The new baseball season will start this weekend in Switzerland. Teams will compete in three leagues: NLA, NLB and in the first league. Chris Palatinus, the representative of Swiss baseball and softball federation (SBSF) shared in interview what to expect from this baseball season.

What changes will be in the NLA National League this year?

Chris Palatinus: The schedule of the games remains the same as it was last year. Seven teams will compete for the champion title. Previously there were eight teams but the “Jona Bandits” team has unexpectedly left the league. In my opinion, the “Zurich Barracudas” team is favorites of the season. The team invited Evan Brisentine from the USA and he is considered to be a very strong pitcher. Also they added the roster with a great catcher, Bert Marsnik, who previously played in “Bern Cardinals” and “Zurich Barracudas”. So, the team from Therwil looks rather strong this year. And it will be a kind of intrigue whether «Cardinals», «Frogs», «Challengers» have any chances to get the championship title.

What are the chances of Swiss baseball at the international sport arena?

The Swiss baseball has shown itself to be rather strong due to a success of “Bern Cardinals” and “Therwil Flyers” during the previous years. Just Swiss clubs were favorites in the final games of many international competitions. It also must be noted that Swiss teams regular became the finalists in qualifying tournaments. It means we proved high sport skills as our teams are in the middle of the international standings.

The National Team competes in tournaments as well. What goals have you set for them?

The senior team will compete in the “B” pool during the Championship in order to get the “A” pool. The Championship will take place in Serbia. James Sanders, the head coach actively works with coaching stuff and players for achieving this goal. During the season 2017 we hope to reach high results.