The Czech Baseball Extraliga, or simply Extraliga, is the highest level of baseball in the Czech Republic. The league was established in 1993 after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia. The league is currently contested by eight teams and the games are played from April to May with the playoffs beginning in June.
The Extraliga operates a promotion and relegation system with the 1. Liga (the second tier baseball league in Czech Republic) where the bottom teams from the Extraliga are relegated to the 1. Liga and the top teams from the 1. Liga are promoted to the Extraliga.
History The Czechoslovak Baseball League was established in 1979, and Tempo Praha became the first baseball champions. However, in 1993, after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, the league was disbanded and the Czech Baseball Extraliga was established, comprising teams only from the Czech Republic.
The first Extraliga champions were Technika Brno, winners of the 1993 and 1994 seasons. Draci Brno rapidly became the dominant team in the league, winning every season from 1995 to 2010 and eight more times after that, totalling 24 championships, the most recent in 2023. In recent years, Arrows Ostrava won two championships back to back in 2018 and 2019 and again in 2021, becoming the second most winning team in the Extraliga, tied with Technika Brno.
The Extraliga was one of the first sports leagues in Europe, and the first major baseball league in the world, to restart following lockdowns concerning the COVID-19 pandemic.
Foreign players Since 2016, the Extraliga allows a maximum of five foreign players on a team roster and there is a limit of three foreigners in the team's lineup at the same time during a game. This changed during 2020, when, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, foreign players were banned, except for residents of the Czech Republic. This ban was lifted for the 2021 season and the rules remained as they were before 2020.
Notable Extraliga foreign players include some former major leaguers. Panamanian pitcher Roger Deago played for Technika Brno in 1997 and 1998 before signing as an amateur free agent by the San Diego Padres in 2002 and making his Major League Baseball debut in 2003; Deago returned to Technika for the 2011 season. In 2019, Draci Brno signed Australian pitcher Peter Moylan, who played 11 games, winning three and losing one.
Historically, the majority of foreign players in the Extraliga come from North America, Latin America and Australia.
In the 2020s, the Extraliga began attracting increased talent from Japan. Notable former Nippon Professional Baseball players playing in NPB during this time include Toru Murata, Takashi Ogino and Koki Ugusa.
Current teams Team City/Town Field Founded Arrows Ostrava Ostrava Arrows Park Ostrava 1973 Cardion Hroši Brno Brno Sportovní areál Hroch 2003 Draci Brno Brno Městský baseballový stadión 1972 Eagles Praha Prague Baseballový a softballový areál Eagles Praha 1981 Kotlářka Praha Prague Stadión Markéta 1980 SaBaT Praha Prague Baseballový a softballový areál SaBaT Praha 1969 Sokol Hluboká Hluboká nad Vltavou Baseballové hřiště Hluboká nad Vltavou 1994 Třebíč Nuclears Třebíč Stadion Na Hvězdě 1986
Winners Team Champions Runners-up Winning seasons Runners-up seasons Draci Brno 26 4 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 2011, 2015, 2018, 2021 Technika Brno 3 6 1993, 1994, 2011 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2010 Arrows Ostrava 3 6 2018, 2019, 2021 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2017, 2020 Kotlářka Praha 1 4 2015 2013, 2014, 2016, 2026 Hroši Brno 1 3 2026 2022, 2024, 2025 Eagles Praha 0 4 – 1999, 2004, 2012, 2019 SaBaT Praha 0 3 – 1993, 1995, 1996 Tempo Praha 0 3 – 1994, 2003, 2023 VSK Express Brno 0 1 – 2007
External links Extraliga (in Czech)
References