The Therwil Flyers became the first baseball dynasty in Switzerland, which included a perfect record against Swiss teams in 1993. While the Zurich Lions (’85, ’87, ’89) captured three Ligue Nationale A titles in five seasons, the Flyers claimed five straight national championships from 1991-95.
‘World Baseball Guy: The Overseas Adventures of an American Coach’ offers a firsthand account of how the most successful baseball team in Switzerland became just a normal squad that went seven years without a championship after former skipper Marvin “Merv” Moore relocated to Zurich, and built another dynasty.
This new book, a fundraiser for the Bohol Coconuts Baseball and Softball Club, features 12 short stories about Moore’s road adventures with both the Flyers and the Swiss national baseball team. The Coconuts head coach places the blame on one person for the downfall of the Flyers’ dynasty.
“I always knew about Roy’s (Allenspach) private breakfasts and secret meetings,” Moore said recently. “But I really didn’t care about what Roy did behind my back because everybody knew who was in charge of the team. I never listened to Roy’s advice because he was not even close to my level in terms of baseball knowledge.”
Moore also recalled arriving in Switzerland and scouting Roy’s hitting abilities.
“Roy could not hit a curveball and loved swinging at bad pitches when he had two strikes,” added Moore. “But in less than two years, I transformed him into one of the top hitters in the country.”
The Flyers got their first taste of life without Moore during the 1995 season after American Kevin Johnson took over the helm of the four-time reigning Swiss champions. The Texas native returned midseason to find a squad with no confidence and residing in second-place during the regular season for the first time since 1992.
“There is no way the Flyers win the NLA crown in 1995 without me,” Moore said. “The Geneva Hound Dogs were dominating the Swiss League when I came back in the summer, and Roy was helpless. Yet, one year later, the Flyers followed him again and the rest is history”
‘World Baseball Guy’ also delves into how Moore built his Flyers squad around three 18-year-olds — Stephan Suter, Andreas Mathis, and Mark Decker.
“That trio was unlike most Swiss ballplayers,” Moore added. “They loved the spotlight and didn’t melt under pressure. I trusted those guys to produce in the playoffs and on the international stage, and they never disappointed me.”
Moore also felt betrayed by numerous Flyers’ players on the 1996 squad because Roy had proven to them in 1995 that he could not win without him.
“I knew in the summer that I was leaving the Flyers because the magic was gone,” Moore recalled. “Too much winning and Roy had convinced the team that they were really good, and could win with any coach. But that wasn’t reality.
“Roy had no clue that I already knew I was leaving the Flyers while I was walking off Kanelmatt 1 after the Barracudas won the 1996 championship,” Moore said. “My assistant coach Eric (Brodbeck) had already contacted both the Bern Cardinals and Zurich Challengers because I wanted to coach a team that didn’t have Roy on it.”
While he built one of the most dominant squads in the history of Swiss baseball that once posted 55 wins in 61 games, Moore considered his first year coaching the Challengers his most enjoyable season in Switzerland.
“Saentis (Zeller) had mandatory military service so I had one of my top guys for just home games and no training sessions,” Moore reminisced. “But I love the player development process and that fifth-place team I inherited almost won the Swiss title during my first year in Zurich!”
‘World Baseball Guy’ also discusses Moore’s two biggest regrets during his six seasons coaching in the land of banks and chocolates.
“I ruffled some feathers of some veteran players when I built my team around a trio of teenagers, and other youngsters like Gian von Planta and Pascual Duran also received significant innings,” Moore recalled. “But even though I felt like Serge Guex and one of his friends would quit the team, I should have made Reto Siegel my starting center fielder even though he was just 16 years-old.
“I knew he would struggle and lose his confidence, and I wanted to shield him from that. But in hindsight, I think he would have struggled for a few months before adjusting to NLA pitching, regained his confidence, and become my leadoff hitter by the time the playoffs rolled around.”
Moore said club politics sometimes played a role with coaching decisions because a clubs’ financial status was dependent on the number of club members.
The Texas native also regretted not starting Gary Kochlefl at second base against Croatia at the 1998 European Baseball Championship (B-Pool) in Vienna, Austria.
“I started Ueli von Burg because I was anticipating a low-scoring game since Croatia had two American college pitchers with Croatian passports. But since Decker had immigrated to Australia, I should have started Gary because we didn’t have enough hitting.
“I made literally thousands of decisions over six years, but those are the only two decisions I regret.”
Click Here to purchase the ‘World Baseball Guy: The Overseas Adventures of an American Coach’ book. All proceeds to benefit the Coconuts Indoor Training Center, which will feature three tunnels for hitting, pitching, fielding, and catcher drills.
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