It was my pleasure to interview Chris, a humble big man standing at 6’10″ (2.09 m), former USC Trojan and soon to be veteran of not only European baseball, but of some of the top baseball Europe has to offer. Chris recently signed for the 2013 season with UVV, a club in the The Honkbal Hoofdklasse, the highest level of professional baseball in the Netherlands.

Chris played with the Rouen Huskies of the French Elite league in 2012 where he dominated on the mound, effectively using his unorthodox delivery and his giant body to deceive batters. Chris was named the best pitcher of the French elite final series as he lead his club to their 9th french title in 10 years. He also was a major contributor to the club’s success in the 2012 European cup as they made it to the final four, the first time any French club has done so. Chris’s fondest memories were not of the final four but of the Rotterdam round of the Cup that got them there, a round where he got the win in a huge upset over the DOOR Neptunes, one of the top Dutch clubs and most successful clubs in all of Europe. He also had a stellar relief appearance in a big win over the 2012 German champions,  the Buchbinder Legionaere Regensburg.

Former USC Trojan Chris Mezger playing with the Rouen Huskies of France

Dana brings us 15 years of European baseball knowledge and sheds a lot of light for those of you looking to take your U.S. pro career to Europe. We talk Dutch, Italian, German and Czech baseball in depth. Dana provides some great tips on how to break in, where to break in, and what to expect. We also dive into the top organizations and baseball destinations in Europe.

Holland, Italy, Germany & Czech Baseball with Dana Beszczynski

The focus of this interview and many future interviews is to extract more information about the lifestyle of the import player or coach living in various cities around Europe. I also try to get more inside info on what the league is like, the clubs within the league and which clubs are the most desirable to play for when considering level of play, location, facilities and of course pay.

In this episode, I threw together two separate 10 minute interviews with U.S. players who spent the 2013 summer season in Switzerland and France with the Bern Cardinals and the Beaucaire Chevaliers.

Imports of the Beaucaire Chevaliers (FRA) and Bern Cardinals (SWI)

In my previous two podcast interviews with Bryan Ruby, he was not openly gay. Since our last interview, Bryan has come out and is now the only known active, openly gay professional baseball player in the world. His coming out was not just within his friend and family circle but on a national stage when his story was featured on the front page of the sports section of U.S.A. Today and at Dodgers Stadium when announced prior to singing the national anthem this past fall.

In this episode, Bryan talks about his fear of jeopardizing his career as a professional baseball player and a country music singer and songwriter by coming out. He also talks about his struggles as a closeted gay baseball player growing up. Although Bryan shy's away from all of the attention, he decided to use it to help broadcast an organization he started to help others athletes in the LGBTQ community titled ProudToBeInBaseball.

The Only Active Openly Gay Pro Baseball Player Tells his Story

Seattle University alumna, Lisa Maulden, first took her career overseas in 2015 and never looked back. Her first few seasons overseas were in lower leagues including the Belgian second division and Hungarian Softball League before moving up the ranks to higher-level leagues such as the Dutch Golden League, Premiere Women's league in New Zealand, and the Italian Series A. However, it never dawned on Lisa that she would ever play in the Japanese Softball League, which is a pure professional softball league and considered by some, the best women's softball in the world. Lisa is about to enter her third season in Japan in 2022 and sits down for this interview with us from her apartment in Japan where she lives year-round. She shares her experiences on and off the field and advises others on how to go about playing there and what to expect.

Two years of pro softball in Japan; Lisa Maulden in-depth on her experience

In this episode, Baseball Jobs Overseas founder David Burns and co-host Jimmy Jensen interview Jacob Biller, a BBJO member who played his first season overseas in France in 2021 where he won a championship and even managed to get on with the French National Team as a coach for the European Championships in Italy.  

Jacob is a former NCAA D1 switching hitting shortstop out of Kansas State University who spent the summer at the top of the batting order for the Rouen Huskies, the reigning French champions, joining them at the champions cup in the Czech Republic where Jacob and the Huskies competed again the best teams in Europe, including the top teams from Italy and the Netherlands. 

What makes this story even more special, is that Jacob was a bit of a gamble to bring in as an import since he had not competed since graduating in 2018. In order for teams to roll the dice on someone who hasn't competed in that long and whom they haven't ever seen play firsthand, they need to have something special within their BBJO profile. So aside from coming from a big D1 school, what was it about Jacob that caught their eye????? 

It was his coaching experience. 

Ever since graduating he had been coaching at the junior college level and the Huskies were in the market for someone to help coach at their academy. 

Bringing over import players who bring a coaching element has always been a theme with clubs in the low to mid leagues in Europe, or the teams at the bottom of say France or Germany,  but the trend we are starting to see is that coaching is becoming more and more a part of the profile of many of our members who sign overseas with some of the top clubs or in top leagues.

Haven't played in three years? No problem. Come hit leadoff for this top club in Europe

In BBJO podcast episode 14, I interview international baseball coach Trevor Rooper and player Scotty Mulhearn.

Trevor has coached in Holland, Austria, Sweden , Brisbane (Australia) and now has signed on with a club in Sydney Australia for the 2013-2014 winter. In 2011, Trevor led the Attnang Athletics of Austria to an all time record of 24-4 and most recently coached Stockholm to the 2013 championship title.

Trevor gives us detail on the opportunities for import players and coaches in Sweden and Australia and the compensation one can expect. He provides information on the leagues and the clubs within both the Swedish Elite League and the Greater Brisbane Baseball League.

Scotty is a native of Brisbane, Australia and plays ball in the same Brisbane league that Trevor coached in. He has also played baseball in Japan, Sweden (Karlskoga) and most recently with the same club Rooper coached in Austria, the Attnang Athletics. Scotty has since signed on for a second season with the Athletics in 2014.

Scotty goes into a lot of depth about baseball in Brisbane and shares a lot about Swedish baseball as well. He tells his Japan story as well.

He speaks on the opportunities to play in Brisbane and to work your way up to the Australian baseball league from the Brisbane league.

Both gentlemen are asked to compare baseball in Sweden to Austria to help listeners form a more accurate view of baseball in the two countries and what they both present to the baseball professional.

At the end of the interview I introduce a new feature to the podcast which is dubbed the “IBC Insider Tip” where I share a relevant tip that is exclusive for IBC podcast listeners who are seeking every advantage they can get in their pursuit of an international career in baseball.

Baseball in Sweden and Australia from two perspectives

As a compliment to a recent post titles “Top 5 Reasons EU Imports Go Home Early and How to Avoid Them“, I had a short but content rich discussion with Owen Reid on the same Skype session as our last interview about the trial and error of the relationship between professional baseball import players and clubs overseas. We discuss many of the same topics in the post and speculate as to why players are sometimes sent home prior to contract end other than the obvious reason of not making the playoffs. The issue of relationships gone sour in recent years was prevalent in EU baseball and needs to be discussed as I believe there are communication gaps between many European clubs and players and solutions to help smooth out this struggle.

Finding the right club or import

Podcast episode #9 continues to focus on the various baseball hotbeds in Australia, this time with Brisbane, one of the largest baseball regions in the country. Jeff Tezak spent two years in Austria playing for the Vienna Metrostars and has since taken his game to Brisbane for the past couple of years to play with the Redcliffe Padres Jeff is a true utility player which puts him in high demand with many clubs in Europe and Australia that are a tight budget.

Jeff fills us in on the  opportunities Brisbane presents, the lifestyle, and of course, the baseball. In a future episode I will interview Brisbane native Scotty Mulhearn and dive more into what Brisbane presents as a place to live in comparison to other Australian baseball destinations.

In this interview you will find that baseball in the Australian state leagues are quite a different experience than playing in Europe and the contracts offered also vary in comparison to Europe.

Queensland baseball & Surfers Paradise, Australia

Baseball is the fastest growing sport in New Zealand as numbers have risen from 800 to 6000 in the past three years.  Also, the level of play on the national level is rapidly increasing as New Zealand climbed in the world rankings in the past year from unranked to 28th.

CEO of Baseball New Zealand, Ryan Flynn, informs us in this episodes of how this exponential growth has opened up opportunities for import baseball players and coaches to take their career to New Zealand. He provides insight into what they are looking for and how you can go about getting a chance to ride this baseball wave to a long term career in baseball on and off the field.

Baseball New Zealand With CEO Ryan Flynn

As an indy pro pitcher in the Frontier League and American Association, Tim Brown spent his winters pitching in Australian state leagues — and some time in the ABL— for five straight years. Pitching year-round for five straight years. He even threw a no-hitter in the Frontier League during this time. Then, one day, he decided to forgo his stateside pro career for a full-time overseas travel baseball experience, playing in Europe in the summers and Australia, New Zealand and Argentina in the winters. To date, Tim has spent five winters in Australia, one in New Zealand, and one in Argentina. Since 2017, summers have been spent in the Czech Republic, Germany, Slovenia, Austria, and most recently in 2021 and 2022; Croatia. Tim has re-signed to play in Croatia in 2023 and after recording this episode, he signed to play the 2022-2023 winter in South Africa, the 6th continent he has played baseball on in his lifetime.

In this episode, we talk equally about his experiences on the field and off the field, while also diving into his mindset, wisdom, and motivation to continue doing what he is doing at the age of 35.

Hosted By: 
David Burns (@bbjoburnsy) and Jimmy Jensen (@jimboslice38)

A decade of traveling and baseball and still going

https://baseballjobsoverseas.com/kaleb-bowman-podcast-interview/
A former Kaleb Appalachian State standout, Kaleb Bowman found himself undrafted upon graduation and made the decision to travel the world and play baseball. This journey landed him in Canada that very same summer after graduating, playing in a five-team semi-professional men's league in New Brunswick. After that season, Kaleb hopped on a plane to play for Surfers Paradise Baseball Club on the beautiful gold coast of Australia. After back-to-back very successful seasons overseas —including a single-season strikeout record in Australia— Kaleb took the summer of 2020 off along with the 2020-2021 winter. It was during this time that Kaleb worked hard at taking his game to a new level while also signing with the Regensburg Legionäre, a premiere club in Germany that has produced the likes of Max Kepler and Donald Lutz.

Kaleb's hard work paid off, as he was named the German Bundesliga "Pitcher of the Year" in 2021 and 2022 in his two seasons with Regensburg and the league MVP & Triple Crown (Pitching) winner in 2022. Kaleb leveraged this success, and his Twitter account, to get noticed by the Gastonia Honey Hunters of the Atlantic League, the team with which he signed and finished the 2022 season.

However, the success didn't stop there as Kaleb picked up where he left off, despite pitching against many players with MLB experience. In his 10 innings of relief with the Honey Hunters, Kaleb struck out 11 and produced a stingy era of 0.90. This didn't go unnoticed and led to his first-ever MLB contract, signing with the Milwaukee Brewers to play the 2023 season.

In this episode, Kaleb dives into his unusual path to the minor leagues including his off-season program and how he took his game to a new level. He also shares how he utilized Twitter to get noticed by pro scouts. A strong theme throughout this episode is Kaleb's strong mental approach to his career, with an open mind towards overseas baseball while still grinding towards the MLB dream.

2023 UPDATE:

"Spring training went great," said Bowman on April 5th, 2023. "I got to go out early, so I was there for 6 weeks. About 40 minor leaguers arrived when the big leaguers did and got the extra spring training. Including practicing with the big leaguers and getting to pick their brains some."


Kaleb was fortunate enough to back up 10 of the big league games.


"Sure enough, my first ever affiliate appearance was in a big league (spring) game!"


Kaleb came in with a man on 3rd and two outs, facing the Guardians' #6 prospect Bryan Rocchio. He threw 3 pitches for 3 strikes and a strikeout.
With about 3 weeks left, the rest of the minor league players came and they continued to scrimmage, play other affiliates, and practice daily.


"It was just an awesome experience that I was told by many different people to just soak it all in, and I sure did that."

This pitcher's path to the minors was through semi-pro leagues in Canada, Australia and Germany

If you’re interested in playing baseball in Japan, the Japan Winter League is the perfect place to start. 

The JWL is a showcase league running from November 23-December 24th. The purpose of the league is to get players exposure to professional opportunities throughout Japan. 

Every game played will be livestreamed with Rapsodo data so that scouts can follow the games remotely. With scouts representing teams from the MLB, NPB, and Japanese Independent Leagues with on-the-spot signing power, the JWL is the perfect platform for you to get signed at the next level.

In this episode, Dave and Jimmy interview league president Issei Washizaki—via translator Hiro Sakanshi—and find out everything about the Japan Winter League that an interested player would want to know.

Get Signed in Japan via the Japan Winter League

Lenny Pietersz is a native of Curaçao who has always dreamed of playing professional baseball. He recently achieved that goal, but he had to invest in himself by flying to Japan to play in the Japan Winter League in November of 2022. After two junior college baseball seasons in the U.S.A., Lenny signed up for the California Winter League in hopes to gain a pro contract. After that didn't pan out, he signed up with Baseball Jobs Overseas and soon found himself playing in second division Austria. Lenny loved this experience but continued to pursue his dream of playing in a true professional league. That is when he discovered the Japan Winter League. In this interview with Lenny, he talks about his experience at the Japan Winter League and how that led to apro contact with an independent professional baseball team in Japan.

Japan Winter League 2023 Registration: 

https://www.japanleague.co.jp/
 
BBJO discount code: BBJO2023

This Player Signed in Japan with No Prior Professional Experience

Seattle-born, Ethan Skuija, has always been a dominant pitcher. He dominated as a kid growing up in Canada, in junior college in California, and in division one baseball playing for CSU Bakersfield. 

None of this changed since he decided to take his career overseas after missing the draft. 

At the time of this interview, Ethan was about 6 weeks into a winter ball stint in Australia for the 2022-2023 season, his second season overseas that saw him go on to dominate. He was fresh off a dominant season in the Czech Republic where he posted a 0.62 ERA in 47.2 innings of work, with a whopping 90 strikeouts in what many regard as a strong hitting league. 

Although Ethan was not a member of our website, he was a pitcher we could not ignore when recruiting for our Globetrotters team that would compete at Prague Baseball Week against the likes of the Spanish and Czech National teams. 

In this interview, we talk about Ethan's career in baseball, his mental approach to the game, the unmatched energy he brings to the dugout when not pitching, and of course, all the goodness about his experience playing baseball overseas thus far. 

Since this interview, Ethan has gone on to pitch for the Savannah Party Animals in 2023 —a role he claims he was "born for"— and then finished his 2023 summer in the Atlantic League with the Staten Island FerryHawks. Ethan's story is far from over and there will definitely be a part two to this interview.

CSU Bakersfield Stud Arm's Mental Approach and 95mph FB Has Him in High Demand Overseas

Whether opening for Green Day or pitching at Dodgers stadium, there is one thing for certain about Scott Radinsky........ he always brings it. In this episode, the former MLB pitcher and coach —who doubled as a punk rock singer for his band Pulley during the MLB offseason— talks about his simple approach to the game, whether facing Ken Griffey Jr. in his heyday or coaching a pitcher back from the edge of being sent down to the minors and onwards to a long MLB career. His approach —and punk rock attitude— proved successful, making him a fan favorite at both Comiskey Park and Dodgers Stadium during the height of his pitching career which saw him throw five of his 11 MLB seasons with a sub 3.00 ERA as one of the most used arms out of the pen.

After a brief discussion to start the podcast about his other side gig as the owner of one of the biggest indoor skate parks in California, the talk turns baseball and never goes back as Scott uses his storytelling skills to share some cool MLB stories before diving deep into his approach to the game as both a player and a coach, balancing his two lives at a musician and professional athlete, and ending with some fun rapid fire questions about his playing, coaching and musical career.

Today, Scott continues to tour with his band and is a free agent looking for a coaching or managing career in Europe.

We invite you to listen to what we consider our best episode to date.

11-year MLB pitcher, 6-year MLB coach, lead singer of Pulley

Clayton Carson had a strong desire to take his career overseas and after being overlooked, he decided to take his fate in his own hands and buy a ticket to Europe with no job prospects on the horizon. Given that the 2014 season in Europe was well under way (late May), one would think his chances were slim to get picked up somewhere, especially given the fact that he has had three back surgeries and his best days of baseball were behind him. Clayton's first goal was to get on with a club as a coach who can play if needed. After visiting with clubs in the Netherlands, Germany and the Czech Republic, he found that there was simply no room for another import with most clubs at this time of the year. He then made his way to my neck of the woods in Austria for our annual invitational tournament Finksonball, a relaxed tournament/party for three days that features clubs from 10-12 different nations every year.

Clayton showed up, crashed on the couch, and took advantage of this opportunity. We got him a spot with the Polish national team for the tournament which allowed him to show off his baseball skills, and a spot on the grounds crew to show off his work ethic. He took advantage of both opportunities as he found himself leading the team in the stats department and off the field as a very likeable workhorse, both which left a lasting impression. Clayton did not stop there as he networked with as many people as he could while at the tournament. Part way through the tournament, it became known that a club in Austria's second division had a representative on the Austrian national team and he became aware of Clayton's availability. Within 24 hours Clayton signed a contract with the Hard Bulls and found himself living on the west side of Austria, right next to the Swiss, German and Lichtenstein borders.

The Bulls then turned their season around and made a run for the top as they tried to earn their way into Austria's first division for the 2015 season. They ended up a game short but in the end, the decision to bring Clayton on board paid off for both parties involved.

Clayton has most recently signed a contract with a club in Australia and will be flying out in the next month. Without taking this aggressive approach, Clayton most likely would not have found himself travelling the world year round, playing and coaching the game he loves.

An inspirational story to say the least, have a listen as I interview Clayton from the comforts of my house shortly after the Finkstonball tournament. At this point, he had no idea of the things he was about to accomplish.

How one player took fate into his own hands en route to ball in Europe and Australia

Patrick Cromwell and Andrew Cosgrove are a rare breed of BBJO member. Both of these talented former division one players from top programs decided to forgo the MLB dream and use their talents to play baseball in some of the most desirable places to live overseas. But what separates them from most members with similar baseball backgrounds, is that they were less concerned about the level of baseball, as long as the location fit what they were looking for.

Baseball Jobs Overseas

D1 studs chose epic locations to play over level of baseball

In addition to numerous opportunities to see the world while playing professional baseball, there are opportunities to see the world and lend a helping hand to the less fortunate baseball markets around the globe.  Organizations like the Kosovo Baseball Initiative and Baseball Without Borders do just that, provide lesser known baseball markets with the opportunity to learn the game and use the equipment that they otherwise do not have access to. Through these non-profit organizations, baseball players and coaches from around the world have the opportunity to travel to Kosovo, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Israel, Ecuador to share their knowledge of the game. It's time to sacrifice playing baseball at a higher level for the sake of helping the game grow in markets that need our help the most while also having the experience of a lifetime. 

On the International Baseball Community website, there are nearly 100 member in the "walk-on" group, a group created for players and coaches who are willing to pay their flight overseas for a chance to play or coach on a team. With that being said, there are plenty of baseball destinations that would love to take on these players and coaches with open arms, particularly clubs at destinations mentioned in this podcast episode. The Bothasig Knights of South Africa are one of those clubs and in this episode I interview their head of marketing and long term member Patrick Stark. I also mentioned destinations throughout Europe that are actively seeking players who will pay their flight in exchange for accommodations and sometimes a food allowance. 

I also introduce a concept in the works that I am putting together called the Import Exchange Program. This is somewhere between professional baseball and travel baseball. A number of clubs from around the world have contacted me seeking players who are willing to finance their way in exchange for a place to stay and sometimes a job or small food salary. This demand has led me to the idea of a arranging a cooperation between clubs from different countries who will combine their resources to support the trip of a player or coach who is willing to pay their flight over. 

Another problematic situation in European baseball is the visa issue. Within the Schengen zone, a group of EU countries where a traveller can pass borders freely with a visitors visa, players can stay up to three months but then they have to leave. Some countries are more relaxed with this law and others are very strict, such as the Netherlands. Then there are countries in the EU that are not part of the Schengen zone which allow travellers to stay up to 6 months. I am currently exploring an import exchange cooperation between clubs who currently do not import because of either visa or budget issues that are inside and outside the Schengen zone. For example, a club with a budget in the Netherlands that does not import due to tough visitor laws, can provide the financial backing for a player to live while in Europe, while the club with no budget in England (outside the zone) provides that same player a job and housing in exchange for play.

Anther example, would be a club Spain on a low budget that can house you from March through May and provide an opportunity to earn a little money while playing baseball and coaching their youth. When the three months are up (visitor visa limit) the player can then fly out or take the train to a club in Ireland who put them up for 3-6 months and provide a job while playing baseball.

This program will take some time to build but the purpose of this episode is to get the word out there that if you have some cash flow, there are opportunities. If you are interested in being a part of the program, whether a club or a player, please email me with the subject heading "import exchange program" to d.burns@baseballjobsoverseas.com

South African baseball /Import Exchange Program/Baseball Without Borders

In this episode, Matthew Malconian walks us through his decision to quit his corporate office job and pursue a baseball career overseas. After getting his foot in the door with a 2nd Division German team, the Füssen Royal Bavarians, Matthew invests in himself and attends the Japan Winter League with aspirations of playing in Japan. After a successful JWL season, Matthew signs with the Bibai Black Diamonds for the 2024 season where he was among the league leaders in nearly every pitching category.

From College Club Baseball to Japan

In this episode, we talk to Ben Meyer about how to work your way up the professional baseball ladder. After receiving limited playing time at a D3 college, Ben didn’t have many options. He played in a men’s league in Los Angeles where he developed as a pitcher and then flew himself to the Netherlands to play for a 2nd Division Dutch team. After a few successful seasons, he worked his way onto the top team in Europe, the Amsterdam Pirates where he won a championship. He then headed to the Japan Winter League where he earned a contract with the Ishikari Red Phoenix for the 2024 season where he recently won the championship.

From Mens League Baseball in L.A. to Japan

Andy Cosgrove lost his love for the game while playing professional baseball for the Twins and in the Frontier League due to the business side of the game. He then discovered the opportunities that exist to travel the world and play baseball and jumped all over it. The pureness of the overseas game was exactly what Andy needed to fall back in love with it. At first, his plan was to play one or two seasons and hang them up, but Andy found himself playing his best baseball and living at a location aboard that he describes as the best "day-to-day living" he had ever experienced. Andy then wound up starring on a hit reality TV show while playing abroad, boosting his personal brand and leading to his next big break that will see him playing in front of crowds as large as 80,000 in 2025.

Released pro goes overseas, ends up on a reality show, now plays stadiums

Jeremy Guthrie shares his story of performing at the highest level in multiple sports while maintaining academics, passing up on the draft multiple times, stopping playing baseball and then returning to go on to become a World Series Champion, and his post MLB international baseball activities, including joining forces with BBJO. 

This World Series winner passed on the draft twice and stopped playing for two years at 18

After graduating from Holy Names University (NCAA II) with average numbers, Daniel Catalan discovered opportunities to continue playing baseball overseas. However, securing an offer proved challenging. Determined to keep his career alive, he took matters into his own hands—flying to Spain and walking on with a team. This was just one of many investments in himself that helped him climb the ranks, eventually leading to a role as a hitting coach in the Chinese Professional Baseball League. As of early 2025, Daniel is preparing for his second season with the CTBC Brothers—the reigning CPBL champions—turning his passion for baseball into a full-time career and living his dream.

How Daniel Catalan got a coaching job in the Chinese Professional Baseball League

If you would like to make overseas baseball a long-term career and lifestyle, we recommend taking a page out of Tim Brown's playbook. Since 2012, Tim has been traveling the world playing baseball, foregoing a promising independent professional baseball career for overseas baseball. Today at 37 years old, he continues to seek new adventures and new countries every season. To-date has played in Australia x 5, Austria, Argentina, Croatia x 2, Czech Republic, Germany, Great Britain, New Zealand, Slovenia, South Africa, x 2 and Sweden. Most recently he spent a few months coaching in Egypt during the 2024-2025 off season and has now signed to play in France in 2025. In this episode, Tim shares with us why he has decided to make this a life choice and how he is able to continue competing at a high level. One thing for sure is that whenever the dust settles on Tim Brown's career, he will have made a major impact on the global game and fondly remembered by all those who were lucky enough to meet him.

 Fun fact: Tim is our longstanding active member and is now part of the BBJO staff.

12 years and 12 countries: Tim Brown describes his passion for travel and baseball

Trent Saharek graduated from a small baseball college program out of Minnesota and desperately wanted to play baseball overseas. After registering for a membership at Baseball Jobs Overseas, he still struggled to receive an offer because he was an outfielder, which are not in much demand to import, and was from a small DIII program. Until one day, Trent made a tweak to his profile at the guidance of Jimmy, and the next day he received his first offer. He jumped on the opportunity and never looked back, playing multiple seasons overseas in Germany, Australia, and Belgium. What was the tweak to his profile that he made? What steps did he take as an outfielder to continue to receive offers? You will have to listen to find out. Also, you don't want to miss his story of making a comeback to European baseball years after hanging them up and creating his best baseball memory in the process.

How this outfielder from a small college baseball program built a career overseas

Five years after graduating from college, Pete Saldaña had a good job, making good money, just bought a brand new car, but he wasn't happy. Then one day, he saw an Instagram post of a former college teammate who was playing baseball in Hungary and that was the first of many moments that set Pete off on an adventure of a lifetime which saw him play baseball in Austria, Australia, Czech Republic, Germany, and a the small Caribbean Island of Saint Martin while forming lifelong new friendships along the way. The craziest thing of it all, is that Pete hadn't touched a baseball or swung a bat since graduating. The cherry on top following Pete's adventure and experience gained within, is that he now lives his best life back in the U.S working in baseball. 

After five years away from the game, he quit his job to travel the world and play baseball

On this episode of the Baseball Jobs Overseas Podcast, we chat with Ethan Skuija, the Canadian flame-thrower who once led the BBJO Globetrotters to a Prague Baseball Week championship by shutting down the Spanish National Team. Ethan was touching 97 mph and on MLB scouts’ radar, but the call never came. Instead, his journey took him to pitching at Fenway Park and now creating a fast-growing YouTube channel. Tune in as Ethan shares the inside story of chasing the dream, finding “second best,” and why it might just be better than the original plan.
With a fastball sitting 94–96 mph and touching 97, Ethan drew plenty of attention from MLB scouts, but the call never came. While that frustration could have ended many careers, Ethan’s path instead led him to unforgettable moments—like pitching in front of a packed house at Fenway Park—and ultimately to his current role as a popular baseball content creator on YouTube. In this conversation, Ethan opens up about the highs, the setbacks, and how he turned what felt like a “second best” into a fulfilling career in the game he loves.

From Overseas to Pitching at a Packed Fenway Park to YouTube Content Creator

In this episode, we sit down with Canadian ballplayer Evan Symons to trace an unconventional and inspiring baseball journey, from little league in East Vancouver to becoming an overseas MVP. Evan shares how walking on at the University of Ottawa (Canada), helping transform its club program, and embracing leadership roles off the field prepared him for life abroad with BBJO. He reflects on his first overseas contract in the Austrian second division, a breakout season in his second season overseas, and the powerful community impact of coaching youth players. Evan also dives into his memorable performances with the Globetrotters at Finkstonball and the Milan tournament, being served dugout snacks by World Series winner Jeremy Guthrie, and overcoming long-standing “imposter syndrome.” It’s a story of resilience, open-mindedness, and how playing overseas can completely change a player’s confidence and their life.

Imposter Syndrome to Impact Player: Evan Symons’ Overseas Breakthrough

More international baseball stories at: http://www.baseballjobsoverseas.com 
The Euro League Baseball (ELB) is a new professional baseball league in Europe set to launch in 2016. There has been a lot of hype over the league during the offseason as players and imports anticipate something that has a lot of potential to be great. As the new year rings in and spring training is approaching fast, there are many rumours circulating about if the league will actually launch in 2016 and if so, how many of the 10 teams are actually going to move forward with it.

CEO Wim van den Hurk has been searching high and low for a major sponsor to help subsidize the expenses that will be incurred by the teams involved. At this point, there is no major title sponsor. In a meeting in late November with the owners of the ELB and the managers of the clubs involved, it was discussed if they can proceed given the lack of a major sponsor. Estimated costs were outlined and strategies were discussed and all clubs were given time to meet with their own board to determine if their participation is feasible.

This interview with van den Hurk clears up where exactly the ELB stands at this point in early 2016 while also discussing the option of other clubs in Europe entering the league in the future.

After listening, I ask you all to please share this on Facebook so we can get Wim's message to as many ears as possible in hopes of securing more financial support for the league. Also, please, please comment so we get some dialogue going on how to make this league successful.

Is Euro League Baseball a go in 2016? An interview with ELB CEO Wim van den Hurk

baseballjobsoverseas.com/
New York native Ryan Rupp did not play college baseball but took advantage of his dual citizenship with Austria to get his foot in the door in second division Austria in 2013. 

From there, he worked hard on his craft and in 2017 he won the Best Pitcher award and his second championship in the first division of Austria with the Attnang Athletics. He also became one of the go-to starters for the Austrian national team. In 2019 he won his third Austrian championship, this time with his new team, the Dornbirn Indians. 

 
In recent years, as Ryan approached the age of 30, he struggled with the pressure to start a career off the field and leave baseball behind. He found himself in New York, unhappy and with extreme bouts of anxiety.
 
In this interview, we discuss how he was able to get through that, and the steps he is taking now to enjoy his summers of baseball while also progressing off of the field.

Some of the topics discussed in this episode include:

The different path of his baseball career and how he was able to develop into the pitcher he is today despite no college or professional experience.
Finding success with the Austrian National Team and in the first Austrian division alongside teammate/coach and founder David Burns.
How to continue to be in demand even when your numbers are not the best.
How to switch from the anxiety and pressure that comes with starting a career and leaving baseball behind to doing what you love while also progressing off of the field.

No college baseball experience to 10 seasons overseas and counting

After the summer of 2000 playing baseball in Vienna, Austria, Canadian baseball player Nick DeForest decided to forgo his final two years of college baseball eligibility and make Vienna his home. Twenty years later, Nick sits down to tell his story on the IBC podcast including what career in Austria he ended up in and how BBJO founder David Burns and Nick’s first encounter ended up on the front page of the Vienna newspaper.

A summer overseas turns into 20 years and counting

The Baseball Jobs Overseas Podcast features the stories of professional baseball players and coaches who have taken their careers overseas. The purpose of the podcast is to shed light on all the opportunities that exist overseas within the game and the lifestyles that come with it. Hosts David Burns (Canada) and Jimmy Jensen (USA) both live in Salzburg, Austria, and are the key people behind http://www.BaseballJobsOverseas.com, a platform where players and coaches can connect with clubs around the world.

Popular tracks by Baseball Jobs Overseas Podcast