Jason Greenberg '01 -- The greatest game on dirt; cultivating a cult sport on the international scene

You likely did not know that in August of 1938 Great Britain defeated the USA 4 games to 1 in England to win the inaugural World Cup of Baseball! The 1938 New York Yankees with Red Ruffing, Bill Dickey and Lou Gehrig won the World Series over the Chicago Cubs 4-0, but Great Britain was viewed by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) to be the champions of the world.

The US baseball team was managed by former major leaguer Les Mann and was composed entirely of amateur players. Mann was a founder of the IBAF and had staged a successful baseball exhibition between two US teams at the 1936 Olympics in Germany viewed by more than 90,0000 spectators.

Later this month Great Britain will partake in the 12-team European Championships in Germany with the hopes of improving upon their second place finish in 2007. The Netherlands won the 2007 title.

Jason Greenberg ’01 serves as the General Manger for the British team. Imagine that – an Eph in baseball at the highest level. Greenberg joins owners Hal and George Steinbrenner (Yankees) and owner Bob Nutting (Pirates) and Fay Vincent the former Commissioner of Baseball on the baseball stage.

Greenberg graduated from Williams with a degree in theatre and never played baseball for the Ephs. In fact, he never even tried out for the team. Greenberg says of his unusual path to international baseball, “I would liken it to Lombard Street - narrow with several Rt. 2 style hairpin turns. I quit playing baseball in high school to take up theatre, which has always been a strong passion of mine. At Williams I was too active with performing arts and academics to find time for athletics... but when I moved to San Francisco I started playing again just for kicks, and found I was still a decent enough catcher to compete in the Bay Area wood-bat adult leagues.”

“When I moved to England in 2005 -- to undertake a Master’s degree at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art -- I immediately found my nearest baseball club [Herts] where I continue to play at the highest national level, coach and manage. Baseball keeps me grounded here. It's both a constant reminder of home, but also a pursuit where I can interact with so many bright, intelligent internationals that all share a passion for the greatest game on dirt. Here baseball is almost heightened because of its minority status.”

“Most players revel in Hollywood films like Bull Durham, Major League and The Natural... everyone seems to fall into two fan camps: Red Sox Nation (which must have some red-coat anti-Yankee connotation), and obscure small team syndrome, like Rockies or (gulp) Mariners fans.”

Jason Greenberg '10

“Last year I started work full-time for the national development agency for baseball and softball in the UK. It's a grant-funded organization devoted to promoting and improving the sports domestically. My background in arts marketing and events management (e.g., the theatre side of things) is a natural fit for the work of sports PR, administration, special events and tournaments. We share office space with Major League Baseball International, and in a short time I made many valuable contacts in the international baseball world. I was sighted and recommended to take up the Team GB torch.”

“The General Manager post is full-time, but a volunteer role. These days I feel like I've got two-day jobs (BSUK and GB) and two night jobs (GB and my newborn son). Then I have my weekend gig -- Herts Baseball Club -- where I still manage the Falcons squad who compete in the British National Baseball League.” The Herts Baseball Club has a strong youth to adult presence with Little League and baseball opportunities for kids aged 6 and older and adults of any age.

The Brits are in Group B at the European Championships and will open with a contest versus Croatia on July 23rd. After playing games against Sweden, Greece, Italy and Spain the British hope to finish in the top three and advanced to the semifinals on July 29^th and eventually the championship contest slated for August 1^st in Stuttgart.

“We have an excellent squad of British nationals, who play in leagues all over the world, including the NCAA, the German Bundesliga, leagues in Italy, France, Holland and, of course, the UK National Baseball League, governed by the long-standing British Baseball Federation,” says Greenberg. “Our team is an exciting melting pot of players who all come to represent Britain on the world stage.”

British Baseball Federation

“Unfortunately, our National Teams receive no government funding whatsoever,” notes Greenberg. “When baseball was so ingloriously dropped from the Olympics, the last of our public funds dried up overnight. For the last couple years we've struggled to raise the money we need to travel overseas and play at these important world tournaments. Players are asked to pay their own way, at least in part, to supplement whatever we can raise in the way of private donations and/or corporate sponsorship.”

A top five finish in Germany would be a huge boost to the Great Britain team. Greenberg points out that if that happens, “we have a good chance of being invited to the MLB World Baseball Classic, when the perennial event expands to include 24 teams in 2013. That would be a massive step forward for British baseball, both internationally and domestically, as the Brits might actually get to watch their own countrymen battle away in televised competition for the first time, really.”

“You should know, while I wasn't active on the Williams athletic scene I was always very proud of it,” says Greenberg. “And I am a baseball man through and through. I would have given anything to see the Amherst-Williams inaugural collegiate ballgame reenacted. Just have never been able to afford the trip back to the alma mater - not since graduation day. A bit sad really. Comes with living overseas, and following my winding hairpin whims, rather than a sensible lucrative career path!!”

You can follow Jason Greenberg’s Great Britain team and all of the 2010 European Championships by visiting Great Britain Baseball or via Twitter: @GB_Baseball.