Mike Butcher
Pitching
Former MLB pitcher (California Angels) and 14-year MLB pitching coach with the Rays, Angels and Diamondbacks. Developed nine MLB All-Star pitchers; his 2017 Diamondbacks staff set a franchise strikeout record.
Europe’s Premier Baseball Training Convention
Train with MLB LEGENDS.
RIGHT HERE IN Solingen, Germany.
The largest baseball gathering ever held in Europe — former MLB players, Hall of Fame coaches, world-class instructors, and the continent’s most ambitious players, all in one place. Three days of immersive classroom and on-field training, and the connections that change careers.
Dates
6–8 November 2026
Location
Solingen, Germany
About the Convention
Europe’s most serious baseball training event.
Built for coaches, players, scouts, and academies who refuse to accept the status quo. For three days in Solingen, the European Baseball Winter Meeting brings the standards, people, and intensity of Major League Baseball to the heart of Europe — and sends you home a different kind of competitor.
Elite Training
Position-specific, on-field clinics with former MLB players, active MLB coaches, and Hall of Fame instructors.
World-Class Network
Connect with scouts, federations, and the leaders of European baseball.
One Unified Standard
Coaches, players, umpires, administrators and parents learn the same language at the same time.
The European Pathway
A clear bridge toward college and professional baseball for serious European talent.
Who Should Attend
Serious coaches at all levels, club and national-team players (U16+), academy directors, scouts, umpires, federation staff, healthcare professionals, parents — and ambitious amateurs ready to be measured against the best.
“We are proud to bring the world's best to Solingen — not for a weekend of speeches, but to put real tools in the hands of our coaches and young players. This is what our club has always been about.”
Fabian Valkieser
The Lineup
Train alongside the game’s best.
A world-class faculty of former MLB players, active MLB coaches, Hall of Fame instructors, and Europe’s leading developers — every name below is teaching on the ground in Solingen.
MLB Players & Coaches
Ubaldo Jiménez
Pitching
Former MLB All-Star pitcher who threw the only no-hitter in Colorado Rockies history. Started the 2010 National League All-Star Game and finished third in NL Cy Young voting.
Jim Leyritz
Hitting & Catching
Former MLB catcher and key member of the late-1990s Yankees dynasty, known for some of the most clutch postseason home runs of his era.
Derrick May
Hitting
Former MLB outfielder with a 10-year career and later hitting coach for the St. Louis Cardinals. A 1986 first-round draft pick.
Hensley "Bam-Bam" Meulens
Hitting
The first player from Curaçao to reach the Major Leagues. Three-time World Series champion as a San Francisco Giants coach and longtime manager of the Netherlands national team.
Ron Polk
Coaching & Program Building
One of the most influential figures in college baseball history and the winningest coach in SEC history. Former ABCA President, College Baseball Hall of Famer, and author of "The Baseball Playbook".
Andrelton Simmons
Defense & Infield
Former MLB shortstop regarded as one of the greatest defenders of his generation — a four-time Gold Glove and Platinum Glove winner. Founder of Simba's Helping Hands.
Ryan Sienko
Catching
Active MLB catching coach with the Detroit Tigers and former Los Angeles Dodgers catching coordinator. Coached a 2025 Gold Glove catcher.
European & German Faculty
Markus Solbach
Pitching
German pitcher who reached four MLB organizations and a Team Germany mainstay at the World Baseball Classic Qualifiers. Now pitches for the Bonn Capitals.
André Hughes
Pitching
A left-handed pitcher and long-time ace of the Solingen Alligators, André Hughes was a key contributor to the club's German championships in 2006 and 2014. A former Germany national-team starter, he pitched at the 2007 World Cup and the 2008 Olympic qualification.
Jendrick Speer
National Team & Development
Manager of the German National Team, leading both the senior and U-23 sides, and a 20-year national-team veteran as a player.
Simon Gühring
Catching & Leadership
An icon of German baseball: 24 years with the national team, nearly 20 as captain, and a cornerstone of the Heidenheim Heideköpfe.
Umpire Faculty
Tim Meyer
Umpiring
Germany's leading umpire and Head of Education for the German federation's umpire committee. Selected to officiate at the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
Kevin Music
Umpiring
German Baseball-Bundesliga umpire and federation instructor who officiated the championship game of the 2023 U-12 Baseball World Cup.
Natola Hawthorne
Umpiring
The first Black woman to umpire an NCAA Division I baseball game and founder of the "She Calls It All" mentorship initiative.
Performance & Health
Nima Salari, MD
Sports Medicine
Board-certified spine surgeon specialising in minimally invasive, athlete-focused techniques, trained at Johns Hopkins and Stanford.
Adam Auer, RD
Performance Nutrition
Major League performance dietitian for the Milwaukee Brewers, focused on fueling, recovery and player development.
Alexander Dix
Mental Performance
Specialist behind PACE, a data-driven system for measuring and training the mental side of the game, partnered with the German Bundesliga.
Operations
Eric Schmidt
Club & Community Building
Owner and general manager of the Spearfish Sasquatch and President of Independence League Baseball, known for building baseball into a thriving community asset.
Mirko Heid
Club & Federation Leadership
Former Team Germany captain — his number 24 retired by the Bonn Capitals — and former President of the German Baseball & Softball Federation, where he modernized the sport's national infrastructure. Today chairman of the Bonn Capitals and a managing director within the Stadtwerke Bonn group.
Petra Fimbres
Community Building & Fundraising
Founder and Executive Director of the LatinaStrong® Foundation and a leadership-board member of Simba's Helping Hands. Three decades building community programs, fundraising, and opportunity pathways that use sport and life skills to empower youth and families.
Faculty continues to be announced.
Get TicketsThe Program
What MLB and NCAA coaches actually look for.
Ten focused sessions take coaches and players from talent identification to the European pathway to professional baseball — taught in the classroom, then applied the same day on the field.
- Why some players get signed and others don't
- How MLB scouts evaluate
- The five tools and their modern weight
- Projection vs. performance
- Physical tools vs. baseball instincts
- What can and cannot be taught
“If I watched your player for 10 minutes, would I want to watch him for 10 more?”
On the Field
The Player Clinic
Every player receives a professional evaluation from five former MLB players and two of the most respected NCAA coaches in the history of college baseball.
Running
10-yard, 30-yard, 60-yard
Throwing
Position-specific arm strength
Hitting
Exit velocity, bat speed, contact quality
Pitching
Velocity, command, movement profile
Athleticism
Vertical jump, broad jump, mobility
EBWM Prospect Report Card
Every player leaves with their own report card —
- Strengths
- ·Weaknesses
- ·Development priorities
- ·College projection
- ·Professional projection
- ·A 12-month development plan
Umpire Track
Instruction from internationally respected officials on mechanics, positioning, communication, game management, and the standards expected at the highest levels of international baseball.
Administrators, Healthcare & Parents
Parallel classroom sessions on building and sustaining a baseball program, fundraising, arm care, mental health, athlete nutrition, and the benefits of the ABCA, EBCA and MLBPAA.
Europe does not have a talent problem. Europe has an identification, development, and opportunity problem.Get Tickets
“Europe's talent is not the question any more. Opportunity is. The European Baseball Winter Meeting exists to close that gap — by helping raise the standard of coaches who shape the next generation of players.”
Dirk Fries
Registration
Secure Your Spot.
Places are strictly limited. Registration — including all available options and what each includes — is handled on the official booking page.
Dates
6–8 November 2026
Venue
Klingenhalle, Solingen
Open to
Coaches · Players · Umpires · Administrators · Parents
Register Now →
Secure checkout via anny.co — the official EBWM registration platform.
The Alliance
Built on shared ambition.
The European Baseball Winter Meeting is hosted by the Solingen Alligators, under the patronage of the Mayor of Solingen, and driven by a coalition of the world's leading baseball organizations — aligned around one shared ambition, vision and mission.
Under the Patronage of
Daniel Flemm
Lord Mayor of the City of Solingen
“It is a great honour for our city to host the European Baseball Winter Meeting. Solingen has always stood for craftsmanship, precision and community — the very values this event brings to the game. To welcome some of the world's finest baseball minds here, and to give our young people the chance to learn from them, is something our city is proud to support.”
Hosted by
Solingen Alligators Baseball Club
Founded in 1991, the Solingen Alligators are one of Germany's most successful baseball clubs — two-time national champions (2006 and 2014) and long-standing members of the first Bundesliga. Today the club is climbing back with one clear ambition: to return to the top flight of German baseball. Their home field, Baseballpark Weyersberg, sits directly beside the Klingenhalle — making Solingen a fitting host for the European Baseball Winter Meeting.
Driven & Supported by
American Baseball Coaches Association
The global standard in baseball coaching education, reaching coaches across 41 countries.
European Baseball Coaches Association
Aligning and elevating coaching standards across Europe.
Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association
Connecting former Major Leaguers to the growth of the game worldwide.
Curaçao Baseball Week
A leading international baseball development platform.
Bam Bam Foundation
Creating opportunity and development for young players through baseball.
Simba's Helping Hands
Andrelton Simmons's foundation, building confidence and opportunity for youth worldwide.
Leadership
John Casey
Chairman of the Board, ABCA
Keith Madison
Past Chairman of the Board, ABCA
Dirk Fries
President, European Baseball Coaches Association
Victor Quiroga
Director of International Relations, MLBPAA
Luc Sachteleben
Board Member, European Baseball Coaches Association
Fabian Valkieser
Chair, Managing Board, Solingen Alligators Baseball Club
One game. One standard. One future.
The Venue
KLINGENHALLE SOLINGEN
The European Baseball Winter Meeting takes place in the Klingenhalle — a 57 × 33-metre triple sports hall and one of the largest indoor baseball training surfaces in Europe, comparable in scale to a top American college facility. The Klingenhalle offers one of the largest indoor baseball training spaces in Europe — on a par with the development facilities of leading US college programs such as the University of Texas (Longhorns). Under one roof, three curtain-divided zones run at the same time — hitting, pitching & arm care, and fielding — including a bullpen at the full regulation distance of 60 ft 6 in. When the dividers open, the whole floor becomes a single space for full-team and infield work.
And the location is no accident: the Klingenhalle sits directly beside Baseballpark Weyersberg, the home field of the Solingen Alligators — so classroom, indoor training and the diamond are all within a few steps of each other.
The Klingenhalle, Solingen.
Indoor training layout — three curtain-divided zones.
57 × 33 m
Total floor
3 zones
Trained at once
60 ft 6 in
Regulation bullpen
Adjacent
To the Alligators' ballpark
Frequently Asked
Got Questions? We Have Answers.
Everything you need to know before you claim your spot.
The largest baseball gathering ever held in Europe — three days of classroom and on-field instruction that bring the standards, people and intensity of Major League Baseball to Solingen. Hosted by the Solingen Alligators in alignment with the ABCA, EBCA and MLBPAA, it unites coaches, players, umpires, administrators, healthcare professionals and parents around one shared standard.
Still have a question? Reach the organizing team.
Get TicketsContact
Talk to the Organizing Team.
Sponsorships, speaker submissions, federation partnerships, group bookings, or general questions — reach the organizing team directly.
gs@solingen-alligators.com
Phone
+49 179 5474065
Venue
Klingenhalle, Kotter Straße 9, 42655 Solingen, Germany