Classification | Semi-pro |
---|---|
Sport | Baseball |
Founded | 1993 |
First season | 1993 |
No. of teams | 8 |
Country | Czech Republic |
Continent | Europe |
Most recent champion(s) | Draci Brno |
Most titles | Draci Brno (25) |
Relegation to | 1. Liga |
Official website | https://extraliga.baseball.cz/ |
The Czech Baseball Extraliga, or simply Extraliga, is the highest level of baseball in the Czech Republic. The league was established in 1993 after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia. The league is currently contested by eight teams and the games are played from April to May with the playoffs beginning in June.
The Extraliga operates a promotion and relegation system with the 1. Liga (the second tier baseball league in Czech Republic) where the bottom teams from the Extraliga are relegated to the 1. Liga and the top teams from the 1. Liga are promoted to the Extraliga. [1] [2]
The Czechoslovak Baseball League was established in 1979, and Tempo Praha became the first baseball champions. However, in 1993, after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, the league was disbanded and the Czech Baseball Extraliga was established, comprising teams only from the Czech Republic. [3]
The first Extraliga champions were Technika Brno, winners of the 1993 and 1994 seasons. [4] Draci Brno rapidly became the dominant team in the league, winning every season from 1995 to 2010 and eight more times after that, totalling 24 championships, the most recent in 2023. [1] [5] In recent years, Arrows Ostrava won two championships back to back in 2018 and 2019 and again in 2021, becoming the second most winning team in the Extraliga, tied with Technika Brno. [6]
The Extraliga was one of the first sports leagues in Europe, and the first major baseball league in the world, to restart following lockdowns concerning the COVID-19 pandemic. [7] [8]
Since 2016, the Extraliga allows a maximum of five foreign players on a team roster and there is a limit of three foreigners in the team's lineup at the same time during a game. [9] This changed during 2020, when, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, foreign players were banned, except for residents of the Czech Republic. This ban was lifted for the 2021 season and the rules remained as they were before 2020. [10]
Notable Extraliga foreign players include some former major leaguers. Panamanian pitcher Roger Deago played for Technika Brno in 1997 and 1998 before signing as an amateur free agent by the San Diego Padres in 2002 and making his Major League Baseball debut in 2003; Deago returned to Technika for the 2011 season. [11] In 2019, Draci Brno signed Australian pitcher Peter Moylan, who played 11 games, winning three and losing one. [12]
Historically, the majority of foreign players in the Extraliga come from North America, Latin America and Australia. [9]
Team | City/Town | Field | Founded |
---|---|---|---|
Arrows Ostrava | Ostrava | Arrows Park Ostrava | 1973 |
Cardion Hroši Brno | Brno | Sportovní areál Hroch | 2003 |
Draci Brno | Brno | Městský baseballový stadión | 1972 |
Eagles Praha | Prague | Baseballový a softballový areál Eagles Praha | 1981 |
Sokol Hluboká | Hluboká nad Vltavou | Baseballové hřiště Hluboká nad Vltavou | 1994 |
Technika Brno | Brno | Hřiště Technika Brno | 1971 |
Tempo Praha | Prague | Baseballový a softballový areál TJ Tempo Praha | 1963 |
Třebíč Nuclears | Třebíč | Stadion Na Hvězdě | 1986 |
Team | Champions | Runners-up | Winning seasons | Runners-up seasons |
---|---|---|---|---|
Draci Brno | 25 | 4 | 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024 | 2011, 2015, 2018, 2021 |
Technika Brno | 3 | 6 | 1993, 1994, 2011 | 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2010 |
Arrows Ostrava | 3 | 6 | 2018, 2019, 2021 | 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2017, 2020 |
Kotlářka Praha | 1 | 3 | 2015 | 2013, 2014, 2016 |
Eagles Praha | 0 | 4 | – | 1999, 2004, 2012, 2019 |
SaBaT Praha | 0 | 3 | – | 1993, 1995, 1996 |
Tempo Praha | 0 | 3 | – | 1994, 2003, 2023 |
VSK Express Brno | 0 | 1 | – | 2007 |
Hroši Brno | 0 | 2 | – | 2022, 2024 |
Peter Michael Moylan is an Australian former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers and Kansas City Royals and in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) for the Macoto Gida.
Orli Znojmo is a Czech-based ice hockey team that currently plays in the 2nd Czech Republic Hockey League. The club Orli Znojmo is based in Znojmo and their home arena is Nevoga Arena.
The 2006–07 Czech First League, known as the Gambrinus liga for sponsorship reasons, was the fourteenth season of Czech Republic's top-tier of football.
The Czech National Football League, known as Chance Národní Liga due to sponsorship reasons, is the second level professional association football league in the Czech Republic. Before 2013 it was known as 2. liga or Druhá liga. The top two teams each season are eligible for promotion to the Czech First League.
Wayne Ough is an Australian former professional baseball pitcher who also competed in the Olympics. Listed at 1.88 metres and 93 kilograms (205 lb), he threw and batted right-handed.
HC Kometa Brno is a professional ice hockey team based in Brno, Czech Republic. They play in the Czech Extraliga. Kometa is the most successful ice hockey club in the Czech Republic with 13 Czechoslovak league championship titles. Holding three European Cup titles, Kometa ranks as the most successful Czech club in international ice hockey. The team HC Kometa Brno has won two Czech championships seasons, capturing the title in both 2016–17 and in 2017–18.
The Maxa liga is the second-highest level of professional ice hockey in the Czech Republic, after the Extraliga. It began in 1993 and is run and administered by Czech Ice Hockey Association.
Roger I. Villarreal Deago is a baseball player who last played professionally in 2008. He played in Major League Baseball for the San Diego Padres in 2003, and has also played in numerous international baseball events as well.
Mitchell Caine Nilsson is an Australian professional baseball third baseman for the Heidenheim Heideköpfe of the Baseball Bundesliga and the Brisbane Bandits of the Australian Baseball League (ABL).
The 2nd Czech Republic Hockey League is the third-level ice hockey league in the Czech Republic under the 1st Czech Republic Hockey League. It began in 1993.
The Czech Extraliga is the highest-level ice hockey league in the Czech Republic. It was created in 1993 following the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia midway through the 1992–93 Czechoslovak Extraliga season. The league's season usually takes place between September and April and features 14 teams.
Draci Brno is a baseball team from Brno, Czech Republic. The team plays in the Czech Extraliga.
Martin Červenka is a Czech professional baseball catcher for Hroši Brno of the Czech Baseball Extraliga. He has previously played in Minor League Baseball for ten seasons and for the Czech Republic national baseball team in international competitions, such as the 2019 European Baseball Championship and 2023 World Baseball Classic.
Superliga florbalu is the highest league in the league system of Czech men's floorball and comprises the top 14 Czech floorball teams. The season culminates in a play-off played by the best ten teams. The first season began in 1993–94.
1. SC Vítkovice is a floorball club based in the Vítkovice district of Ostrava, Czech Republic. The team was founded in 1992.
SKSB Arrows Ostrava, z.s., or simply Arrows Ostrava, is a baseball team from Ostrava, Czech Republic. The team plays in the Czech Extraliga and have won the league title three times in 2018, 2019 and 2021.
The 2022–23 Czech First League, known as the FORTUNA:LIGA for sponsorship reason, is the 30th season of the Czech Republic's top-tier football for professional clubs since its establishment, in 1993. FC Viktoria Plzeň are the reigning champions. The season started on 30 July 2022. The first half of the season will have 16 rounds, finishing on 13 November 2022 because of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and the other half will commence on 28 January 2023. The season is expected to end on 28 May 2023 with two extra play-out fixtures on 1 and 4 June 2023.
The 2022–23 season is the 121st in the history of FK Pardubice and their 19th consecutive season in the top flight. The club will participate in the Czech First League and the Czech Cup.
Extraliga žen ve florbale is the highest league in the league system of Czech women's floorball and comprises the top 11 Czech floorball teams. The season culminates in a play-off played by the best 8 teams. The first season began in 1994–95.
Bulldogs Brno is a floorball club based in Brno, Czech Republic. The team was founded in 1993.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)