German-born pitcher chases American dream

Injury woes limit time on mound

By David Dorsey
Fort Myers News Press

The Fort Myers Miracle have a rarity for professional baseball on their roster.

They have a German.

Tim Henkenjohann, a 6-foot-5, 215-pound right-handed pitcher, is the only German-born player in the Minnesota Twins organization, and he appears to be the only one in all of major or minor league baseball.

Now rehabilitating from a broken left ankle, Henkenjohann, who is 24 and hails from Wilhelmshaven, Germany, hopes to become the first German native to reach the big leagues since Rob Belloir played for Atlanta in 1978.

Twenty-nine Germans have played in the big leagues, but only two have since 1947. The bulk of those players competed in the early 1900s, during the height of European immigration.

This week, The News-Press is looking at the Miracle Melting Pot — the diversity of cultures and languages that resonate in the Miracle clubhouse.

Henkenjohann has studied English since the first grade, and he's fluent.

"It's kind of mandatory in school," Henkenjohann said. "From the first grade on, I've always been interested in the U.S. and speaking English.

"I think I've improved, because I'm around English the whole time now."

Attending a school called BBS-1 Fachgymnasium Wirtschaft, Henkenjohann studied abroad in the United States as a 16-year-old in 1997 in Norfolk, Va.

At the time, he had been playing baseball for two years. Attending a minor league, Triple-A game between the Pawtucket Red Sox and the Norfolk Tides inspired him even more.

"It was another baseball experience," he said. "There were people in the stands with popcorn. Everyone was cheering. The whole atmosphere was unbelievable to me."

Henkenjohann has yet to experience much success in the minor leagues. He had a 2-3 record with a 7.08 ERA in 18 appearances entering this season, and injuries have limited him to seven outings this year.

"Right now, we look at him as a reliever. He just needs to get some innings," Miracle manager Riccardo Ingram said. "We're not sure what type of role he's going to be in. His arm is strong, and he competes. The injury was unfortunate, because he was making some strides."

Now on the disabled list, Henkenjohann hopes to avoid the fate of two fellow countrymen. Simon Guehring and Mitch Franke, also Germans, were released by the Milwaukee Brewers, an organization they each played for in 2002.

"By the end of last year, I had surgery on my right elbow," Henkenjohann said. "Five weeks ago, I fractured my ankle. I pitched a ball, the guy hit it back, and it hit me in my ankle. I have to wear this walking boot for like two more weeks. I'm not sure how much more of the season I'll have left."

The transition from Germany to the United States seemed uneventful to Henkenjohann, who noted only a few differences in the two countries.

"Everything's bigger than back home," he said. "Back home, I could bike from one end of town to the other. Here, you can't do anything if you don't have a car.

"Definitely, I'm proud of being the only German. When I talk to people back home, they admire me. That's definitely a big motivator."

ABOUT GERMANY

Country size: Slightly smaller than Montana

Language: German

Population: 82.4 million

National holiday: Unity Day, Oct. 3 (1990)

Head of state: President Horst Koehler (since July 1, 2004)

Top current baseball players: None

All-time notable players: Bill Kuehne, born Oct. 24, 1858, in Leipzig, Germany, compiled 996 career hits, the most of any German, in 1883-1892.

Factoid: Minnesota Twins manager Ron Gardenhire, who played for the New York Mets in the early 1980s and whose father was in the military, was born in Butzbach, West Germany.