Marek Červenka

From BR Bullpen

Marek Červenka

  • Bats Right, Throws Right
  • Height 6' 0", Weight 172 lb.

Biographical Information[edit]

Marek Červenka is the brother of minor leaguer Martin Červenka. Marek and Martin both played for the Czech national team while in their teens. Their father Filip Červenka has been a manager in the Extraliga.

Marek allowed 15 runs (7 earned) in 12 2/3 IP for the Tempo Titans in the 2008 Extraliga. In 2009, he improved to 1-3, 3.29 but walked 27 in 41 innings. In the 2009 European Junior Championship, he was 1 for 3 with a walk and had a 1-1, 3.18 record, beating neighbor Slovakia but losing to powerhouse Italy. In 2010, he was 4-3 with a 2.30 ERA for Kotlářka Praha with 9 walks in 47 innings. He allowed a .206/.245/.263 batting line. He was 4th in the Extraliga in ERA behind Pat Ahearne, Trevor Caughey and Leoš Kubát, 3rd in opponent slugging (after Ryan Murphy and Ahearne), 2nd in opponent average (to Murphy) and had the lowest opponent OBP (.005 lower than former big leaguer Ahearne).

Červenka pitched for the Czechs in the 2010 Intercontinental Cup; his brother Martin was a regular at catcher. His 27.00 ERA was the worst on the team, more than double Radim Chroust, the next-worst. He pitched against Cuba (7 R, 6 H, 1 BB in 1 1/3 IP) and Nicaragua (3 R, 4 H in 2 IP). In the 2011 Extraliga campaign, he was even better than in 2010, going 11-2 with a 1.83 ERA, 124 strikeouts in 123 innings and a .198/.256/.256 batting line. He led the league in lowest slugging (21 points lower than Ahearne), strikeouts (14 more than Shelby Robertson) and lowest opponent average (tied with Jan Blažek). He was also second in innings (behind Robertson), wins (one behind Robertson), ERA (trailing Ahearne) and lowest OBP (2nd to Ahearne). He allowed the lowest opponent OPS. His strikeout total was the third-highest in the Extraliga for the period 1997-2011, behind only Roger Deago (135 in 1997) and Michal Lisko (134 in 2000). Meanwhile, his brother was having an even better year, winning the batting title.

In 2012, he fell to 4-4, 2.69 and was 4th in the league with 68 K (between Matěj Hušek and Petr Minařík) and 7th in ERA (between Minařík and Daniel Vítek). He struck out 14 in 9 shutout innings in the playoffs for a win. In the 2012 European Championship, he lost both of his starts, against Great Britain (7 IP, 2 BB, 3 R, 2 ER, 4 K in 5 IP) and Italy (5 H, 4 BB, 3 R, 4 K in 4 IP). He was on the Czech squad for the 2013 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers but did not get into a game.

Červenka was 9-1 with a 2.50 ERA for Kotlářka Praha in 2013. He was second in the league in wins (one behind Caughey), tied for third in complete games (2), 4th in strikeouts (82), tied for 5th in saves (2) and 5th in ERA (between Caughey and Jakub Černík). His ERA was slightly better in the playoffs at 2.35 but he only was 1-3. The next summer, he faded to 6-6, 3.54, finishing among the top 10 still in complete games (4, 2nd) and whiffs (5th). He rebounded in the playoffs, when he led in wins (3) and strikeouts (27) while placing 4th with a 2.32 ERA.

In the 2014 European Championship, he beat Croatia (2 R, 1 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 6 K in 6 IP) but lost to Germany (4 R, 7 H, 3 BB, 4 K in 3 2/3 IP). He was 1-2 with a 1.98 ERA in the 2014 European Cup, losing a tough 2-0 decision to the Vaessen Pioniers and dropping a game in relief against the Rouen Huskies then beating the Solingen Alligators. He tied for the event lead in losses but was also 4th in ERA (between Ricardo Hernandez and Chris Mezger). He was 7-6 with a save and a 4.48 ERA in the regular season in 2015, finishing third in the Extraliga in IP (90 1/3), tying for third in wins (with Michal Sobotka and Lukáš Ercoli) and second in strikeouts (76, 11 behind Jan Tomek). He had a 3-1, 3.96 postseason record as Kotlářka Praha won its first title. He beat Draci Brno and Minařík in the opener but then dropped game 3 to put his club down 2-1; they won the next two, though, to wrap up the championship.

Červenka got the start against host Mexico to start the 2017 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers in March 2016; he allowed two runs in the first on walks to Esteban Quiroz and Adrian Gonzalez, a hit to Jesse Castillo and a sacrifice fly by Agustín Murillo then turned in two shutout frames before turning things over to Jan Novák; the Czechs wound up losing by only a 2-1 margin.

Sources[edit]

This biographical article is missing the person's: birth place
Retrieved from "https://www.baseball-reference.com/bpv/index.php?title=Marek_Červenka&oldid=909291"