Can a Czech Firefighter Compete With M.L.B.’s Biggest Stars?

OLOMOUC, Czech Republic — The next emergency call could come at any moment during one of Martin Schneider’s 24-hour shifts at Olomouc’s Fire and Rescue Brigade. It might be for a car accident, a fire or a capsized canoe in a river, and in an instant he and his colleagues would slide down a pole, jump into a truck and go.

Schneider faces life-threatening situations on a routine basis and pressure is normal for him. So the thought of standing on a mound in the middle of the Tokyo Dome — with 55,000 fans screaming, chanting and banging on drums when Shohei Ohtani, the superstar designated hitter (and ace pitcher) for the Los Angeles Angels, walks to the plate — does not frighten him. It beckons him.

“I do best when I’m under pressure,” Schneider said at the station house late last month, growing more animated with each word and rapping on a table with his knuckles. “I love those situations. I need those situations. It’s my dream. I want to pitch against Japan.”

It is quite likely that on Saturday a full-time firefighter will pitch to Ohtani — a modern Babe Ruth earning $30 million this year with the Angels — and other talented Japanese batters in a unique matchup between the Czech Republic and Japan at the World Baseball Classic in Tokyo. If not the firefighter on that mound, then perhaps it will be the team’s public relations manager or a real estate agent or a schoolteacher.