Our Clients:

Field Level Media - Professional sports content solutions | FLM

Feb 15, 2025 11:34 am

Son of tennis greats to play for Germany in WBC qualifier

general view baseball glove

Jaden Agassi, the son of a pair of International Tennis Hall of Fame members, will pitch for Team Germany at the World Baseball Classic qualifiers next month in Tucson, Ariz.

Parents Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf introduced their son to baseball as a child, and he chose that sport over the family business.

“Agassi is a very tennis last name, of course,” Jaden told WKBN News in Youngstown, Ohio. “The goal is to try to make it a baseball one.”

His father won 60 career titles, including eight Grand Slam events. His mother: 107 and 22, respectively. They both won gold medals at the Olympics.

“I started playing baseball when I was six years old in T-ball,” Agassi, 23, told MLB.com in a phone interview. “I loved it. I’ve picked up a tennis racket a good amount, but it was always hard for me to keep that ball in between the lines. I just wanted to hit that thing as far as I could. Baseball had my love since day one.”

Graf was born and raised in Germany, making him eligible to play in the WBC qualifier for that country.

The younger Agassi played his developmental baseball in Las Vegas before pitching in college at Southern California. With the Trojans, he was 5-4 in 40 appearances (19 starts) with one save and an ERA of 6.20 in 117 2/3 innings (2021-2023).

He went undrafted in both 2023 and ’24 and played for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers of the MLB Draft League last year. He was 1-1 with a 2.96 ERA in six starts.

Germany, Brazil, Colombia and China will compete in Tucson for a spot in the 2026 WBC. The top two teams will secure entry.

–Field Level Media

You may also like

Adam Ottavino
Feb 18, 2025 6:15 pm

Red Sox sign RHP Adam Ottavino to minor league deal

The Boston Red Sox signed veteran right-hander Adam Ottavino to a minor league contract on Tuesday that includes an invitation to spring training. This will be Ottavino’s second stint with…

Alex Bregman
Feb 18, 2025 4:59 pm

Boston’s new addition Alex Bregman not sparring over 3B job

Rafael Devers turned the hot corner into hot topic material before Alex Bregman had time to back out of a perceived territorial dispute with the Boston Red Sox. Devers emphatically…

Cohen
Feb 18, 2025 2:51 pm

Mets owner overspent ‘to get best team I can,’ praises Dodgers’ approach

Signing Juan Soto was only the start of the budget-shattering spending spree undertaken by Mets owner Steve Cohen in the offseason. Cohen said Tuesday as the Mets continued full squad…

More Baseball News

Adam Ottavino
Feb 18, 2025 6:15 pm

Red Sox sign RHP Adam Ottavino to minor league deal

The Boston Red Sox signed veteran right-hander Adam Ottavino to a minor league contract on Tuesday that includes an invitation to spring training. This will be Ottavino’s second stint with…

Alex Bregman
Feb 18, 2025 4:59 pm

Boston’s new addition Alex Bregman not sparring over 3B job

Cohen
Feb 18, 2025 2:51 pm

Mets owner overspent ‘to get best team I can,’ praises Dodgers’ approach

joe buck
Feb 18, 2025 11:04 am

Report: Joe Buck to call Yankees-Brewers on Opening Day

Justin Turner
Feb 18, 2025 10:55 am

Reports: Cubs, Justin Turner agree to deal

Read all
fb-post
advertisment
title-icon

Upcoming events

See all odds