I am now in the Czech Republic playing baseball. I have been here just over a month and it is quite an experience to be here playing the game that I love. Many people are not aware that there are places to play baseball through out Europe if you know the right people. Through out my career I have been lucky enough to play with many different guys that have played all over the world, and I was able to connect with one of them in order to get me the opportunity to come out to the Czech and play this summer.
European baseball is different to say the least. I am big on staying focused on getting better EVEryday and never slowing down or halting my progress. Regardless of where my career takes me I always try to keep this state of mind at the forefront of all that I do, whether it is baseball or anything else I set out to accomplish, getting better is a rooted way of thinking for me and its evolution in my life continues to strengthen me as a person. With that said, it is tough out here to stay on the normal grind that I would in the states. That is because here in Czech we only play on the weekends, usually just one double header, and then we practice a couple times a week. You see, out here in Europe, or at least Czech, they love baseball but from what I have gathered in my experience thus far is that it is not about being a professional baseball player(they don't get paid to play here, only the imports get paid), it is about playing and trying to be the best team in the country. There are only 8 teams in the whole country! It almost feels like it is more for pride than anything else.
As you may be able to imagine, the level of competition out here is not even close to that of the states. It is easy to see why considering the circumstances of the frequency of practice and games; they just don't play as much here so they improve their game at a much slower pace. There are still a couple pretty decent players around the league, but the majority of the guys here wouldn't be able to even sniff making an independent ball club in the states let alone get an affiliated job. Nevertheless, this experience is great and I am very thankful to be here. I feel quite fortunate to have gotten this opportunity to come to the Czech Republic and get a taste of what European Baseball is about. It is not exactly the same level of play in all countries out here, but the model of play as well as the scheduling are similar throughout the baseball playing countries of Europe.
In this blog, I always try to come back to and write about "Being a Better Pitcher" as well as a better person. I enjoy sharing how my state of mind evolves in real time as I see new places and experience this game in different capacities. I aspire to give back to young players that want to continue playing the game for as long as they can and use it to experience more of the world. Baseball has been a means of travel currency for me over my now 6 pro seasons playing the game, and I plan on continuing to use it to help me soak up the world. There is so much more in this world to offer us baseball players that goes far beyond just making it to the big leagues. The big leagues is still my pinnacle and it is still where I would like to be someday, but given my circumstances in my career I have allowed myself to detach from making every possible decision I can in order to fulfill that goal. My new goal is to use baseball to help me expand my global knowledge, culture, diversity, and experience. My heart told me it was right to leave the Atlantic League in order to pursue this opportunity and it has yet to waiver.
I love this game and I love the intangibles that it has provided me in my life. Even with all that I have had to sacrifice in order to keep playing, everything I have worked for to get to this point has been so worth it and I am full of gratitude for the universe. It continues to watch over me so I will continue to give back to it and for that I will continue to do all that I can to give back to young players so they can get better and hopefully get to experience some of the things the world has shown me.
Til next time, thanks for reading.
Respectfully,
Isaac Hess
European baseball is different to say the least. I am big on staying focused on getting better EVEryday and never slowing down or halting my progress. Regardless of where my career takes me I always try to keep this state of mind at the forefront of all that I do, whether it is baseball or anything else I set out to accomplish, getting better is a rooted way of thinking for me and its evolution in my life continues to strengthen me as a person. With that said, it is tough out here to stay on the normal grind that I would in the states. That is because here in Czech we only play on the weekends, usually just one double header, and then we practice a couple times a week. You see, out here in Europe, or at least Czech, they love baseball but from what I have gathered in my experience thus far is that it is not about being a professional baseball player(they don't get paid to play here, only the imports get paid), it is about playing and trying to be the best team in the country. There are only 8 teams in the whole country! It almost feels like it is more for pride than anything else.
As you may be able to imagine, the level of competition out here is not even close to that of the states. It is easy to see why considering the circumstances of the frequency of practice and games; they just don't play as much here so they improve their game at a much slower pace. There are still a couple pretty decent players around the league, but the majority of the guys here wouldn't be able to even sniff making an independent ball club in the states let alone get an affiliated job. Nevertheless, this experience is great and I am very thankful to be here. I feel quite fortunate to have gotten this opportunity to come to the Czech Republic and get a taste of what European Baseball is about. It is not exactly the same level of play in all countries out here, but the model of play as well as the scheduling are similar throughout the baseball playing countries of Europe.
In this blog, I always try to come back to and write about "Being a Better Pitcher" as well as a better person. I enjoy sharing how my state of mind evolves in real time as I see new places and experience this game in different capacities. I aspire to give back to young players that want to continue playing the game for as long as they can and use it to experience more of the world. Baseball has been a means of travel currency for me over my now 6 pro seasons playing the game, and I plan on continuing to use it to help me soak up the world. There is so much more in this world to offer us baseball players that goes far beyond just making it to the big leagues. The big leagues is still my pinnacle and it is still where I would like to be someday, but given my circumstances in my career I have allowed myself to detach from making every possible decision I can in order to fulfill that goal. My new goal is to use baseball to help me expand my global knowledge, culture, diversity, and experience. My heart told me it was right to leave the Atlantic League in order to pursue this opportunity and it has yet to waiver.
I love this game and I love the intangibles that it has provided me in my life. Even with all that I have had to sacrifice in order to keep playing, everything I have worked for to get to this point has been so worth it and I am full of gratitude for the universe. It continues to watch over me so I will continue to give back to it and for that I will continue to do all that I can to give back to young players so they can get better and hopefully get to experience some of the things the world has shown me.
Til next time, thanks for reading.
Respectfully,
Isaac Hess
