Latest member of German baseball's royal family hopes to lead team to World Baseball Classic

TUCSON, Ariz. -- Lou Helmig is tall and lean, long brown locks hanging from beneath his ballcap. He looks the part of the prototypical ballplayer, like he was born to play the game.

In a way, he was. Lou's grandfather, Claus, is called "the godfather of German baseball." He -- and his brother Jürgen -- were the first German born and developed players to sign with a Major League team, inking a deal with the Orioles in 1955. When Claus returned to Germany, he helped found multiple teams and even a full league based around U.S. Army bases.

Lou's father, Martin, attended Spring Training with the White Sox in 1984, before becoming a star player in Germany and across Europe. When his playing days were done, he became one of the most successful managers in the Baseball Bundesliga, winning more championships than fingers on his hands.

And then there's Lou, a first baseman and corner outfielder who played for two seasons in the Phillies Minor League system before returning to Germany, where he currently stars for the Regensburg Legion?re in the newly re-branded German Baseball League.

"My family didn't know anything else besides baseball," the youngest Helmig said with a laugh at this week's World Baseball Classic Qualifiers in Tucson where Germany will try to reach the main tournament for the first time in the program's history. "I was just growing up on a baseball field and living a dream there."

(Oh, and the name? Yeah, he's named for Lou Gehrig. His mother was looking through a book of baby names when she stumbled on Lou. When she asked Martin for his thoughts, he was thrilled because of the connection to Gehrig.)

Helmig is not exaggerating when he said that baseball was the only thing his family cared about. If you were to talk with Claus or Martin, they would inevitably find a way to steer the conversation back to the game.

"He loved baseball. He loved baseball more than anything else," Lou said about his grandfather, Claus. "If you would start a different conversation, he would always get back to baseball five minutes later."

Lou's father, Martin, was no different.

"Away from the field, he was also like my grandpa: Nothing but baseball," Lou said.

Growing up with a family like that, was there any chance that Lou would do anything else? Did he have dreams of being a doctor or a lawyer?

"I mean, I got raised pretty much to be a professional baseball player my whole life," Lou said, a laugh lighting up his face. Naturally, Martin wasn't just a father to Lou, though: He was also his manager.

"He was a players' manager. So he let you do a lot of things. I mean, you have to perform. That's the biggest thing with him. If you perform, you can do whatever you want," Helmig said.

It's a good thing that Helmig got used to being managed by his father because the familial connections don't end there. Jendrick Speer, Germany's current manager and a former national team star himself, is also Helmig's godfather.

"He's like my big brother," Helmig said. "He basically grew up at my house, as well. He's my big brother: I always have to let him do everything."

"I've known him since he was a little baby," Speer said. "We are family, definitely. But on the baseball field, I treat him just like everyone else. That's what everyone else deserves."

It's no coincidence that Speer -- a German baseball lifer -- and Helmig, whose family helped found baseball in Germany, are on the national team now. Speer was hired after the nation's disappointing performance in the 2022 Qualifiers, with some critics believing that the team -- which featured German-Americans like Bruce Maxwell and Aaron Altherr -- didn't play with enough national pride, nor did they do a good job of representing the country's baseball program on an international stage.

One of Speer's stated goals was to change that.

"Coming in as a new head coach, we made a significant change," Speer said. "Especially with the coaching staff that we brought in, we have guys who are around the players all year who either live in Germany or have been in the [German] league for a long, long time. And also the selection of players. We put a big focus on good players, of course, but also good team chemistry. That's what our strength was the last two years now."

It's perhaps a response to the Czech Republic's baseball team, who became global stars with an amateur team that consisted almost entirely of Czech born and developed players. There are still Americans on the German national team these days, like Nick Wittgren and Jaden Agassi, the son of tennis stars Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, but the desire is to have a team of German players who live and play in the country.

(Not that Jaden doesn't have his bonafides: His mother is from Germany and he can speak a fair amount of the language. Plus, below is a photo of Claus Helmig with his wife and Jaden's great grandfather circa 1980.)

"I would say, 90 percent of us are German or German born and German raised. We have a really good connection," Helmig said. "We know each other pretty well. It's really fun playing with those guys. You play against these guys growing up, play against these guys in the league, and a couple guys that played in the big leagues with Germany. It's pretty amazing."

That's not to say that Helmig's dreams of reaching the big leagues or playing in America are done. After hitting .365 with a league-leading six triples last season, Helmig has hopes of playing in the states this season -- either with an affiliated ballclub or in indy ball. It's the same dream shared by three generations of Helmigs: Getting to the Major Leagues. He may not be with the Phillies any longer, but that doesn't mean the work is done.

"That was what I was wishing for since I was a little kid and one of my dreams came true," Helmig said about the day he signed with the Phillies. "I knew it was only one of the first steps, and I know it's a hard and long road from there. You've got to keep grinding and putting in the work."

The goal at this tournament, though, is simple:

"I'm really proud to represent my country in this tournament, and looking forward to qualify and get to the next round."