Dr. Phillips alum enjoys college summer baseball — abroad

Every summer, college baseball players around the country leave their university towns to play in any number of summer leagues to hone their skills and show off for pro scouts.

For Dr. Phillips alumnus Nolan Lang, that experience this summer has a more international feel.

Lang, 20, is a rising junior for the baseball team at Northeastern University. The former Bay Hill resident and captain of the team at DPHS is playing his own unique version of summer ball in Germany for the Solingen Alligators — a baseball and softball club competing in the first division of Baseball Bundesliga, the top league in the country.

With his mother being from Germany and plenty of family still there, Lang seized the opportunity for a summer experience that would be a little less ordinary.

“I investigated this, got in contact with them, and it all happened in a matter of two weeks in April,” Lang said.

Lang, who is hitting over .300 this summer and just missed out on making the league’s all-star game, said the level of play in the league has been a pleasant surprise, thanks in part to each team being able to bring in players from other countries, including the United States.

“I was surprised as to how good the competition is,” Lang said. “It’s a lot better than what people would think.”

Teams in the German league play double-headers on Saturdays and practice during the week. The league has a wide-open feel regarding the players on its roster, with competitors ranging in age from their teens to their 40s. The games draw sizable crowds, Lang said, and although many observers may not fully grasp the game and its many nuances, every Saturday is a good time.

“I’d say the knowledge isn’t there, really, but they do a good job pretending,” Lang said. “It’s not a serious environment — it’s a Saturday get-together.”

With game days just once a week and practice in the evenings, Lang, who is staying with a host family, has time to visit family that lives about 45 minutes away and also to visit other cities by train. Lang speaks German and said he enjoys the country’s culture, beer and friendliness.

“Everybody here is welcoming,” Lang said.

Lang also has another goal for the summer season. He is currently in the process of trying to make the 40-man roster for Germany’s national team ahead of the European Championships in the Netherlands in September.

The 40-man roster should be announced within the next few weeks, giving the former Panthers standout one more shot at an international experience before he heads back to Northeastern.

Contact Steven Ryzewski at [email protected].