Martin Brunegraf

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9", Weight 191 lb.

• Born March 28, 1986 in Bratislava Czechoslovakia

Biographical Information

Martin Brunegraf has played for and managed the Slovakian national team.

Brunegraf went 1 for 9 with a walk, two runs and a RBI in the 2008 European Championship Qualifiers. In the 2011 European Championship Qualifiers, he was 3 for 14 with two walks, three steals, four runs and a RBI. He fielded only .750; his five errors led the Antwerp pool. He tied for second in steals, one behind Dennis Ribbens. Martin hit .300/.462/.300 with two steals and six walks in five games, fielding .941 in the 2013 European Championship B-Level. He led the event in walks. He signed with the Czech Extraliga's Tempo Titans Prague for 2014, following other Slovakian national team starters to the Czech Republic, where baseball was higher quality. He hit .178/.284/.244 and fielded .855.

He hit .143/.174/.143 with four RBI in five games for Slovakia in the 2015 B-Level European Championship, fielding .864. He was co-founder and secretary of Euro Interleague Baseball. He also managed and was team president of Apollo Bratislava in the league in 2016, while playing shortstop as well for a full set of roles. He hit .260/.427/.356 with 21 walks, 19 runs and 18 RBI in 20 games, stealing nine bases in nine tries and fielding .878. He was 4th in runs (between Ante Ćurković and Antonio Horvatić), tied for 9th in RBI, tied for 7th in steals and led in walks (two ahead of Tomáš Biskorovajny).

For Bratislava in the 2017 Inter League, he produced at a .274/.357/.369 clip with 22 runs in 20 games, fielding .895. He was 8th in runs, tied for 7th in hits (23), 10th in RBI (15), tied for 5th with 6 doubles (even with Kruno Gojković and Mário Gottschall), tied Slobodan Gales for 8th in total bases (31) and 2nd in assists (55). In the 2017 B-Level European Championship, he started at short for Slovakia, batting .136/.136/.136 with two runs in five games, fielding .850. He tied for 5th in assists (11) and tied for first in errors (3). In the Inter League in 2018, he hit .370/.485/.753 with 11 doubles, 6 homers, 30 runs, 23 RBI, 15 walks and 8 steals (in 9 tries) in 20 games, fielding .989 while moving more to 1B. He was 5th in slugging, 10th in OBP, 1st in runs, 4th in hits (30), 7th in RBI, led in doubles (two ahead of Dario Vojak), tied Ernesto Pereira for third in homers and easily led in putouts (166, 49 more than Vojak). Playing for Bratislava in the 2018 Federations Cup, hitting .200/.273/.250 with four runs in five games.

Brunegraf produced at a .339/.468/.484 clip in the 2019 Inter League, with 19 runs and 15 walks in 16 contests. He was 10th in average, 9th in OBP, 5th in runs, tied for 5th in hits (21), was 8th in total bases (30) and tied Hrvoje Tadić for the walk lead. In the 2019 B-Level European Championship, he had three runs against Romania, four runs against Lithuania and three hits in the 3rd/4th place game against Switzerland. He finished the event at .429/.480/.619 with ten runs and six RBI in five games, fielding .951. He was 9th in average, led in runs, tied for third in hits, tied for sixth with 13 total bases and tied for first with four double plays on defense. The Inter League did not operate in 2020-2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the 2021 European Championship Qualifier, he was a homer shy of the cycle in a win over Ireland and drove in three in the championship game against Ireland as Slovakia made it to the European Championship for the first time. He not only hit .421/.450/.789 with eight RBI in four games, but also managed the team. Among all four qualifiers, he tied Nick Halamandaris for 7th in RBI. As Slovakia made the 2021 European Championship, he was their manager, leadoff hitter and second baseman. The veteran thus was the first Slovakian to bat in a European Championship, facing the Dutch national team's Lars Huijer, a former minor leaguer. He singled for their first European Championship hit and baserunner. After they were shut out in their first two games, he scored their first run in the opening inning of game 3. He had a one-out single against the Czech national team's Radim Chroust and scored on a homer by Gottschall. That also gave Slovakia their first lead. He was 2 for 6 with two runs in their 6-5 loss to France in the 15th/16th place game. He finished the Euros at .320/.370/.360 with five runs in six games, fielding .947. He led Slovakia in runs (two ahead of Biskorovajny) and was second on the team with eight hits (two behind Gottschall).

Sources

• CEB
• Extraliga stats
• Euro Interleague Baseball