The Bundesliga baseball players of the Munich-Haar Disciples have recently suffered a severe setback. The association has to cope with the fact that the financially strong pharmaceutical company MSD Sharp & Dohme has moved its headquarters from Haar to Munich and is no longer the main sponsor. Nevertheless, the Disciples have formulated ambitious goals. They want to become attractive to new sponsors and become German champions within the next five years. The club aims to develop charisma with enthusiasm for the popular US sport. Haar should become a baseball stronghold in southern Germany, with top teams, top youth work and a great sports facility. The association is also dependent on the municipality. But money is not to be expected from them.
Because the municipality of Haar shares the fate of the Disciples: The town hall itself is struggling with the fact that MSD has failed as the largest taxpayer and a million hole has opened up. The construction of a community library is not in sight for the time being and support for clubs is also in question. Still, mayors and aldermen from all factions recently pledged their utmost support at the ward council, when Tom Wolf and Jo Penzkofer, on behalf of the baseball board, shared their vision and gently asked for support.
First of all, it was about great numbers and successes, which those responsible in the town hall were also happy to hear. Baseball has 62 million active people worldwide and 500 million fans, Wolf said, pointing out the potential of the game, which is still considered a niche sport in Germany. The Disciples have been among the top six teams in the Bundesliga for four or five years, said Wolf, and the only reason they didn’t get involved in the closer fight for the championship last season was because they lost to Heidenheim. “The idea that the German championship will be celebrated at the Haar S-Bahn station is not bad,” said Thomas Reichel (CSU).
But this is not available for free. Apart from the problem with the missing sponsor, the space in the sports park leaves a lot to be desired. The German Baseball and Softball Association has been insisting on adequate floodlights for years. There is no fixed kiosk or other infrastructure that is actually required for the Bundesliga. The association has been turning a blind eye for years, said Penzkofer, because the Disciples are seen as an “original part of the Bundesliga”. He was also entitled to play for the season that started in spring, he dismissed any doubts that the high-flying dreams for the future could be over very quickly.
Basically, the baseball field would be a good place to set up more businesses near the train station. But ownership is complicated.
(Photo: Sebastian Gabriel)
In one case, there are indications that the community is accommodating. It is probably off the table to move the baseball facility to the western edge of Eglfing, which Mayor Andreas Bukowski (CSU) would have liked to do in order to use the current sports area for business. However, this cannot be financed – also because of a difficult contractual constellation with the district of Upper Bavaria for the property. So the baseball players should stay where they are. A formality would then be to change the usage statute for the playing field in the sports park in such a way that perimeter advertising with sponsorship in favor of the Disciples would be possible. So far, such income has flowed to the sports park, which passes it on for a specific purpose.
The name Disciples, in German “student” or “younger”, comes from the fact that in 1990 a group of altar boys in Haar auf dem Grün am Wieselweg discovered US sport for themselves. The community supported the club, which rose to the top division and in 2018 also got into financial difficulties. But the problems from back then have been resolved, says Tom Wolf. Even without MSD, the club is solidly positioned at the moment. Still, he sees the Disciples at a “dividing point.” They now want to take “the next step” and build something sustainable with the help of sponsors, the community and athletes from their own offspring. The Disciples draw their self-confidence from, as Wolf said, highly successful youth work, which has produced many “pitchers” who could dominate a Bundesliga team. “We want to be a grassroots movement here,” said Penzkofer.
The baseball officials and the mayor remained cloudy about the finances and further plans and wishes. Bukowski spoke of a “wish list” and speculated that a “hybrid” building could be placed on top of the baseball practice field, which could house businesses, a visitor center and a rooftop practice field. Tom Wolf wished to work out an “overall concept” with the municipality and Jo Penzkofer spoke of a public-private partnership through which things could be implemented without having to explain it in detail. Bukowski raved about making baseball more “eventful,” also for the benefit of the community.