Most young athletes in the Czech Republic dream of making it big in two sports: hockey or soccer. For Marek Chlup and Vojtech Mensik, it was baseball.
The two took different paths to finding the sport. Chlup is from a small town called Cesky Dub in the northern part of the country. Its population is considerably smaller than the enrollment at NC State. Chlup estimated it at maybe 3,500.
Mensik comes from the opposite side of the Czech Republic in the city of Brno, the second-largest city in the country with a population of over 380,000. The common denominator between the two is that family introduced them to the sport.
Chlup noted that otherwise it's not easy to find baseball in his native country.
“It’s not popular at all,” he admitted.
Chlup’s dad though was drawn to the sport. How? When Chlup’s father was younger he saw the movie “The Natural.” Perhaps dreaming of being Roy Hobbs one day, he began playing baseball. Chlup was the bat boy at many of his father’s games growing up.
“I always followed baseball, and that was my main sport,” said Chlup, who also did track and field and played hockey when he was young.
Mensik’s brother brought him to the sport. His sibling was a tennis player who gave that up and found baseball. The six-year-old Mensik soon joined him on the diamond.
“It was my sport from then on,” he said.
The two did not know each other until playing in the Extraliga, the top baseball circuit in the country. Both made it when they were teenagers, playing against men that in some cases could be old enough to be their fathers.
Both also harbored dreams of playing baseball in the United States.
“Even in elementary school I was thinking of coming here for high school, but really the college level was something that interested me,” Mensik confirmed. “I wanted to do that for sure. I heard about other players from European countries playing in the States in [junior colleges].”
“My dream was just to play baseball in the United States,” Chlup added. “I wanted baseball to be my No. 1 priority, and it wouldn’t be possible in the Czech Republic after high school.”
Fate would then bring them that opportunity. The two were invited to represent the Czech Republic on its national team. Through that, the two had an opportunity to play in a U.S. tour that included fall exhibitions against NC State in 2017.
It's safe to say that head coach Elliott Avent and his staff were impressed. As Mensik noted, he went from thinking about finding a junior college in the U.S. to being told that he could come to NC State.
“We got really surprised when they said that they wanted us,” Mensik added.
The two had never really given any thought of potentially playing college baseball together until that moment. For Mensik, the only hiccup would be affording it.
“Coming from a different country, a different system, we didn’t have to pay for education over there, so money was the only [hesitation],” he noted.
Through the U.S. tour, the two got a taste of what kind of competition they were walking into, but it still has taken time to get used to it.
“I kind of saw what it was like, but when I got here in the fall I really had a chance to adjust to it,” Chlup said. “The practices are longer, and especially the weather really bothered me with the humidity.
"We have nicer weather [in the Czech Republic]. It’s not too hot.”
Mensik noted that the support system at NC State has also been a positive change.
“In some ways it’s easier because you have people around you to help you with the conditioning,” Mensik stated. “Back home, it was a lot of school, less practice, you have to do it on your own.”
On the field, both have had their ups and downs in their first go-round of American baseball. Chlup is just 5 for 27 at the plate through 16 games, but his raw power has been on display. Four of his five hits have been for extra bases, including a home run.
“I am telling myself to be patient and keep trusting myself,” he said. “I am trying to adjust every day and work really hard.”
Mensik has carved out a more consistent role at third base. He has started 33 games and is hitting .246 with a pair of homers and 14 runs batted in. He is also a perfect 8 for 8 on stolen bases, second most on the team behind fellow freshman and outfielder Tyler McDonough, who has nine stolen bases while playing 13 more games.
“Adjusting to pitching, that was probably the biggest difference,” Mensik said.
There is another difference though, and it might be the biggest of all — getting to play in a country where baseball is not an outlier.
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