(Story by Marco Stoovelaar; Photos by Marco Stoovelaar and Henk Seppen)
 Loek van Mil will pitch for Neptunus this season
Nederlands
 ROTTERDAM (Neth.) -
Loek van Mil will pitch for Dutch reigning champion Curaçao Neptunus this season, the club announced today (Tuesday, March 3).
Last season, the 30-year old righthander played professionally in Japan after having pitched eight years in the Minor Leagues in the USA.
With his 7 foot, 1 inch, Van Mil was the tallest player in professional baseball during that period.
Next week, Van Mil will travel to Japan with the European All Star Team for a 2-game series against Japan in the Tokyo Dome.
...Loek van Mil pitching during the...
...2013 World Baseball Classic in Japan...
(© Photo: Henk Seppen) |
Van Mil, who was born in Oss in the southern Dutch province of Noord-Brabant, where he started his baseball-career with local clubs Cardinals.
He made his professional debut in 2006 when he pitched in ten games for the Rookie League-team of the Minnesota Twins in the Gulf Coast League (Florida).
In his first professional season, the righthander was 1-2 and struckout 24 batters in 43 2/3 inning, finishing with a 3.30 ERA.
In 2007, Van Mil again played in the Rookie League, this time for the Elizabethton Twins in the Appalachian League.
In this season, he was only used as a reliever (he started eight in the previous year), appearing in 13 games and was 2-2 with a 2.62 ERA.
In 2008, Van Mil promoted to Single-A and threw in 28 games (all in relief) for the Beloit Snappers in the Midwest League.
There, he again was 2-2, with three saves, closed with a 3.22 ERA and struckout 42 batters in 44 2/3 inning.
In the following seasons, Van Mil promoted to Double-A and Triple-A, but never made it to the Major League.
In 2009, he began the season with Fort Myers Miracle (Single-A Advanced) and threw 25 games in relief and was credited with five saves.
He then promoted to the Double-A team of the Twins in the Eastern League, New Britain Rock Cats, where he was 1-1 in eight games in relief and added one save.
In 2010, Van Mil, who was recovering from an injury in this period, played for three teams.
He appeared in three games for Fort Myers Miracle (Single-A Advanced) and was 0-1.
He then pitched in 23 games in relief for New Britain Rock Cats (1-2), before being traded to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
He finished the season with the Arkansas Travelers, the Double-A team of the Angels, pitching in one game.
...Loek van Mil before a game...
...with Beloit Snappers in 2008...
(© Photo: Marco Stoovelaar) |
In 2011, Loek van Mil threw the entire season at the Double-A level.
He threw in 30 games for Arkansas, one of them as a starter, and finished the season with a 3-5 record.
In 66 1/3 inning, he struckout 46 batters and his ERA lowered to 2.04.
2012 was another year of three teams and a change of organisations.
He first pitched in eight games for Salt Lake Bees, the Triple-A team of the Angels, where he was 1-0.
He then moved to the Cleveland Indians-organisation, where he pitched in Double-A and Triple-A.
With the Akron Aeros (Double-A), he was 1-1 in 27 relief appearances and with the Columbus Clippers (Triple-A), Van Mil was 0-0 in six appearances.
In total in the 2012 season, he was 2-1 in 41 games, striking out 49 batters in 64 2/3 inning.
He finished with a combined 3.20 ERA.
...Loek van Mil with a fan...
...during the World Championship...
...in Taiwan in 2007...
(© Photo: Marco Stoovelaar) |
In the 2013 season, which wasn't his best one, Van Mil pitched in two teams in the organisation of the Cincinnati Reds, again Double-A and Triple-A.
With the Pensacola Blue Wahoos (AA), he was 0-9, pitching in 48 games as a reliever, but also was credited with eight saves.
With the Louisville Bats (AAA), he then pitched in three games and was 0-1.
In this year, Van Mil struckout 34 batters in 64 innings.
The 2013 season marked the end of his professional career in the USA.
He then signed with Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles in Nippon Professional Baseball, where he pitched last season.
In 2013, the Golden Eagles had won the championship and in 2014, Van Mil was a teammate of Andruw Jones, who played in his second season with the Japanese squad.
With the Golden Eagles, Van Mil pitched in only seven games, all in relief.
He was 0-1 and struckout seven batters in 8 2/3 inning, while walking also seven.
In 2007, Loek van Mil made his debut in the Netherlands National Baseball Team.
He then participated with the squad in the World Championship in Taiwan, appearing in five games as a closer.
He then also was on the Dutch roster for the Olympic Games in 2008 in Beijing (China), but had to be replaced a few days before the event, due to an arm-injury.
In 2013, Van Mil participated with the Netherlands Baseball Team in the World Baseball Classic, reaching the semi-final with the Orange squad.
When he takes the mound this season for Neptunus, it will mark his comeback in the Dutch big league.
Before turning pro, he already has pitched one complete season in the highest league.
In 2005, Van Mil pitched in 17 games for Mr. Cocker HCAW and was 2-3 with a 5.26 ERA.
A year later, he threw in only game for the Bussum-based team, before leaving for the USA to start his professional career.
In 2012, he was on the roster of L&D Amsterdam Pirates, but never pitched for the team.
Evert-Jan 't Hoen, Head Coach of Neptunus, states in the announcement:
,,Loek's addition is unexpected.
Of course, there still is a possibility that he will play again in Japan, but if not, then he will be a very valuable addition to our pitching staff.
He can help our pitchers in several areas.
We surely want to have a pitcher with this much experience.
It is good to see that former profs want to improve the level of our big league''.
In the same announcement, Loek van Mil is quoted saying:
,,Neptunus is a fine team with good coaches.
I think that I will be used late in the game, but that is up to the coach.
I will pitch every inning of each game when that is asked of me.
I'm looking forward to the season and will help the team to stay champion.''
(March 3)
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