Stefan Fechtig

Stefan Fechtig

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 174 lb.

• Born March 8, 1974 in Rosenheim, Bavaria Germany

Biographical Information

Stefan Fechtig played for the German national team from 1995-2003. He won four Bundesliga ERA titles from 1995-2002.

Fechtig debuted in the Bundesliga-1 in 1994 with the Leonberg Lobsters. He was 1-1 with a 7.43 ERA and hit .375/.487/.650 with 18 RBI in 40 at-bats. In '95, he went 11-0 with a 2.88 ERA for the Trier Cardinals. He led the Bundesliga-1 South in wins (2 ahead of Frank Stattler and Klaus Knüttel) and ERA (.48 over Stattler) and was second to Stattler in WHIP (1.20). He was named the Bundesliga-1 South's top pitcher and was also MVP of the finals as the Cardinals won their first title. In his national team debut, the 21-year-old gave up 10 runs (6 earned) in 6 innings in the 1995 European Championship, going 0-1; he did strike out 9.

The Cardinals won their second title in 1996, with Fechtig playing a bigger role on offense (.307/.395/.440) while not pitching much (2-0, 4.23). In 1997, he was a two-way threat for the Cardinals, hitting .352/.450/.489 with 17 steals in 22 tries, 34 runs and 28 RBI in 28 games. He had a 9-2, 2.13 record on the hill and was named best pitcher in the league for the second time. He was among the league leaders in ERA (1st by a whopping .98 ahead of Stattler), strikeouts (tied for 4th, 65), innings pitched (84 1/3 IP, first), wins (tied for 3rd), lowest walk rate (giving out 24 walks), lowest WHIP (.87, .43 ahead of the runner-up), doubles (tied for 8th with Knüttel at 10), hits (9th with 31), runs (8th), times hit by pitch (tied for 2nd with 8), steals (4th, behind an American, a Dominican and a Puerto Rican), RBI (tied for 7th with Matt Culp), assists (4th with 60) and errors (tied for first with 14). In the 1997 European Championship, he hit only .154/.185/.231 and was 0-1 with 7 runs allowed in 3 innings.

In 1998, Fechtig moved to the Paderborn Untouchables and would become a mainstay there. He hit .318/.417/.455 with 25 runs in 37 games his first year, with 17 steals in 19 tries. As a pitcher, he was 8-2 with a 3.24 ERA. He was among the Bundesliga-1 north leaders in steals (8th), ERA (2nd to teammate René Herlitzius), strikeouts (75, 7th), innings (97 1/3, 5th), wins (tied for 8th with Martin Almstetter) and WHIP (1.34, 2nd to Herlitzius). During 1999, he batted .380/.492/.460 with 18 runs in 18 games and was 9-1 with a 1.59 ERA and .220 opponent average. He hit .476 with 8 RBI in six postseason games and was 2-0 on the mound as Paderborn won its first title. In the regular season, he had finished 14th in the north in average, 10th in OBP, 1st in ERA (1.04 over Herlitzius), tied for 3rd in wins (with Stattler) and was 1st in WHIP (.01 ahead of Herlitzius). He was named the best pitcher in the north after having taken the award twice in the south. In the 1999 European Championship, he went 3 for 10 with two walks but allowed 5 walks and 3 runs in 2 2/3 IP and had no decisions.

Fechtig remained a potent two-way force in 2000. He produced at a .309/.408/.457 rate with 22 runs, 21 RBI and 12 steals (caught once) in 28 games and went 10-3 with a 4.23 ERA and 71 whiffs in 72 1/3 IP. He slumped to 1-3, 5.75 in the playoffs and was 7 for 22 with 5 RBI in six games. He was among the league leaders in steals (tied for 3rd with Andreas Gienger), steal percentage (tied for 2nd), ERA (7th), strikeouts (tied for second with Stattler and Benjamin Kleiner), wins (tied for first with Stattler), innings (72 1/3, 4th), WHIP (4th).

In '01, the right-hander was 7-3 with a 1.99 ERA and 1.07 WHIP. He hit .328/.382/.433. He was 8 for 21 in the playoffs, won two games, saved one and had a 3.00 ERA as the Untouchables won the pennant. He finished among the leaders in ERA (third after Will Rikard and Stattler), strikeouts (9th), wins (tied for 3rd) and WHIP (3rd after Rikard and Stattler). He was 1-1 with a 1.06 ERA in the 2001 European Championship, walking only 2 in 17 innings. He shut out the Belgian national team and lost a 3-2 duel to Spain and Carlos Ros, who would pitch professionally in the US. He was 4th in the event in ERA among hurlers with 10+ innings, after the Czech Republic's Petr Pacas, Belgium's Michael Lays and Italy's Riccardo De Santis.

Fechtig went 9-0 with a 1.75 ERA, .212 opponent average and 1.09 WHIP for the 2002 Untouchables. He struck out 54 in 51 1/3 innings and did not allow a single home run. He hit .344/.462/.438 in a part-time role off the mound. In the playoffs, he was 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA and went 6 for 13 with 7 runs in 6 games. He was among the leaders in ERA (1st, .06 over Stattler), strikeouts (4th), wins (tied for first with Mirko Heid and Eugen Heilmann), hit batsmen (3rd with 9), WHIP (2nd, .02 behind Stattler) and opponent average (4th after Jens Cornelsen, Heilmann and Heid). He was named the MVP for his work.

Stefan saw a reduced role in 2003 - he hit .459/.500/.568 with 14 runs in 14 games and was 3-0 with 3 saves and a 1.41 ERA. He was 7 for 19 with 3 doubles and 5 runs in 6 postseason games and had a 3-1, 1.11 record as Paderborn won the title. He tied for third in the circuit in saves and was still 9th with 37 strikeouts despite his lower workload. In the 2003 European Championship, his final appearance with the national team, he allowed four runs on 10 hits in 6 innings and was 0-1, losing to Alberto Magallón and Spain.

During 2004, Fechtig was 6-0 with only two earned runs in 30 2/3 innings. He was not needed as much as Paderborn had an All-Star pitching cost including Heilmann, Kleiner, Herlitzius and American Christopher Gannon. He was still among the league leaders in wins (tied for 3rd with Dirk Fries, former Cuban leaguer Enorbel Márquez and former minor leaguer Jason McCarter). Had he qualified, he actually would only have been second in ERA to Gannon, though he was well ahead of the actual #2, McCarter. In '05, Herlitzius was gone, Gannon struggled and Kleiner barely pitched but René Franke joined Heilmann and Fechtig in pitching the Untouchables to another title. The veteran was 1-1 with 6 saves and a 1.87 ERA and hit .266/.342/.297, then had a 1-0, 1.59 playoff record as Paderborn won its 5th pennant in a row (ending their title run). He led the league in saves and would have ranked 2nd to Heilmann in ERA if he had qualified. In the 2005 European Cup, he was pounded by DOOR Neptunus of the Netherlands, allowing 3 hits, 3 walks and 7 runs (5 earned) without retiring anyone before Franke relieved.

In 2006, Fechtig was 3-1 with a 3.00 ERA and was 7 for 31 with a double and a walk offensively. He did not play in the Bundesliga-1 in 2007 then became head coach of the Untouchables for 2008. In 2010, he put himself into a game as pitcher, allowing one hit in one inning. He was 79-14 with a 2.63 ERA in his Bundesliga-1 career to that point. He had a 1-5, 5.19 record for the German national team. Through 2010, he was tied for 3rd in team history in losses, even with Peter Budny and Knüttel, trailing Claus Helmig and Tim Henkenjohann.

Primary Source: Bundesliga and national team stats at the official Bundesliga site