Braden Lee’s journey in baseball has covered many miles and numerous languages. The former Central Lakes College Raiders player is a right-handed pitcher for the Ostrava Arrows in the Czech Republic and the Silesia Rybnik in Poland. The Granite Falls native pitched at Yellow Medicine East before attending CLC in the fall of 2008. After pitching for CLC, Lee pitched at the University of Saint Mary in Kansas and Virginia Intermonth in Bristol. Lee’s goals of playing baseball didn’t conclude when he finished college. “With some help from my coach, I was then picked to play for the Olean Oilers in the New York Collegiate Baseball League. I was surrounded by solid talent on my team and on opposing teams. There were scouts in attendance. I guess that’s where I was like, ‘OK, Braden, you can play with these guys. Keep fighting and don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t.” In my final year of college, while trying to give it one last shot, I happened to get some help from a friend and played well in front of the right people to put it simply enough. From there I got my first opportunity in Europe for the Gauting Indians in Germany.” Lee doesn’t see playing abroad as a sacrifice, just a different lifestyle than the norm. Every decision he’s made has been to keep playing baseball and he’s happy for it. He’s fulfilling his goal and for that he has no regrets. “I’ve never been the best player on the field growing up,” Lee said. “Sure I have a couple exceptional tools, but there is always someone better out there than you are. “That’s life. I can’t control it. But what I can control is how hard I work and how much heart I put into this. If you want something that bad, put all you got into something and never give up, the sky is the limit and you won’t have any regrets. “I miss family and friends every day, especially when you are in a country that doesn’t speak your native tongue. Sometimes it can be a bit lonely being by you most of the day, but I stay in contact through Wi-Fi since cell service costs me an arm and a leg here”. Playing for two different teams, which are only 40 minutes apart despite being into two separate counties, cuts into any down time for Lee. He does travel around Europe and has learned different languages, cultures and points of view. During the offseason Lee returns to the Brainerd lakes area and works out at Takedown Gym in Brainerd. His end goal is to play as long as he can and then switch to coaching. “For everyone out there with a dream, whether it is big or small, whether it’s realistic or not. If you want something, go get it,” he said.

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