Head Coach Stephan Rapaglia’s statement on the World Cup and the future of Great Britain Baseball

Stephan Rapaglia

Great Britain Head Coach Stephan Rapaglia has released a statement describing his experience with the national team at the 2009 Baseball World Cup this September. Despite leading the team through one of the most successful phases in its history, he also voices his concerns about the programme’s future.

On the World Cup

“Competing with Great Britain at the Baseball World Cup (BWC) was truly the opportunity of a lifetime. The senior national team consists of a great group of guys who love the game of baseball, come to play for each other every day and take great pride in wearing the GB uniform. To see these guys compete fearlessly day after day against many of the best teams in the world is something that I will never forget, and I will be forever grateful for having been part of this.

Like most competitors, I am not a big fan of moral victories, and we would undoubtedly be much happier today if we had we pulled off a major upset in the second round. That said, we accomplished our primary goal of advancing to the second round, and we competed hard until the last out of the last game. We may have been at a decided disadvantage in terms of ability, but we played with great heart and character. There is no doubt that GB made the international baseball community sit up and take notice, and I am proud of how the guys performed.”

On the GB team and domestic baseball in Britain

“At the moment, in terms of Britain-based players representing GB in international competition, the connection between the GB senior national team and British domestic baseball is much weaker than I would like. The main reasons for this are (i) the extremely shallow pool of qualified players based in Britain and (ii) the lack of adequate domestic training and competition opportunities. As to the first of these items, after years of contraction there are only four teams in all of Great Britain that are currently attempting to play at the top domestic level. This means that there are only 50-60 players in all of Britain who are playing at the top domestic level on any given weekend, and only half of these (at most) are British.

As to the second of these items, the standard of play in Britain at the top level pales in comparison to that of other top-tier baseball nations in Europe, and baseball at the lower levels in Britain is really just recreational in nature. This means that is is quite difficult for Britain-based players at the top-level to prepare adequately for international competition, and the task is even more difficult for those Britain-based players who cannot or choose not to play at the top level. Ultimately, therefore, the combination of the shallow talent pool and the lack of adequate domestic training and playing opportunities leads to a situation in which there are very few Britain-based players who are legitimate candidates for the GB senior national team.

That said, the lengths to which several Britain-based players have gone in order to earn opportunities to represent GB in major international competition are noteworthy. Allow me to make examples of three of the Britain-based players who were selected to GB’s Baseball World Cup (BWC) roster. Richard Klijn is a 19-year old from Cartmel who has spent the better part of the last two years living, training and playing in Regensburg, Germany, the site of one of the premier baseball facilities in Europe, and a place where Richard can train under qualified coaches on a near-daily basis.

Will Lintern, a product of Tonbridge and Brighton, went to the US to play college baseball and spent much of his time on the bench for his first three seasons. In his last year, however, he became a regular player and was selected as team captain. And, this past season, specifically in order to improve his chances of selection to the GB roster for the BWC, Will juggled a full-time job with BaseballSoftballUK and a volunteer position as head coach of the GB Cadet-level national team around his weekend commutes to Munich to play for a team in the top German league.

Finally, there is Alex Malihoudis, another product of Tonbridge and Brighton who went to the US to play baseball. Despite being the longest-tenured current member of the GB programme, in order to secure his place on the BWC roster, Alex persuaded his employer to let him telecommute from Paris for the summer so that he could prepare for the BWC by playing in the top French league. But, Alex did not just earn a spot on the roster, he earned the starting centerfield job.”

On the pathway to the GB programme for Britain-based players

“It would be nice if it did not take this type of tremendous commitment and sacrifice in order for a Britain-based player to earn a spot on the BWC roster, but I do not see that changing dramatically unless one of two possibilities comes to pass. The first possibility is for the standard of domestic play to improve significantly. The question, of course, is how to accomplish this. I don’t think there are easy answers to this question, but I do think that increasing youth baseball participation numbers and the development of true club structures (ideally, involving baseball and softball clubs at various age and competition levels) are essential elements. Additionally, and this is much easier said than done, I think the development and maintenance of an international standard facility (perhaps even with an associated residential training academy) would have great benefits for the domestic leagues and the GB national team programme alike.

The second possibility is for the BBF Board to decide that more roster spots in high-level international competitions must go to Britain-based players regardless of the effect that such a decision will have on the team’s ability to compete. While I fear that such a decision would inexorably lead to the rewarding of mediocrity and half-hearted commitment, all other things being equal, each of General Manager Alan Smith and I would certainly prefer to have more Britain-based players on the GB roster for major events. We each believe that to do so would have some benefits for domestic play in Britain, and we have accordingly given Senior national team playing opportunities to multiple Britain-based players in friendly events.

But, we also believe that to wear the GB uniform in international competition is a tremendous privilege that must be earned through ability and commitment. In our shared view, no player should have the opportunity to represent GB simply because he is a member of a very small talent pool (i.e., the pool of Britain-based ballplayers with GB passports who play at the higher domestic levels). Rather, he should earn that opportunity on the basis of his ability and his level of commitment. Finally, we believe the GB programme is under an obligation to field a team in sanctioned international events that is best capable of achieving on-field success for Britain. While this is no longer an express funding-related obligation, because the GB programme no longer receives any official funding, we continue to believe that such is the primary obligation of any national team in any sport.

The good news in terms of increasing the numbers of Britain-based players at the senior national team level is that the efforts of the GB coaches at the Cadet and Junior levels (i.e., Will Lintern, Liam Carroll and Paul Vernon) to instill an understanding of what it takes to succeed in baseball are starting to bear fruit. Over the last year or so, a number of transitional-aged players have grown close to the point where they will be deserving of national team selection. Cognisant of the fact that the standard of play at the domestic level is currently insufficient for them to pursue their development, in the last couple of years young British players such as Michael Johnson, Michael Trask, Jonathan Cramman and Callum Woods (to name a few) have followed in the footsteps of Malihoudis, Lintern, Klijn and others by going abroad to locations where they can train more regularly and play at a more competitive level than is possible in Britain today. While it is unfortunate that this is necessary for development purposes, this trend is ultimately likely to result in more products of the domestic British baseball ranks earning Senior national team selection.”

On what the future holds for the GB team and British baseball

“So, what is the connection between the future of the GB national team programme and domestic British baseball? The answer to this question depends in large part on whether the BBF Board will impose Britain-based roster composition requirements and, if so, what those requirements will look like. Assuming that the Board decides to largely leave roster decisions to the GB coaches, the current weakness in domestic British baseball should not serve to prevent the GB senior team from continuing its recent forward progress. But, if existing funding problems continue, ever-greater financial contributions from players will become necessary. And this could ultimately lead to a team consisting of those willing and able to pay.

On the other hand, assuming that the Board decides to impose significant roster restrictions, the current weakness in domestic British baseball will have a direct and negative impact on the near-term competitive ability of the GB senior team. Under such circumstances, the senior team would be unlikely to avoid relegation during next summer’s European Championships, and the BWC would soon become little more than a distant memory.

None of the foregoing is intended as a criticism of any particular individuals or teams within the British baseball community, as I am very cognizant of the sacrifices that are often required of those who wish to be involved with baseball in Britain, but I also wish to avoid any undue sugarcoating.”

On the funding situation for GB Baseball

“We take great pride in the fact that the GB Senior team reached the second round of the BWC and competed well against many of the world’s top and best-funded teams, despite having had no meaningful funding of our own. Nevertheless, the absence of funding is a real problem. First, it prevents us from undertaking certain training and development opportunities, which injures our competitive chances. Second, it raises the aforementioned spectre of a team formed of players who are willing and able to pay for the opportunity, rather than a team consisting of the most-deserving players. And, third, it means that far too much time is spent by programme members on fundraising efforts, rather than on baseball matters.”

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of BaseballSoftballUK and the British Baseball Federation.