Jeremy Filipek’s honkbal journey
By Scott Langdon
Canadian Baseball Network
British Columbia’s Jeremy Filipek is living a baseball dream, but in places you would probably never dream of visiting.

Filipek, a product of the Langley Blaze of the British Columbia Premier Baseball League, is wrapping up his first pro season as a pitcher with Utrecht UVV of Honkball Hoofdklasse, the Dutch Major League. Honkbal is the Dutch word for baseball. It was his third stop on an international baseball journey after playing in the Czech Republic and Australia. 

“I love playing baseball. Playing internationally provides an opportunity to continue playing while seeing the world and having fun ,” he said during a recent FaceTime interview from Utrecht, a city in central Holland known more for the Domtoren, a 14th century bell tower, than the Paperclip, its 1000-seat baseball stadium.

UVV is one of eight teams in the Dutch Major League and is currently near the bottom in the standings. “We don’t win a lot,” chuckles Filipek, but adds the baseball and life experiences are ones he is happy to have.

“I hurt my arm in college so playing internationally is an opportunity to keep pitching, keep checking on my velocity, as well as seeing the world,” he said.

The arm hasn’t fully recovered and an injury has cut short his Dutch season at the halfway point in the 42-game, April to September season. But that doesn’t mean he is without plans.

“I have made so many friends around the world. Playing in Europe has also provided the opportunity to meet family members who live in Poland, many of whom I had never met,” he explained. 

Filipek left British Columbia for a baseball scholarship at Midland College, a junior college in Texas. Success at Midland led him to the University of Texas at San Antonio, an NCAA Division 1 school, again on scholarship. His international journey took off from there.

“I played for a summer in the Czech Republic for Draci Brno, one of the top teams. That was a great experience, in part because I was able to share it with good friend Karl Malecek from Langley,” he said. “That first international opportunity opened more doors to play in Australia.”

Filipek played in one of six Australian state leagues last year for the Wembley Magpies, near Perth in Western Australia. State leagues are separate from the Australian Baseball League (ABL) and feature a lesser quality of play. ABL teams typically import minor league players from North America. Blue Jays’ farmhands including top prospect Anthony Alford played in the league, for example.

“In the state leagues it’s basically weekends with a mid-week game. In between, most players typically have a job, often arranged by the team,” Filipek explained. “The import rules are tough because of visa challenges so often your teammates are local lawyers or accountants playing because of their love of the game.”

Teams in the Australian state leagues, like those in Europe, typically arrange billet families for the players to live with to help offset costs. Payment for playing is minimal and players supplement their incomes with the team-arranged employment. Players sometimes help coach junior teams to build the skills of local youngsters.

“Some teams have more money than others. Pay in the Dutch Major League, for example, can vary depending on the team and the player. For me, I earned enough with help from the team as well as compensation from a one-day-a-week job in a butcher shop. It was arranged by one of the team’s boosters. I have enough money saved up now so I can travel around Europe and back to the United States and Canada when the time comes,” he said.

Average pay in Europe is $400 Euros a month ($577 CAD) with top teams paying $800-$1000 Euros a month, says Zach Miller, Placement Manager for The International Baseball Community (IBC), the main recruiting operation for international players. Miller adds that players typically receive lodging, transportation and flights to and from the country they play in, although this is not always the case.

Filipek is one of 16 Canadians playing international baseball this season according to a list compiled by George Farelli on canadianbaseballnetwork.com. RHP Scott Mathieson of B.C. and Jamie Romak of Ont. are playing in the Japanese Central League. Jim Aducci of B.C. is with the Lotte Giants of the Korean League. Both leagues are known to pay import players well.

But the German Bundesliga is the home of the most Canadians playing or coaching overseas. Allan Attridge, Cody Chartrand and Will Thorpe are from B.C. Matthew Balogh, Alta., Aaron Hornostaj, Ont., Mike Larson, Sask. and Alex Tufts, NS, round out the list. 

Anthony and Gregory Cros of B.C. play in the French Elite League while Tyson Walker, also of B.C., is playing in the British Baseball Federation. The Austrian Baseball Federation includes Canadians David Burns from B.C. and Devery Van de Keere of Alta.

Burns, 41, is now a permanent resident of Austria and founder of The IBC and its website, baseballjobsoverseas.com. The company claims to have helped players sign more than 250 contracts with overseas baseball organizations since its inception in 2012. Some of the countries signing players include Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, New Zealand, Slovakia, South Africa, Sweden and Switzerland among others. 

“The quality of play varies depending on the club and league. The Dutch Major League and the Czech Elite League have very talented teams and approximate the NCAA or even some independent leagues in North America,” Miller said.

The allure of playing another season overseas is strong for Filipek, arm willing.

“I have had so many things, including my education and world travel, paid for by playing baseball. I’ve seen so many different cultures. Living in different countries makes it easier to understand the differences and why they do things the way they do,” he said.

They are experiences he will take back to British Columbia.

“I don’t know yet what I want to do for a living outside baseball, but I would like to help coach the Langley Blaze when I get back home. I know there is more to life outside the game and that I want to live in Vancouver. It’s the best place for me.” 

Filipek’s baseball journey is likely to end up where it started, but the various stops along the way have created memories, established friendships and confirmed that you can, indeed, go home again.