Cover photo credit: Lenka Brožová
By David Burns
July 21st, 2024
When I got the message from the organizers of Prague Baseball Week that our Globetrotters were not invited back to the tournament for 2024, I was not happy, to say the least. However, when hearing their explanation that the tournament is moving to a WBSC-sanctioned, national teams-only tournament, it was hard to argue. You see, since 2014, Prague Baseball Week was the baseball highlight of my summer when I got to escape the office enjoy a week in one of Europe’s most beautiful cities, and more importantly, meet up with 30+ of our BBJO members who traveled from their various teams around Europe –and some as far as the U.S.– to compete as a team in the tournament.
In 2024, I returned to Prague Baseball Week as a spectator and as one of the many media people reporting on the tournament. It wasn’t as fun as being on the field, but I have to admit, the tournament was better than I had ever seen it. Coming off of the 2023 WBC high which saw the Czechs defeat China off a Martin Mužík 9th inning, come-from-behind, three-run home run, the tournament organizers leveraged their new international standing within the baseball world to attract the likes of Samurai Japan and Chinese Tapei to the tournament.
Photos: In 2024, Prague Baseball Week was a sanctioned WBSC tournament and featured Samurai Japan and Chinese Taipei. Photo credit: Lenka Brožová. Drone photo taken by Baseball Jobs Overseas
“I think the tournament was a success because there were some great teams, great baseball games, great food, great atmosphere, and a great show with a DJ, mascots, fan zone, and more (celebrity guests, kids entertainment, etc),” said Lukáš Ercoli, the tournament’s Marketing and Communications Director. “The goal was to make it a more family-friendly tournament, to give families an alternative place that they can take their kids.”
Organizers and volunteers worked countless hours promoting and running the tournament, reaching their goal set by Czech Manager, Pavel Chadim, of attracting 1,000 fans to every Czech game.
However, the Czech baseball efforts don’t begin and end with Prague Baseball Week. There is much going on behind the scenes to carry on the momentum and continue to field a strong Czech National Team for years to come. One such effort is the “Czechs Play Baseball Youth Program”, a baseball road show posted in market squares and at events around the Czech Republic where youth can give their baseball skills a try and receive real-time feedback on how hard they hit or throw the ball.
“This is important for us to secure the next generation of baseball players,” said Ercoli. “We are not just looking 2 or 3 years ahead, but 10, 15, 20 years down the road.”
Pavel Chadim is a central piece to the progress that Czech baseball has made and has his hand in just about everything within Czech baseball including the upstart of the Super Cup, a U10 baseball tournament that attracts 24 teams every year.
“The current Czech system is one of the best in Europe from the bottom to the top,” said Ercoli. “But we have to continue to work hard to get kids to play baseball since baseball is not a primary sport in Europe.”
Photo: Annually, the Czech Republic hosts a U10 tournament that attracts 24 teams. Photo credit: Stanislav Janů
As for the men’s team, there are a lot of plans leading up to their return to the WBC in 2026, starting with a trip to Japan and Taiwan in the fall of 2024 to play 5 games to help the two nations prepare for the Premier 12 in November. There are also rumors of a possible spring training in Florida in 2025. However, it is the European Championship in 2025 that their sights are most set on, as they look to medal and redeem themselves after a very disappointing 5th-place finish in the last tournament.
“It is a big deal for us to continue to secure our spot in the WBC by performing well in 2026,” said Ercoli. “Many of our key players will be in their 30s in 2026, therefore we will be relying on some new young talent to compete at that level for us.”
Although the future standing of Czech Baseball on the international circuit is still to be determined, one thing is for certain, they are an inspiration to all of us involved in European baseball, and their determination to succeed and work ethic are admirable.
We invite you to watch our highlight video below of Prague Baseball Week 2024.
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