(Story by Marco Stoovelaar; Photos by Henk Seppen & Marco Stoovelaar)
 Evert-Jan 't Hoen new Manager Netherlands Team; Robin van Doornspeek Pitching Coach
Nederlands
 NIEUWEGEIN (Neth.) -
Evert-Jan 't Hoen has been named the new Manager of the Netherlands National Baseball Team.
While the news already circulated for some days, it was officially confirmed by the Royal Netherlands Baseball and Softball Association (KNBSB) on Monday (April 30).
Robin van Doornspeek has been appointed as the new Pitching Coach of the national squad.
Evert-Jan 't Hoen succeeds Steve Janssen, who stepped down in January after having been named Minor League Pitching Coach in the organization of the Chicago Cubs.
Last year, 't Hoen was the 3B Coach of the Netherlands Team during the World Port Tournament in Rotterdam (Netherlands).
During that event, the squad was led by Sidney de Jong, who had been Bench Coach/Hitting Coach in the staff of Steve Janssen.
De Jong was the Manager of the Netherlands Under-23 Team, but was the Manager of the National Team during the WPT to gain some experience for the following Under-23 European Championship.
That was also done with 't Hoen and 1B Coach Eugène Kingsale, who were members of the Under-23 staff, but joined De Jong during the WPT.
Besides this, the team featured several debuting players.
This construction led to some critical reactions, as the team would not be strong enough for the event in Rotterdam.
Janssen served in an advisory role during the WPT.
A month later, De Jong led the Under-23 Team to the European title.
Evert-Jan 't Hoen also had been a member of the coaching-staff of the Orange-squad during the European Championship in 2014, Haarlem Baseball Week in 2014 and 2016 and the World Port Tournament in 2015.
As a player, 't Hoen made his debut in the Dutch big league in 1994 when he played for Twins for whom he also played in 1995 and 1996.
During the 1996 season, the infielder made his professional debut in the organization of the California Angels (now Los Angeles Angels).
't Hoen played in six professional seasons (1996-2001) with the Angels, reaching Triple-A in 1999, 2000 and 2001.
After the 2001 season, 't Hoen returned back to the Netherlands and continued his career with Neptunus.
There, the second/third baseman played six more seasons (2002-2007) before retiring.
While playing for Neptunus, he won the Dutch Championship-title four times (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005).
In following years, 't Hoen was active as a coach and instructor with Unicorns Baseball Academy.
In 2013, he made his debut as Head Coach of Neptunus in the Dutch big league.
He led the Rotterdam-squad to four consecutive Championship-titles in 2013-2016.
Despite that success, Neptunus decided to change coaches after the 2016 season.
...Robin van Doornspeek...
(© Photo: Marco Stoovelaar) |
In 1994-1996 and 1999-2005, Evert-Jan 't Hoen played for the Netherlands National Team.
In those years, he played in 120 official international games and participated in three Olympic Games (Atlanta, 1996; Sydney, 2000; Athens, 2004).
He also participated in four World Championships, three Intercontinental Cups, four European Championships, four Haarlem Baseball Weeks and two World Port Tournaments.
Former pitcher Robin van Doornspeek will be the new Pitching Coach.
Last year, there was no official Pitching Coach in the staff.
During the World Baseball Classic, Bert Blyleven was the Pitching Coach.
During the World Port Tournament, 1B Coach Wim Martinus acted as Bench Coach and Pitching Coach.
And during the following European Baseball Series, there was no Pitching Coach.
The last official Pitching Coach was American Mike Hartley in 2016.
Van Doornspeek played in the Dutch big league from 1999 through 2009.
The reliever played for Kinheim (1999-2000), Hoofddorp Pioniers (2001-2004), Neptunus (2005), ADO (2006-2007) and again Hoofddorp Pioniers (2008-2009).
He won the National Champion-title in 2005 while playing for Neptunus.
Van Doornspeek played in the Netherlands National Team in 2002-2006 and appeared in 24 official games.
With the Orange-squad, he participated in one Olympic Games, one World Baseball Classic, two World Championships, one Intercontinental Cup, two European Championships, two Haarlem Baseball Weeks and one World Port Tournament.
In recent years, Van Doornspeek was the Pitching Coach of the Netherlands National Junior Team.
This year, the Netherlands Team participates in the Baseball Week Haarlem in Haarlem and the Super6 Baseball in Hoofddorp.
(April 30)
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