Mannheim Tornados

Mannheim Tornados

League	Baseball-Bundesliga (Bundesliga Süd)
Location	Mannheim
Ballpark	Roberto Clemente Field, 1,000 capacity
Year founded	1975
League championships	1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1997
Colors	red / black / white
Manager	George Bull
General Manager	George Bull^[1]
Website	www.tornados.de

The Mannheim Tornados are a baseball and softball club from Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg. Founded in 1975, it is the oldest continuing baseball club in Germany.^[2] The first men's team plays in the first division of the Baseball Bundesliga and has won 11 championships, the most of any club to reach the top tier of German baseball. The team won every championship between 1984 and 1989. However, the Tornados have not won a championship since 1997, though they perennially make the playoffs.^[3]

Club Structure

The full club consists of 12 teams:

1st Men's, plays in Bundesliga's 1st Division
Men's Regional
Association Men's League
1st Women's
Association Women's League
Juniors (16–18 years)
Youth (13–15 years)
Student (9–12 years)
Junior Women (17–19 years)
T-Ball (4–8 years)
2 recreational teams (Slow Pitch)
Mixed Team League Softball Fast Pitch

Each member pays an annual club fee, ranging from €55 for ordinary members to €170 for active adult members.^[4] The club also set up a separate organization, The Friends of the Baseball Club Tornados Mannheim eV. It is classified as a charitable organization by the City of Mannheim, and has an annual membership fee of €24.^[5]

Season by Season Performance (1st Bundesliga)

Year	Rank	Games	W	L	Win%	Season Notes
2007	3	28	18	10	.642	Lost to Solingen Alligators in Quarterfinals, 1-3^[6]
2008	3	28	18	10	.642	Lost to Regensburg Legionaere in Finals, 2-3^[7]
2009	3	24	15	9	.625	Lost to Heidenheim Heideköpfe in Finals, 2-3^[8]
2010	3	28	17	11	.607	Lost to Paderborn Untouchables in Quarterfinals, 2-3^[9]

^[10]^[11]^[12]

Retired Numbers

The team has five retired numbers:

30 - Frank Jäger, played 390 games with the Tornados from 1984 to 2000, batting .314 lifetime
22 - Bernard Pickett, known as "Yogi," played 213 games with the Tornados and batted .413 lifetime
20 - Stephan Jäger, hit .425 for the Tornados over 194 games
35 - Eddy Polanco, hit .413 over 221 games for the Tornados^[13]
44 Klaus Knüttel, played 498 games in his Tornados jersey, pitched 1121 strikeouts in 1129 innings. Also a power hitter, he had 97 home runs, 20 triples, and 9 doubles during his career

References

External links

1st Division, Baseball Bundesliga

Teams

Division Nord	Solingen Alligators Paderborn Untouchables Dortmund Wanderers Bonn Capitals HSV Stealers Berlin Sluggers Dohren Wild Farmers Cologne Cardinals

Division Süd	Heidenheim Heideköpfe Regensburg Legionäre Mannheim Tornados Mainz Athletics Haar Disciples Gauting Indians Bad Homburg Hornets

Former Teams

Bennigsen Beavers
Saarlouis Hornets
Neuenburg Atomics
Cologne Dodgers
Hannover Regents
Neunkirchen Nightmares
Pulheim Gophers

Seasons

2007
2008
2009
2010
2011

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