Austrian Baseball Bundesliga
 | |
| Sport | Baseball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1985 |
| First season | 1985 |
| No. of teams | 7 |
| Country | Austria |
| Continent | Europe |
Most recent champion | Wiener Neustadt Diving Ducks (3rd title) |
| Most titles | Vienna Metrostars (15) |
| Relegation to | Baseball 2. Bundesliga |
The Austrian Baseball Bundesliga, or simply Baseball Bundesliga, is the highest level of baseball in Austria. The league was established in 1985 as the Austrian Baseball League with only four teams competing. In 2017, the league was renamed Baseball League Austria, and in 2020, it adopted its current name, Baseball Bundesliga. The league is currently contested by seven teams and the games are played from April to August with the playoffs beginning in September.
History
[edit]Baseball was introduced into Austria in the 1940s by United States military personnel stationed in the country after the Second World War. The sport was played at the Hohe Warte Stadium in Vienna and at the Figl Air Base near Tulln an der Donau. However, after the occupation ended in 1955, interest in and development of baseball declined.[1]
Interest in baseball saw a revival in the 1980s. Three baseball clubs were established in Vienna in 1982: Homerunners, Roadrunners and City Boys; only the Homerunners, now the Vienna Metrostars, are still active.[1][2] The league was established in 1985 as the Austrian Baseball League, with its inaugural season featuring four teams: Linz Bandits, Vienna City Boys, Vienna Homerunners and Vienna Roadrunners. The top two teams from the regular season faced off in a final series to determine the Austrian baseball champion. The City Boys folded after the 1985 season, leaving only three teams to contest the 1986 season.[3]
The number of teams fluctuated between five and eight per season until 1997, when the top flight was set at eight teams, along with the establishment of a four-team playoff system to determine the winner. In 2017, the league changed its name to Baseball League Austria and expanded the playoffs to six teams. In 2020, it adopted its current name, Baseball Bundesliga.[3][4][5]
Current teams
[edit]| Team | City | Field | Established |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dornbirn Indians |  Dornbirn |
Sportanlage Rohrbach | 1990 |
| Hard Bulls | Hard |
Ballpark am See | 1991 |
| Schwechat Blue Bats |  Schwechat |
Batsfield | 1989 |
| Traiskirchen Grasshoppers | Traiskirchen |
Hoppersfield | 1991 |
| Wiener Neustadt Diving Ducks | Wiener Neustadt |
Ducksfield | 1987 |
| Vienna Metrostars |  Vienna |
Ballpark Freudenau | 1982 |
| Vienna Wanderers | Vienna |
Ballpark Spenadlwiese | 1986 |
Winners
[edit]The following is a list of Austrian Baseball Bundesliga winners from 1985 to 2024.[6]
| Team | Champions | Runners-up | Winning seasons | Runners-up seasons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vienna Metrostars | 15 | 9 | 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2014, 2018, 2020 | 1990, 1991, 1993, 1997, 2013, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2024 |
| Vienna Wanderers | 6 | 4 | 1990, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2022 | 1992, 2001, 2005, 2017 |
| Attnang-Puchheim Athletics | 4 | 1 | 2008, 2010, 2016, 2017 | 2011 |
| Vienna Bulldogs | 4 | 3 | 1991, 1993, 1997, 2000 | 1994, 1995, 1998 |
| Dornbirn Indians | 3 | 3 | 1999, 2003, 2019 | 2014, 2018, 2022 |
| Wiener Neustadt Diving Ducks | 3 | 5 | 2021, 2023, 2024 | 2003, 2004, 2012, 2015, 2016 |
| Schwaz Tigres | 2 | 4 | 1995, 1998 | 1989, 1996, 2008, 2009 |
| Kufstein Vikings | 2 | 4 | 2002, 2004 | 2000, 2006, 2007, 2008 |
| Hard Bulls | 1 | 1 | 2001 | 2002 |
| Vienna Roadrunners | 0 | 2 | 1985, 1986 | |
| Vienna Bucks | 0 | 2 | 1987, 1988 | |
| Linz Bandits | 0 | 1 | 1999 | |
| Traiskirchen Grasshoppers | 0 | 1 | 2020 | |
References
[edit]- 1 2 "History". baseballsoftball.at. Austrian Baseball Softball Federation. Retrieved 17 March 2025.
- ↑ "Wiener Baseball Verein Vienna Metrostars - Baseball, Softball in Wien - FAQ English". viennametrostars.at. Retrieved 17 March 2025.
- 1 2 "Österreichischer Baseball Staatsmeister 1985 - 2020" (PDF). baseballaustria.com (in German). Retrieved 17 March 2025.
- ↑ "Baseball Bundesliga 2020". baseballaustria.com. Archived from the original on 12 August 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2025.
- ↑ "Austrian Baseball Bundesliga to open 3 July, softball season on 19 July". wbsc.org. 29 June 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2025.
- ↑ "Österreichischer Baseball Staatsmeister 1985 - 2024" (PDF). wbsc.org. Retrieved 17 March 2025.