MLB: x

Kai Gronauer, former New York Mets Minor League player, talks to SPOX about his baseball career in the US, tips from the head of security on the New York mafia and rules that athletes in Las Vegas have to abide by. He also gives an insight into his work as a coach for the bookbinder legionnaires in the German Bundesliga.

SPOX: Mr. Gronauer, last time we rather talked about the season that was still going on at the time, now it’s about you and your career. How did you get into baseball?

Kai Gronauer: I was ten or eleven years old and always did everything together with my best friend from the neighbourhood. We played handball, tennis and football and then he suggested we go to the baseball practice. There’s a baseball team in Solingen. I found it very interesting and finally got stuck there.

SPOX: What do you say to someone who doesn’t know what makes this sport so fascinating?

Gronauer: Basically: If someone has seen the game before and doesn’t like it, then you just have to accept it. But if someone doesn’t know what baseball is and how it’s played, then you should really go to a baseball game and watch it. You can talk to knowledgeable people about it. Especially in Germany we have a really great community. We, who deal with baseball in Germany, all love the sport. It’s simply a completely different flair to the much more popular sports here – such as football or handball. It is very time consuming, but you can also pass the time very well by a nice cooperation.

SPOX: But there is always the danger that such a game may seem rather boring to the layperson.

Gronauer: But that’s not the case. Once you’ve found interest in it, leaked blood, you’ll find out what makes this sport so different. There is usually a great duel between men. It’s a really interesting game. And sometimes it is said that chess is boring. But that’s not what it is at all if you consider the tactics, for example. You can do that in baseball too.

SPOX: In 2008 you had halfway concrete requests from the Twins and Pirates, but you refused them. What was the reason for this?

Gronauer: These were already concrete offers with money behind them, but I was able to do that quite well in the past and I can still weigh up the risks and opportunities for myself today. And as far as the offers were concerned, it would have made no financial sense to leave the country for seven years and not to do an apprenticeship or study here in Germany. It was just a financial thing.

SPOX: Not much later, however, came the Mets…

Gronauer: On the same day or the day after I signed my apprenticeship contract – I had a permanent training position – an offer came from the Mets saying:”Oh, that’s different now. And that’s when it would make sense to take that step and go this way to America.”

SPOX: So it was basically all about money, not that you didn’t like the other two teams?

Gronauer: No. I knew exactly that I had a good chance as a catcher with the Pirates and the Twins. Except for Joe Mauer on the Twins there was no really big name who would have been there before me. From a sporting point of view, it would have been just as good as the Mets, but it was only the financial aspect.

SPOX: In 2013 you came to Triple-A Las Vegas, stayed there until 2014 and then ended your career. What ultimately made you decide to draw the line?

Gronauer: These were various reasons. In my last year in Triple-A I hadn’t played so much. I don’t know if it was bad communication between the team and myself, but I’ve always heard positive words from the players, coaches and my Catcher supervisor. And the pitcher and the manager said,”I want the dock to be catched,” but the organization just had its own plans and didn’t take me into account anymore. And then, of course, some of the fun is lost. I worked really hard until the last day, I didn’t miss any bullpens, I was the first and sometimes the last one who was on the pitch. Because when I was allowed to play, I wanted to be there 100 percent. I just did my best, but the organization had other plans.

SPOX: Were you already considering returning to Germany during your last season?

Gronauer: Yes. Then the legionnaires came up to me and asked me what they had to do to bring me back to Germany and keep me in Regensburg. There were even some offers there.

SPOX: So it was not an option to try for another year?

Gronauer: No. In front of me were people who obviously – and this came out later – were doping and kept fit with steroids. And they were never punished for it. There were also some sporty things, so I didn’t want to be active in the system anymore. I didn’t want to do it to myself anymore. And then the offer from Regensburg was also simply too good, so I said that I am now certain: this will be my last season.

SPOX: Looking back, would you say you have achieved everything you wanted? Or do you consider yourself a bit of a failure because you didn’t make it into the MLB?

Gronauer: Unfortunately, I didn’t make it to the top. That’s the only small drawback. I made it into the All-Star team, I played in Major League jumping training, I was the best matchmaking prospect of the organisation over two or three years. I’ve really always given everything. I can’t blame myself for anything else and the time when everything was fine was wonderful. I couldn’t have imagined it better. It wasn’t easy. On the contrary, it was pretty tough. Especially when I was hurt. And there were also many injuries that did not result from a stay on the Disabled List.

SPOX: Can you be more specific?

Gronauer: It has sometimes been the case that you play with a fever of 39 degrees. Or if you are back on the court two days after a collision, although you actually have a concussion and pain all over your body. Or if you get a ball on the cup and then play with morphine and other painkillers two or three days later. That’s just the kind of thing that’s not in there. But I can’t blame myself for anything else, it was a great time. I’ve met a lot of nice people. Although there were so many bad ones who tried to screw steroids or something like that, I met a lot more great people and I am still in contact with a lot of people, which is why it was such a wonderful time.

SPOX: Afterwards we went back to Regensburg, where you worked as a player and co-trainer and became the coach since 2016. Describe this short transition.

Gronauer: For the players, I am of course the coach. It was just at the beginning, when I made a complete cut and didn’t play anymore, not easy. You have to withdraw a little bit from the players. You have to be a bit more careful, because especially on the course you are a trainer and not a friend. Besides the place, it’s another thing. It wasn’t that easy. But it gets better and better to separate the whole thing well, because I only ask for the best from the guys on the pitch, even if it is sometimes a bit harder. Beside the course I’m still good friends with most of them, but that’s no problem.

SPOX: Is baseball trainer really your full-time job?

Gronauer: No. In addition to baseball, I am now doing an apprenticeship with one of our sponsors. The boys already have something else to think about, whether they are going to school or studying, working. And now I’ve got something else to take my mind off things. And I am very grateful for that.

SPOX: How much influence can a manager risk?

Gronauer: Unfortunately, not as much as I would like to. This is of course also a big change for me. Sometimes I think,”My God, it can’t be so hard now”. (laughs) But then I have to remember that it wasn’t always that easy for me either. A basic principle of mine is that I try to get the guys into situations where they can succeed. I used to take that from my good coaches. That’s relatively easy when you’re far ahead or far behind, but in tight games it’s usually more difficult. But of course, that’s what makes it so appealing to me that you can sometimes take a little more risk, sometimes a little less. You can help the team itself, but you have to try to do the right thing and that’s not always easy.

SPOX: Did you ever get kicked out during the game?

Gronauer: Oh, yes. I think I’ve been kicked out for the third time this year. Last year in the semi-finals against Bonn I flew out once, so I had to protect a player. And once again this year, I think it was a misunderstanding between me and the Umpire.

SPOX: So these weren’t situations where you thought the team needed a push and you tried to fly out on purpose?

Gronauer: No, I would never do that on purpose. Last year in Bonn I was simply dissatisfied with the way the referees treated the players in the game situation. And I’m also a very emotional person and then I threw a bat in the field and was just pissed off. But if it’s just a bad decision, I just try to question the re-pire a little bit and ask him what he saw. Or whether maybe another Umpire saw the situation better because he was in a bad position. But I would never make a big deal out of it, even if it’s a clear mistake. I can’t just yell at the umpire, I’m used to it as a catcher. But the situation last year was really so that I found that the player was mistreated by the Umpire and the Umpire misunderstood the game situation. And he wouldn’t let me talk to him, and then I was just mad.

Page 1: Gronauer’s time in the States, the job of manager and German baseball

Page 2: Professional Structures, the Mets, Vegas and the New York Mafia