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Managing a team composed of players from Czech Republic, Lithuania, Hungary, Slovakia and Spain was so much fun and was a major career highlight for me. Since before coming to the Canaries, these players had never played together, had only one practice, I had to simplify my message to them: play how you play, do not try and do more then you can, help each other, communicate, be smart, be aggressively smart, don’t hesitate to make decisions and, most importantly, enjoy the experience! Even though many thought that this was not the most talented team, we had some guys who worked really hard. They were really a bunch of quality character guys who got along well, helped each other, had fun on the bench and were great competitors who wanted to win. Watching these guys come together, having fun while they were playing, learning, competing and winning was a tremendous baseball experience for me.
In a way, their journey through the camp imitated a script that may have been written for a Hollywood movie. Sort of like “Hoosiers” where an average team with lots of character wins it all. Our star was a smart, tough, talkative Lithuanian by the name of Martynas Sadzevicius. He won the tournament MVP while using his short compact swing and unorthodox style to hit .375, hitting to all fields especially in key game situations. His aggressively smart base stealing energized the team. He was aided in his heroic play by Mikulas Borek, a tall pitcher from a small town in the Czech Republic who struggled throwing strikes in his first two appearances, but after a few lessons from our Director of Pitching Manny Olivera, his body movements got better and he developed mental toughness. Aided by modern technology like Rhapsodo, he adjusted his grips to close out the final 3 outs of the championship game.
The highlight of the whole tournament was watching the guys celebrate, Martynas Sadzevicius winning the MVP and an inspiring speech by Borek! It was a sweet way to end the tourney and close out my trip there. I have so much gratitude toward the WBSC for this opportunity.
Managing a team composed of players from Czech Republic, Lithuania, Hungary, Slovakia and Spain was so much fun and was a major career highlight for me. Since before coming to the Canaries, these players had never played together, had only one practice, I had to simplify my message to them: play how you play, do not try and do more then you can, help each other, communicate, be smart, be aggressively smart, don’t hesitate to make decisions and, most importantly, enjoy the experience! Even though many thought that this was not the most talented team, we had some guys who worked really hard. They were really a bunch of quality character guys who got along well, helped each other, had fun on the bench and were great competitors who wanted to win. Watching these guys come together, having fun while they were playing, learning, competing and winning was a tremendous baseball experience for me.
In a way, their journey through the camp imitated a script that may have been written for a Hollywood movie. Sort of like “Hoosiers” where an average team with lots of character wins it all. Our star was a smart, tough, talkative Lithuanian by the name of Martynas Sadzevicius. He won the tournament MVP while using his short compact swing and unorthodox style to hit .375, hitting to all fields especially in key game situations. His aggressively smart base stealing energized the team. He was aided in his heroic play by Mikulas Borek, a tall pitcher from a small town in the Czech Republic who struggled throwing strikes in his first two appearances, but after a few lessons from our Director of Pitching Manny Olivera, his body movements got better and he developed mental toughness. Aided by modern technology like Rhapsodo, he adjusted his grips to close out the final 3 outs of the championship game.
The highlight of the whole tournament was watching the guys celebrate, Martynas Sadzevicius winning the MVP and an inspiring speech by Borek! It was a sweet way to end the tourney and close out my trip there. I have so much gratitude toward the WBSC for this opportunity.
By Pete Caliendo
Photo Gallery: WBSC Europe Youth Tournament on the Canary Islands; ISG/Portugal Clinic.
Tournament Victory is celebrated by the Caliendo coached team.
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Besides playing games and practicing, European guys received classroom instruction in the finer points of baseball from the coaches. Shown here is ISG VP Caliendo teaching a class in theory.
SAY CHEESE! Ever the documenter of baseball history, Coach Caliendo takes a team photo selfie on his ever-present smart phone.
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(ABOVE) Celebrating a clinic completion, (clockwise from lower left) Sandra Montiero, leader of the Portugal Baseball Federation, Team Leader John Vodenlich, and presenters Mark Fuller and Tim Leiper enjoy a post clinic meal. (RIGHT) Possibly a model for the first Portuguese pitching machine, a cannon stands guard.
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