Köln-Müngersdorf –
Throwing, running or hitting: which one is the most fun? If you look at the young baseball players of the Cologne Cardinals asks, the answer is clear: “Beat!” says twelve-year-old Hannes. 13-year-old Finn adds: “If you hit the ball well and then run, that’s the greatest thing.”
Training ground in Cologne-Vogelsang
On the training ground on Biesterfeldstraße, the two practice exactly that with the other members of their U-15 team: punches. Federal base and state coach NRW Clemens Cichocki is there to support the club and to keep an eye on the youngsters, because the selection of the U-15 players for the national baseball team comes at least partly from Cologne.
Finn (left) and Hannes train on the new clay pitch in Vogelsang.
Cichocki knows what young players dream of: “The perfect shot gives you a high that you want to have again and again afterwards,” he says. The higher and further he throws the ball in the air, the more time the player has to run to the next “base”, i.e. the resting place, maybe even to the next one and finally get a point. Hitting the small ball perfectly with a baseball bat requires a good eye – and a lot of practice. The Cologne Cardinals now have a new opportunity to practice in Vogelsang.
Hometown in Cologne-Müngersdorf
So far, the club has been based in Müngersdorf at Aachener Straße 358 to 380 and also has a place there. The new one helps the club in two ways, as chairman Georg Apfelbaum explains: “We have a total of 14 teams. It’s sometimes pretty tight in Müngersdorf, because many of them have to train at the same time,” he says. Above all, for some time now it has also been necessary for the licensing of the Bundesliga teams that the club can play on a second place.
The female Cardinals, who, unlike the men, do not play the game with a baseball but with a softball, have also been promoted to the Bundesliga. A field with the necessary dimensions will be created for their games, along with fences and floodlights. Functional rooms must also be created on Biesterfeldstraße so that the players and young athletes who train there have the opportunity to change and use the sanitary facilities.
New location is the result of a five-year search
The sports office supported the club in finding the ash pitch. “This location is the result of a five-year search,” says Georg Apfelbaum. Originally there was once a football club. Now he has been ownerless for several years. The baseball players have received financial support from the state government for the conversion: As part of the “Modern Sports Facility 2022” program, it is funding the expansion of the field with around 634,000 euros. The own contribution that the association has to bear is still 150,000 euros.
With the second location, the sporting future of the Cologne cardinals is secured. You can already look back on almost 40 years of history. The baseball club was founded in 1983. Sport came to Germany at the beginning of the last century. After the Second World War, American GIs ensured that it spread in this country. Therefore, the Cologne Cardinals’ greatest competition comes from southern climes, where the American armed forces are stationed. The teams from Heidenheim and Regensburg regularly occupy the top positions in the men’s national league. But the Paderborn Untouchables are also among the favourites.
Championship title for Cardinals in 1990
The Cardinals won the championship in 1990. “If someone tells me that was a long time ago, I always reply: not as long as FC’s last championship title,” comments Apfelbaum.
Now he looks to the future with hope. According to Apfelbaum, there are many things that make baseball attractive: The game is varied and exciting with its various rules. It also offers a lot to athletes: “On the one hand, it’s good if you’re athletic, but players who are rather strong and can bring a lot of power to the stroke also have an advantage,” explains Apfelbaum. “Game intelligence is also important.” Interested parties should simply take a look at how these qualities are used in baseball at an official match, where the rules and regulations are also explained in detail.
