by David Burns | Jan 31, 2022 | Blog, Written Stories
Seattle University alumna, Lisa Maulden, first took her career overseas in 2015 and never looked back. Her first few seasons overseas were in lower leagues including the Belgian second division and Hungarian Softball League before moving up the ranks to higher-level...
by David Burns | Jan 20, 2022 | Written Stories
January 20, 2022 By Carter Cromwell Given that her father played baseball and her mother was a member of the 2000 Italian Olympic softball team, one could easily assume that Erika Piancastelli’s path to softball stardom was pre-ordained – mapped out early on and...
by David Burns | Nov 17, 2021 | Blog, Written Stories
November 16th, 2021 By Carter Cromwell When Billy Germaine was released from his independent league team in the summer of 2017, it seemed to represent a dead end for his baseball career. Instead, it was just a detour. And no small one, as it turned out. The new path...
by David Burns | Aug 20, 2021 | Written Stories
August 20, 2021 By Carter Cromwell Right off the bat, Chelsea Goodacre realized that playing softball in Japan was going to be different. “The first practices were real eye-openers,” said the former all-American from the University of Arizona, who is a catcher...
by David Burns | Jun 15, 2021 | Blog, Written Stories
June 15th, 2021 By Carter Cromwell [NOTE: Alyson Spinas-Valainis is non-binary, meaning they do not specifically identify with either gender. Therefore, the following article employs the pronouns “they” and “them” in reference to Spinas-Valainis.] That Alyson...
by David Burns | Mar 20, 2021 | Written Stories
March 21st, 2021 By Carter Cromwell That Lisa Maulden is an American playing softball overseas isn’t particularly unusual, but her path to this point has been. “My softball journey has been very non-linear,” she acknowledges. Indeed, her road from growing up near...
by David Burns | Feb 13, 2021 | Blog, Written Stories
February 14th, 2021 By Carter Cromwell Will Swindling’s baseball career hasn’t gone as he originally envisioned, but he never envisioned how it has gone. A star on his youth teams and an all-state performer in high school in Eugene, Ore., he attracted attention from...
by David Burns | Jan 12, 2021 | Blog, Written Stories
January 12, 2021 By Carter Cromwell On the surface, baseball is pretty much the same game wherever it’s played. But where it’s played is often a whole new ballgame. And therein lies the challenge for the players, coaches and others who go outside their home...
by David Burns | Jan 11, 2021 | Blog, Written Stories
January 11, 2021 Written by Arik Sikula Major League Baseball recently made an announcement that significantly affects minor league baseball and all those associated with it. The “One Baseball” plan will cut the number of baseball cities, stadiums, and workers that...
by David Burns | Dec 20, 2020 | Blog, Written Stories
December 20, 2020 By Carter Cromwell One thing you can say about Zdenek Zidek . . . He’s not afraid of a challenge. Zidek is a practicing defense attorney in his hometown of Prague in the Czech Republic — That’s, you know, on another continent across a really...
by David Burns | Nov 25, 2020 | Written Stories
November 20, 2020 Carter Cromwell Sam Belisle-Springer’s path to professional baseball was not a traditional one. After wrapping up a Canadian college baseball career, the french-Canadian pitcher set his sights on baseball overseas. This landed him in Argentina...
by David Burns | Nov 17, 2020 | Written Stories
November 17, 2020 By Carter Cromwell As the 1990s began, baseball was pretty much nothing in Attnang, Austria. Then Yurek Korzeniowski and a few friends showed up and started to make it something. Nearly three decades later, the Attnang Athletics club has a loyal fan...
by David Burns | Nov 10, 2020 | Blog, Written Stories
November 10, 2020 By Carter Cromwell When it came to baseball, Donald Lutz was a late bloomer but a fast learner. His is the unlikely story of a guy who didn’t pick up a ball or bat until the advanced age of 14, but was playing professionally in the U.S. by 19 and in...
by David Burns | Oct 13, 2020 | Blog, Written Stories
October 13, 2020 By Carter Cromwell A glance at Mark Weidemaier’s baseball resume makes it clear that he’s seen a lot. A closer inspection might remind one of an old country/western song titled “I’ve Been Everywhere”. Well, maybe not everywhere, but a lot of...
by David Burns | Sep 29, 2020 | Blog, Written Stories
September 29, 2020 By Carter Cromwell During the last decade or so, Owen Reid has traveled to five continents and approximately 50 countries because of baseball. During the last several months, he’s been to none. Thank you, Covid-19 pandemic. Like everyone, Reid has...
by David Burns | Sep 14, 2020 | Blog, Written Stories
September 14, 2020 By Carter Cromwell Tom Signore represents a case study supporting the old line about a person never knowing what’s around the next corner in life. Not long ago, he turned a corner that led him from upstate New York to Taiwan. Signore coached at the...
by David Burns | Aug 24, 2020 | Written Stories
August 24, 2020 By Carter Cromwell It’s a pretty good bet that most non-Europeans aren’t familiar with the city of Regensburg. It’s an even better bet that most baseball followers don’t know about it. To the average fan, the terms “Regensburg” and “baseball” don’t...
by David Burns | Jul 21, 2020 | Blog, Written Stories
July 21, 2020 By Carter Cromwell Like many ballplayers and coaches, Clayton Carson’s story reads more like an odyssey – moving from place to place to place with usually no idea of where the next place will be. But it appears his days as a baseball nomad may be over....
by David Burns | Jun 24, 2020 | Blog, Written Stories
June 24, 2020 By Carter Cromwell One thing about Ryan Flynn – he’s not afraid to roll the dice. Like when he took off for London after graduating from college. Like when he was 22 and took a job interview via telephone while walking out of the Woodstock ’94 music...
by David Burns | May 30, 2020 | Written Stories
May 20, 2020 By Carter Cromwell To the Jeopardy answer “hotbed of baseball”, one might offer the question “What is Japan?” Or “. . . The Dominican Republic?” Or “. . . St. Louis?” Or various other places around the world. It’s highly doubtful that any contestant...
Moonshot is a baseball apparel company based out of Mannheim, Germany, and is owned and operated by a good friend of ours, Juan Martin. What separates Moonshot from the other companies we have used in the past, is the value for your money and the customer service. You will not find prices like this in Europe or someone that responds faster. 
High end, professional wood and composite bats with a wide selection of models using many different types of wood from Japan, North American and Taiwan. Hakusoh Bat is approved with the WBSC and across Europe. 
