The brothers Moritz (left) and Jonas van Bergen (right) pose proudly in front of the grandstand in the new Reds Stadium (Photo: Iris Drobny, www.drobny.photography)
The van Bergens are a true baseball family. The two brothers Moritz and Jonas play for the Stuttgart Reds in the Bundesliga team and father Patrick was also active on the Reds board for many years and still supports the baseball players from TV Cannstatt as a club doctor from time to time.
Bundesliga editor Marcel Eßers visited the Reds before the night game on June 30 against the Legionnaires in their new stadium on Schnarrenberg and conducted an interview with the ‘van Bergen Brothers’.
baseball-bundesliga.de: How did the van Bergen family get into baseball?
Jonas van Bergen: Actually a very funny story: The father of my neighbor Fabian in elementary school was a student coach with the Reds. Back then, Fabian had invited me to his birthday party, which of course was very baseball-heavy. During this time I was in the swimming club and then started playing baseball on the side. I went to practice regularly and found baseball to be more fun than tile counting. That’s how I discovered my love for baseball and later Moritz joined me at the age of 4 or 5.
Our father quickly became ‘baseball crazy’ and hasn’t missed any of his children’s finals to this day. He even flew extra to Australia and Puerto Rico. And that’s how the whole family ended up getting into baseball. Our grandfather and father are always at our home games at the Reds Ballpark and create the right atmosphere with their vuvuzelas.
baseball-bundesliga.de: Please describe your personal baseball career.
Moritz van Bergen: When I started baseball, the club didn’t have a T-ball. That’s why I started directly in the student team. I then played in the U12 BaWü selection and won my first European Championship with the U12 national team. At the age of 13 I traveled to Austria with the U15 national team and we became European champions there too. My highlight was the European Championship title with the U15 national team in Nettuno, Italy. Two less successful European Championships followed with the U18 national team – third in Macerata and last year sixth in the Czech Republic. The best tournament in my career so far was this year’s DIBAT in Puerto Rica, where we started a comeback and ended up second.
Jonas van Bergen: My career was similar to Moritz’s. My first success was the U12 BaWü selection. Unfortunately, there was no U12 national team back then. I went through the entire DBA at Georg Bull – from start to finish – and also spent three months at the camp in the Dominican Republic. Other highlights were the promotion with the Reds 2. Herren from the regional league to the 2nd Bundesliga and the 2015 European Championship title with the U15 national team – by the way, the first German European Championship title ever.
And then I played in Australia for half a year. Unfortunately, we were unlucky to lose in the final, but the time was great. Here I could use baseball to see some of the world.
(Photo: Iris Drobny, www.drobny.photography)
baseball-bundesliga.de: What are your personal goals for your future baseball career?
Jonas van Bergen: I want to win the German championship with the Reds. That’s my main goal. I’m also looking forward to the new single-track Bundesliga, which is to come soon. I’ve been with the Reds for over 16 years and the development with the new stadium here in Stuttgart, among other things, is mega. I hope there is more to come. In any case, we are all actively working to get better every season.
Moritz van Bergen: My goals are actually the same. I want to win the Bundesliga championship. We make sure that we get a little closer to our goal every year. And the rest just happens eventually.
baseball-bundesliga.de: On May 12, 2023, after three years of construction, the new Stuttgart baseball stadium was inaugurated. How do you like the result and how do you feel about the atmosphere in the new ballpark?
Moritz van Bergen: It’s definitely different when the fans are behind the backstop and no longer on the sides. A great feeling. The stadium turned out great. Unfortunately, the interior isn’t finished yet, but that should follow soon. I’m already looking forward to winter training with the new indoor batting cages.
Jonas van Bergen: The atmosphere is very different. The mood of the spectators is also much more noticeable on the field. And the way the fans cheer on you – brilliant. Our stadium announcer Hamed always motivates everyone. It’s a completely different feeling playing in the new baseball stadium.
baseball-bundesliga.de: In addition to the new ball park, the Reds Bundesliga team also has a new, internationally experienced head coach in Rick Jacques. What characterizes his coaching style and distinguishes it from your previous head coaches?
Jonas van Bergen: He trains much more specifically. I like this very special. He also goes into the mental a lot, which is extremely important in baseball – especially on offense. From my point of view, our technique is already very good and he still gives this mental fine-tuning. The proof: things didn’t go so well for us at the start of the season. We then slowly warmed up and are now on a really good path. Rick knows every player, their quirks and how to deal with them. Overall, the training is very varied. We always work on the things that didn’t go so well last matchday. That wasn’t always the case with previous coaches. We often just hit without thinking about it. We train less now, but more intensively and make sure that we do the exercises properly. The club recently bought a new pitching machine that we can use to hit different pitches. We also meditate before each workout. None of these things existed before with the Reds. I only know something like that from the DBA.
Moritz van Bergen: He is a warrior. He wants to win every game. And that’s how he trains. And that’s how he is on the field.
(Photo: Iris Drobny, www.drobny.photography)
2023-07-06 10:15:09
#Interview #Moritz #Jonas #van #Bergen #Stuttgart #Reds #1st #Baseball #Bundesliga
