(Story by Marco Stoovelaar; Photo by Henk Seppen)
 Pioniers-pitcher Swen Huijer announces retirement
Nederlands
 HOOFDDORP (Neth.) -
Today (Wednesday, June 17), Swen Huijer announced his retirement from baseball at the top level.
The 24-year old righthanded pitcher of Vaessen Pioniers is unable to combine playing in the big league with his regular job.
Huijer, who thanks everyone who supported him during his career, appeared in his last game last Sunday.
He then pitched in 1/3 inning in the game vs. Mampaey The Hawks, giving up four hits and seven runs.
In a statement, Huijer said:
,,With mixed feelings, I decided last week to retire from baseball at the big league-level.
I've played the sport with a lot of fun and enormous passion.
Baseball was the perfect balance between teamwork and individual accomplishments.
Thanks to baseball and the opportunities I've had, I have learned a lot of new people and saw a lot of the world.
But baseball also takes a lot of time.
I learned that the last months, as working on irregular hours is impossible to combine with playing.''
Huijer played professionally in 2008-2011 in the organisation of the Boston Red Sox.
In his first three seasons, he pitched for the GCL Red Sox, the Rookie League-team of the Red Sox in Florida.
He then played in Single-A Short Season in 2011 for Lowell Spinners.
In his first year, Huijer was 3-1, appearing in eight games.
He then was 1-1 in 2009 and 5-2 in 2010.
In Single-A (2011), Huijer was 2-2.
In his four professional seasons, Huijer pitched in 51 games (one as starter).
He struckout 84 batters in 117 innings, while walking 28 and giving up 112 basehits.
Huijer finished his professional career with an 11-6 record and a 3.15 ERA.
After being released, Huijer returned to the Dutch big league in 2012 and played again for Vaessen Pioniers.
He then was 0-2 in 10 games, then was 2-0 in 2013 in 14 games.
Last season, Huijer was 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA, pitching as reliever in 17 games for Pioniers.
In 21 innings, he struckout 14 batters.
This season, Huijer appeared in seven games, all in relief and was 0-0 with a 14.21 ERA.
In 6 1/3 inning, he struckout two batters, walked five and gave up 13 hits and 11 runs.
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