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| Mainz Athletics | |||||
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| Information | |||||
| League | Baseball-Bundesliga (Bundesliga Süd) | ||||
| Location | Mainz,Rhineland-Palatinate | ||||
| Ballpark | Ballpark am Hartmühlenweg | ||||
| Founded | 1988 | ||||
| League championships | 2007, 2016 | ||||
| Division championships | 1999, 2000, 2004, 2016 | ||||
| Colors | Green and gold | ||||
| General manager | Nici Wiecert | ||||
| Manager | Will Kilgore | ||||
| Website | www | ||||
TheBaseball and Softball Club Mainz Athletics 1988 e.V., commonly referred to asMainz Athletics, is aGerman baseball and softball club located in the city ofMainz inRhineland-Palatinate. The Athletics, along withRegensburg Legionäre, is one of the largest clubs in theBaseball-Bundesliga Süd in terms of membership, claiming to have hundreds of active players. The club has played in the Baseball-Bundesliga for more than two decades, winning the German Championship in the 2007 and 2016 season.
The team was established in 1988 as a split of the Mainz Rangers and played its first games in 1989 under the name Mainz Athletics. This name was chosen because, amongst the founders of the club, none of them had theOakland Athletics as their favorite team, so the nickname Athletics was selected.[1]
| Year | Rank | Games | W | L | Win% | Season Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 2 | 26 | 19 | 7 | .731 | DefeatedRegensburg Legionäre in Finals, 3-2, to win 1st League Championship[2] |
| 2008 | 4 | 28 | 18 | 10 | .642 | Lost in quarterfinals toSolingen Alligators, 1-3[3] |
| 2009 | 4 | 24 | 9 | 15 | .375 | Lost in quarterfinals to Solingen Alligators, 0-3[4] |
| 2010 | 7 | 28 | 9 | 19 | .321 | |
| 2011 | 3 | 24 | 14 | 10 | .583 | Lost in quarterfinals to Solingen Alligators, 1-3 |
| 2012 | 3 | 24 | 15 | 9 | .625 | Lost in quarterfinals to Solingen Alligators, 0-3 |
| 2013 | 4 | 28 | 19 | 9 | .679 | Lost in quarterfinals toBonn Capitals, 2-3 |
| 2014 | 5 | 28 | 14 | 14 | .500 | |
| 2015 | 4 | 28 | 17 | 11 | .607 | Lost in quarterfinals to Bonn Capitals, 2-3 |
| 2016 | 1 | 28 | 24 | 4 | .857 | Defeated Regensburg Legionäre in Finals, 3-1, to win 2nd League Championship |
The Mainz Athletics played their home games at Sandflora Ballpark between 1988 and 2010. The field is located between the neighborhoods ofMombach andGonsenheim, an area that was previously the grounds of an American military installation. Sandflora comprised a baseball and a softball field, both of which were occupied by the Athletics. Since the fields overlap, games could be played on both fields at the same time.
TheBundesliga All-Star Game and theEuropean Cup were held at the Sandflora several times. The field also hosted the 1999Junior European Championship and in the inaugural 2002 Softball All Star Game.
The field lies in a residential neighborhood, so because a field can become loud during games, the Athletics had to find a new place to play. In 2011 the club played their first game in a new ballpark along the Hartmühlenweg, about 500 meters east of the former facility.[5][6]