coming season. Alex Schmidt is already excited during the off-season about what’s to come next season.
“Everyone has to pull together”
That also has a lot to do with Matt Vance taking over as head coach. “What I’m most looking forward to is playing for one of my idols,” says the 25-year-old. He wants to “have fun on the pitch again, just go full throttle with the boys and finally achieve a goal that we have really had for many years.”
The team failed to achieve this goal last year, which was probably even more bitter than in previous seasons given the potential of this team. Alex Schmidt said: “Last season I was reminded that in baseball you fail more often than you succeed. But no matter how bad things are going at any given time, you just have to keep going, you just have to believe in the process and do what you believe in. Then the tide turns. In addition, everyone has to pull together to ensure success. Then you are actually unbeatable.”
The common title as the goal
The disappointment of the titleless season cannot outweigh the honor of MVP of the Bundesliga. For Schmidt, team success comes before individual awards. “Yes, of course it’s a validation of all the work you’ve put in, whether it’s in the weight room or in the batting cage or on the field. But at the end of the day, a lot of us put in so much work and I was just a little luckier than others.”
But something else is crucial: “The term MVP contains valuable, i.e. valuable. In my opinion, the most valuable thing is to win a title as a team and not as an individual. And the goal still needs to be achieved.”
Great importance of the #LegionaereFamily
What began in New York’s Little League in 2007 led the Australian-born Schmidt to Regensburg via Berlin in 2014. He has long since arrived there in sport, professionally and privately. “Being a Legionnaire means so much to me. I came to the sports boarding school here in Regensburg ten years ago and was immediately welcomed very well. The entire Legionnaire community is one giant family. We have so many volunteers, whether it’s in the food shop, at Legionnaires TV or elsewhere. Everyone pulls together, everyone looks, regardless of whether it’s raining or 30 degrees and sunny. The people are not at the lake, but they help us so that we can give our best on the pitch. That’s what #LegionaireFamily means to me.”
What unites the members of the #LegionaereFamily is, last but not least, their love for this very special game. Alex Schmidt: “Baseball is the greatest sport in the world. There is no better one. From the moment I watched the Mets in New York, I was in love with the sport. I played with my father on the lawn in front of our apartment. It was the best decision of my life to continue this sport. When I get home from work and go to training, I meet my best friends with whom I get to spend time on the field, all because of this sport. I’ve already seen a lot of countries just because of baseball, met a lot of nice, great people and hope that it continues like this for a few more years.”
