Cavalier's Matt Kemp making a career out of coaching baseball in Germany
· Yahoo Sports
Jun. 3—KÖLN, Germany — Matt Kemp sits at a restaurant a couple of blocks from one of the most famous cathedrals in the world.
He orders a round of Kölsch, the local drink of choice, and has a short conversation with the waitress in German. His annunciations and accent are so natural that she has no idea he's not a local.
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Kemp is a 2001 Cavalier (N.D.) High School graduate who played college baseball at Concordia in Moorhead.
He has now been in Germany so long, 18 years to be exact, that he can pass as a native.
Kemp arrived as a professional baseball player, moved into a player-coach role and is now an assistant coach for the Paderborn Untouchables, who play in Germany's top league.
On this day, the Untouchables beat the Köln Cardinals 12-8 to win their fourth game in a row.
"I always told myself I wanted to at least travel a lot," Kemp said. "Whether I was going to live somewhere else, that was something else. But I wanted to see the mountains. I wanted to see the ocean. I wanted to see things that weren't just a flat, beautiful plain of wheat, soy beans, sugar beets and potatoes."
Why has he stayed for so long?
"Because I now live in a place that's flat, has wheat, sugar beets and potatoes," he laughed.
Kemp, who had a brief stint with the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks, set out on his overseas journey in 2008, beginning in Dortmund, Germany. He also played in Cape Town, South Africa, Mannheim, Germany, and Melbourne, Australia, before settling back in Germany.
He met his wife, Birte, in Dortmund. Birte is from Dortmund and played softball. They have a 10-year-old daughter, Riley, and a 7-year-old son, Brady.
They've been in Paderborn since 2014.
Baseball lags behind other sports like soccer and basketball in Germany.
The sport's roots are largely attributed to post-World War II American troops stationed in the country.
The Baseball Bundesliga, now known as the Deutsche Baseball Liga, has been around since 1982. There are currently 12 teams split into two divisions.
Kemp's team, Paderborn, plays at the 1,200-seat Ahorn Ballpark, which underwent a multi-million dollar renovation last year. It is now arguably the nicest park in Germany.
"We have the luxury of having a tremendous sponsor behind us that donates his time and considerable amounts of money to not only helping my club but also helping the U12, U15 and U18 national teams," Kemp said.
One of Paderborn's team logos is a baseball wearing an Al Capone-style hat. The logo is nicknamed "Ball Capone."
Paderborn has produced two minor league players out of its facility and has sent about 10 players to college baseball in the United States.
The Untouchables currently have a couple of intriguing prospects on their roster in outfielder Emilio Götz and first baseman Jules Moser, who both participated in Major League Baseball's elite camp in Barcelona in April.
"We are one of the few clubs that play with one or two foreign players," Kemp said. "In 2022, we made the finals of the German championships without a single foreigner. In 2023, we only had one. In 2024, we went out and had three. This year, we only have two. The average age of our team is probably around 20."
Kemp also works with the German National Team.
Vinny Ahrens, one of the players Kemp coached, was Germany's starting catcher in the World Baseball Classic qualifiers last year.
Kemp's parents, Daniel and Kaaren, still live on a farm in Hamilton, N.D. Kemp tries to make it back to North Dakota annually.
"My kids love the farm," he said.
Kemp has had opportunities to return to the U.S. and work in the minor leagues. For now, he's held off in order to continue working for the Untouchables and the German National Team.
He's not quite ready to leave Germany.
Kemp noted an elderly man with a cane boarded his streetcar in Köln on his way downtown.
"Everybody stood up and offered their seats," he said. "There is still that respect for people who need help."
By now, he's well versed in German culture.