Marek Chlup (born January 9, 1999) is a Czech

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

in the

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They ...

organization. He has previously played for the

Lake Country DockHounds The Lake Country DockHounds are a professional baseball team based in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, that plays in the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball. The DockHounds played their first ...

of the

American Association of Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor lea ...

. He also represents the Czech Republic national team.

Playing career

College

Chlup committed to the

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universi ...

for college baseball, playing his freshman and sophomore seasons with the

Wolfpack Wolfpack or wolf pack may refer to: * Pack (canine), a group of canids that live, feed, and travel together as a family group Entertainment Music * Wolfpack (DJs), a Belgian DJ and music production duo * Wolfbrigade, formerly Wolfpack, a Swe ...

. He transferred to

North Greenville University North Greenville University is a private Baptist university in Tigerville, South Carolina. It is affiliated with the South Carolina Baptist Convention (Southern Baptist Convention). It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and ...

for his junior season, the year the team won the NCAA Division II national championship in 2022. In their 2022 championship season, Chlup hit .390 with 12 home runs and 75 RBIs for the

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were ...

. He was named the

Conference Carolinas Conference Carolinas, formerly known as the Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference (CVAC) or the Carolinas Conference, is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) primarily at the Divisi ...

Player of the Year for 2022.

Lake Country Dockhounds

On July 31, 2023, Chlup signed with the

of the

. In 34 games with the DockHounds in 2023, he batted .325/.393/.627 with nine home runs, 25 RBI, and six stolen bases. Chlup signed an extension with the DockHounds on January 2, 2024. On Aug. 7, Chlup, Lake Country shortstop Demetrius Sims, and team broadcaster Dominic Stearn witnessed a bicycle accident near

Falls Park Falls Park is a public park in north central Sioux Falls, South Dakota, surrounding the city's falls. The Big Sioux River runs through the park, which includes a cafe, an observation tower, and the remains of an old mill. The park comprises ove ...

, and cared for the victims until paramedics arrived.

Yomiuri Giants

On September 25, 2024, it was announced that Chlup had signed a 1-year

developmental contract In Major League Soccer, in addition to the senior roster, each team can carry a developmental roster of a certain number of young players whose contracts do not count against the salary cap. The allowable size of developmental rosters has varied th ...

with the

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formatio ...

International career

Chlup represents the

Czech Republic national baseball team The Czech Republic national baseball team is the national baseball team of the Czech Republic. The team competes in the biennial European Baseball Championship and debuted in the 2023 World Baseball Classic Roster Results and fixtures The ...

in international competition. During the qualifiers for the

2023 World Baseball Classic The 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC), an international professional baseball tournament, is set to be the fifth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. It was originally set for 2021 (as per tradition to hold the event every four years), but wa ...

, Chlup hit .353/.353/.706 with 2 home runs and 4 RBIs to help the Czech Republic qualify for its first ever WBC tournament. In the main tournament, Chlup hit .333/.471/.417, one of the best offensive producers on the 2023 Czech team alongside

Eric Sogard Eric Sidney Sogard (born May 22, 1986) is an American professional baseball infielder who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers, Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Rays, and Chicago C ...

and

Matěj Menšík Matej is a given name that originates from the Slavic nations of Central and Eastern Europe. It is one of the most common male names in Slovakia and Slovenia, and is also common in Croatia. The name is originally derived from Matthias the Apostle. ...

. During the game against Japan, Chlup hit a double off

Rōki Sasaki , nicknamed is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Chiba Lotte Marines of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He made his NPB debut in 2021. Sasaki set a new Japanese high school baseball record with a fastball recorded at . T ...

and later scored to give the Czechs a brief lead. Chlup was selected to the Team Europe roster for the

Global Baseball Games The Global Baseball Games, billed as the Carnext Samurai Japan Series for sponsorship purposes, are an international exhibition baseball series played between Samurai Japan were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of mediev ...

exhibition tournament against Samuari Japan, ahead of the

2024 WBSC Premier12 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smalles ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chlup, Marek 1999 births Living people Sportspeople from Liberec Czech expatriate baseball people in the United States Baseball outfielders Lake Country DockHounds players Yomiuri Giants players