Although Germans were exposed to bat-and-ball games from an early stage, baseball did not rise in popularity until after World War II.
During the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, a lot of European countries received interest from major league players, one of which was Hall of Fame member John McGraw.
From 1888 to 1889, A.G. Spalding went on a Major League Baseball world tour where he visited Italy, France and the United Kingdom, but not Germany since Berlin was covered in snow that winter.
[1] During World War I, American soldiers played baseball in Germany but the first official game on German grounds took place in Berlin at the 1936 Olympics.
[1] The sport was introduced in a demonstration tournament where the United States was planned to play against other nations, including Japan.
The ongoing economic depression caused other nations to cancel their arrangements for the tournament, leaving the Americans to play a split-squad exhibition game in front of the German audience on the last day of the Olympics.
[2] The stadium was not designed to accommodate baseball, leaving lights only 50 feet (15 m) into the air and Adolf Hitler's box in the right field fair territory.
In the years following the war, baseball flourished in certain parts of Germany, mainly in Berlin and in the south around cities like Mannheim, Ramstein, Stuttgart, Nuremberg and Munich.
In the 1970s, Germany traveled to Managua, Nicaragua, twice to compete in the Baseball World Cup, but they failed to win a single game, placing last in both tournaments.
[7] It has been suggested that Kepler's success in particular could have an enormous impact on the popularity of baseball in Germany, as a role model for children.
[27] During the latter time period, only one German-born player appeared in a Major League All-Star Game,[28] Glenn Hubbard, a former second baseman and later on a first base coach with the Atlanta Braves.
In 1956, after practicing daily and playing alongside military teams for several years, they received an offer from the Baltimore Orioles.
The Orioles wanted to use this signing for press exposure, leading to the Helmig brothers receiving media attention upon their arrival in the United States.
They were invited to the White House and visited the Annual Baseball Writers' Association dinner where they were special guests.
[31] In 2000, Mitch Franke became the first player from the German baseball Bundesliga to sign a professional contract with an MLB organization, the Milwaukee Brewers.
They include: In April 2013, outfielder Donald Lutz became the first German-developed player to play in Major League Baseball when he made his debut for the Cincinnati Reds.
It honors those people who have excelled as players, managers, or officials and who have been vital to the development of German baseball.