French leaders ignore Olympic history

Given the French explanation for why there will be no baseball at the 2024 Olympics, one has to conclude that these leaders are either ignoring the history of the Olympics or are simply charlatans.

They claim they have ruled out baseball because they don’t have the right stadiums. However, the French Baseball Federation recently announced that the country has seen a 40% increase in players of the sport to 14,654 since 2012. Where do they play?

And, in addition to the stadium, they have stadiums used for other sports that could be converted into baseball stadiums.

The French can say they don’t like baseball, that’s all. Or that they routinely leave baseball out of the Olympics because the major leagues don’t want their stars to leave the team mid-season.

German history. And many other facts. 88 years ago, not yesterday, but in 1936, Germany accepted baseball to participate in the Olympics, and they also invited experts from the United States to adjust the stadiums. This participation was very successful, and since then many Germans have played baseball every summer and even entered the American Major League Baseball.

Even Adolph Hitler, before World War II, took time off from his work as a despotic dictator and his dreams of world domination to come to Berlin to watch a baseball game. He ordered a box to be built for him in the stadium.
The German Baseball Federation currently has 30,856 players.

The first German in America

Four years ago, Strausberg native right-hander Mitch Franke became the first German Bundesliga player to sign with the Milwaukee Brewers, an MLB organization. He did not make it to the major leagues, he spent only two years in the affiliate, but he opened the door for other Germans, such as Tim Henkenjohn, a fellow right-hander from Wilhelmshaven, who also pitched in the minor leagues with the Twins, from 2002 to 2005, and catcher Simón Gühring, a native of Stuttgart, who played for the Brewers in 2002 and 2003.

German Kids in Major League Baseball

Now, American-born sons of Germans who played in the major leagues were led by George Herman Ruth (Babe Ruth, 1914-1935) and Lou Gehrig (1923-1939). Others on that list: Rube Wadell and Honus Wagner.

Outfielder Donald Lutz, Reds’ first-place grand slam

The first player who grew up in Germany to play in the MLB was left-handed outfielder and first baseman Donald Lutz, who played with the Reds in 2013. But he was born in Watertown, New York, to German parents.

Max Kepler, born in Berlin, is a left-handed outfielder with good hitting power. He became an American baseball player 16 years ago. At the age of 16, he was signed by the Twins and played in the minor leagues for six seasons. Now he is in his tenth season with the big club.

Brendan Donovan, born in Würzburg, infielder, left-handed hitter, has been playing for the Cardinals since 2022 and is the 45th German to play in the majors.

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