Kurikka will start the Spanish Baseball League in Valencia Antorcha in the summer, after training and playing with the club from the beginning of November. Kurikka is not paid, but he can play in Spain with the help of partners.
Samu Saatsi,
Emma Hyyppä
12.3. 13:42 • Updated 12.3. 5:30 p.m.
Baseball player Konsta Kurikka21, has signed a comprehensive contract for the upcoming season with Valencia Antorcha, who will play in the main series of Spanish baseball.
Kurikka has been playing and practicing in the club since the beginning of November during the winter season of the Spanish Baseball League. The main series of Spanish baseball is mainly the semi-professional series. The series will be played between March and July. Valencia Antorcha has won the Spanish championship twice, most recently in the 2020 season.
– My feelings about the contract are very good, it was very important for me to get it for the summer as well. It was originally intended for me to play in winter in Spain and see if my level is enough there. The level was enough and I got the contract I left to apply for, Kurikka tells Urheilu.
Kurikka, who won the Finnish Championship gold in the ranks of Sotkamo Jymy in Finland, has previously played baseball in Europe for one match in the German Bundesliga in Heidenheim Heideköpfe. The deal with Germany was born for MLB’s grand club New York Yankees European talent scout Troy Williamsin through an assisted training session.
Kurikka, who has been a pioneer, will become the first full-time Finnish baseball player and also the first Finnish in the SBL. However, in terms of amounts of money, the agreement does not bring a new kind of profit.
– In the super nests, my player salary is 100% higher, because in Spain I am not paid to play. I will be able to do this full time with the support of my partner, he opens.
– In Europe, the best salaries for player rewards are in France, Germany, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Italy. Summer in Spain shows a lot in the direction of my own career. Of course, my goal is to get into the bigger series in the United States or Japan, for example, as soon as possible. However, I want to design it with all my other Contacts who know more about the species, who in turn have their own better contacts.
Kurikka says that planning is emphasized when it comes to creating a baseball career. He also flashes the opportunity in the talks to strive to play baseball for the U.S. University Series NCAA next fall.
Before leaving in November, the Finnish player also went to Spain to discuss baseball clubs in Australia and South Africa in the autumn, but plans plummeted due to the corona pandemic.
Kurikka has made it clear in previous interviews about his goal to play baseball in North America. There is also a basis for the Finn’s wishes, as he is an exceptionally hard-working pitcher. The speed of a baseball throw in Kurikka has been measured at 159 kilometers per hour. The baseball ball, on the other hand, has come out of his hand at a speed of 151 km / h.
Developments have already taken place in Spain. According to Kurikka, his feed palette has now also included sliders, ie side threads, and changeups.
– When I went there, I had nothing but a fastball as a pitcher. So I just threw everything full, and not much information about the technology. We have honed the feed technology a lot. Through that, I have gotten into games, with the improvement of technology, the gaming experience has also become different, Kurikka estimates.
In the professional series MLB, fastball throws from average feeders are measured to start at a speed of about 92–96 miles per hour, or 148–154 km / h.
Updated at 5:29 PM: Fixed an issue where the Kurika club in Spain is Valencia Antorcha, not Astros, as previously reported.