In 1989, I visited my brother in New York City. After a few days, we left the East Village and drove to Gilbertsville, a village of 300 people in upstate New York. My brother was working on a weekend house there and his girlfriend Pauline visited us regularly on the weekends. The two of them had already thrown a few balls and I was allowed to make my first throws and catches.

As Borries and Helmut were in New York City at the same time, we had arranged for them to visit us in the country. After an adventurous drive, they arrived at our place.

After an exhausting horseback riding trail, we drove to the sports grounds of Mount Upton Central School the next day.

There, Pauline introduced us to the theory and practice of the game of baseball. We also learned that when the hitter hits the bat, he doesn't take it to first base, but simply drops it at home plate. We had a lot of fun and enjoyed the sport. Pauline and Ralf encouraged us to set up a team in Berlin and we accepted the mission. I bought a set of throw down bases in a supermarket and my first glove, a Louisville Slugger 13 inch and a wooden bat of the same name in New York City.

Back in Berlin, we were able to interest many friends and acquaintances in baseball. We met up regularly at weekends in Treptower Park, which was still less frequented after the fall of the Berlin Wall, threw a few pitches and played a few small games, but the highlight was the BBQ afterwards with plenty of cold drinks we brought with us.

In the beginning, we played baseball with a rubber ball for injury reasons. When Jerry joined us, he convinced us to play according to the rules of softball. That made sense, because at the end of the day we were old, late starters. He gave us good tips and was soon recognized as a coach thanks to his calm, communicative manner. Even when he was in the USA for weeks at a time selling books, the coach never let his team down. The numerous postcards bear witness to this.

At the time, none of us could have imagined that we would win the championship title in the Berlin Mixed Softball League just a few years later.