(Story by Marco Stoovelaar; Photos by Henk Seppen, Daytona Tortugas & Sacramento River Cats)
 Roster Netherlands Team for European Championship announced
Nederlands
...Orange Manager Evert-Jan 't Hoen...
(© Photo: Henk Seppen) |
  BONN (Germany) / NIEUWEGEIN (Neth.) -
The roster of the Netherlands Baseball Team for the upcoming European Championship has been announced.
The roster was announced on Friday (September 6), only one day before the start of the event and one day after the team had left for Germany and had arrived in Bonn.
When the Netherlands Team qualifies for the Europe/Africa Olympic Qualifying Tournament, the roster probably will remain unchanged.
The Qualifier follows a few days after completion of the European Championship.
On the roster of Manager Evert-Jan 't Hoen, only two of the thirteen position-players played in the Dutch big league this season, being infielders Dwayne Kemp (Curaçao Neptunus) and Sharlon Schoop (L&D Amsterdam Pirates).
Last Sunday, Schoop won the Dutch Championship-title with L&D Amsterdam Pirates, dethroning Neptunus.
He then hit a 2-run homerun in Game 7 of the Holland Series
Pirates won 6-0 to complete a historic comeback.
After having lost the first three games, Pirates won the next four to capture the title.
Never before had a team turned a 3-0 deficit into a win.
Outfielder Kalian Sams also played for Amsterdam Pirates during the Holland Series, but during the regular season, he played professionally in two Independent Leagues.
Seven of the eleven pitchers on the Orange-roster played in the Dutch big league, three played professionally in the USA, one played in Germany.
In total, fifteen of the 24 players on the Orange-roster play abroad.
Eleven players (eight of them pitchers) on the roster participated with the Netherlands Kingdom Team in the World Port Tournament in Rotterdam (Netherlands) in July.
They are pitchers Mike Bolsenbroek, Rob Cordemans, Lars Huijer, Kevin Kelly, Diegomar Markwell, Tom Stuifbergen, Juan Carlos Sulbaran and Orlando Yntema and infielders Yurendell De Caster, Dwayne Kemp and Sharlon Schoop.
This means that 13 players, who participated in the World Port Tournament were left of the roster for the European Championship.
Amongst them are experienced players as pitcher Jim Ploeger, catcher Gianison Boekhoudt, first baseman/outfielder Bryan Engelhardt, infielders Dudley Leonora and Stijn van der Meer and outfielders Gilmer Lampe and Denzel Richardson.
Ploeger, Lampe, Richardson (all L&D Amsterdam Pirates), Boekhoudt, Leonora and Van der Meer (all Curaçao Neptunus) all played in the recent Holland Series.
Richardson was this season's Best Hitter in the Dutch big league with a .388 batting average, closely followed by Lampe, who batted .382.
The two also led in Slugging Average (Richardson .619, Lampe .618) and On Base Percentage (Lampe .479, Richardson .459).
Leonora was the fifth best hitter (.335), while Boekhoudt was fifth best in Slugging (.496) and fourth in On Base Percentage (.436).
In the RBI-category, Dwayne Kemp led with 40, but he was followed by Richardson (38), Lampe (36), Engelhardt (34), Boekhoudt (33) and Leonora (28).
Van der Meer (39) and Lampe (38) headed the list of Most Runs Scored.
Engelhardt (Quick Amersfoort), shared the homerun-lead this season in the Dutch big league with Gianison Boekhoudt and Shurman Marlin (Twins Oosterhout).
All hit six homeruns, but the Award for Homerun King went to Engelhardt, as he hit his six homeruns in the fewest at bat.
With that, he was the Homerun King for the ninth time.
Three players will make their National Team-debut in Germany, being righthanded pitcher Donny Breek, catcher Hendrik Clementina and infielder John Polonius.
This season, 19-year old Amsterdam-born Donny Breek pitched in ten games (seven starts) in his second professional season for GCL Twins in the Gulf Coast League (Rookie League, Minnesota Twins).
The righthander was 1-2 with an 0.74 ERA.
In 36 1/3 inning, Breek struckout 38 batters, walked 19 and gave up 21 basehits.
Before turning professional, Breek pitched in the Dutch big league for DSS.
22-year old Curaçao-born catcher Hendrik Clementina plays professionally since 2014.
This season, he played for Daytona Tortugas (Single-A Advanced, Cincinnati Reds).
In 91 games, Clementina batted .249 (84-for-338) with 13 doubles and 14 homeruns.
He scored 30 runs and batted in 54.
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...Hendrik Clementina (left)...
...and John Polonius...
(© Photos: Daytona Tortugas
& Sacramento River Cats) |
28-year old, Curaçao-born infielder (primarily second base) John Polonius played professionally since 2012 in the organization of the San Francisco Giants.
He reached the Triple-A level in 2017 (3 games) and 2018 (8 games).
Last year, Polonius played at three levels (5 games Single-A Advanced, 37 games Double-A, 8 games Triple-A).
In November last year, Polonius became a Free Agent and he didn't play in the Minor League this season.
Instead, Polonius played for UnipolSai Fortitudo Bologna this season in the Italian Baseball League.
In 20 games, he batted .316 (25-for-79) with three doubles, one triple and five homeruns.
Polonius scored 17 runs and batted in 24.
Four players are making their comeback in the National Team, righthanded pitcher Tom de Blok, righthanded pitcher Shairon Martis, infielder Calten Daal and outfielder Roger Bernadina.
23-year old, Amstelveen-born righthander Tom de Blok pitched in his third professional season in the organization of the Detroit Tigers.
Pitching for Lakeland Flying Tigers (Single-A Advanced), De Blok was 2-13 this season with a 4.04 ERA.
In 21 games (20 starts), he struckout 85 batters in 111 1/3 inning, walking 43 and giving up 98 basehits.
De Blok last played for the Netherlands Team during the World Baseball Classic in 2017.
Before turning professional, De Blok pitched in the Dutch big league for HCAW and Amsterdam Pirates.
32-year old, Curaçao-born righthander Shairon Martis also last pitched for the Orange Team during the 2017 WBC.
Since 2006, the pitcher frequently has been on the Dutch roster.
Martis plays professionally since 2005, pitching in the organizations of the San Francisco Giants, Washington Nationals, Pittsburgh Pirates and Minnesota Twins.
Martis pitched in 26 Major League-games for Washington (2008-2009) and Minnesota (2013).
Since 2015, Martis plays in Independent Leagues, but in 2017, he briefly pitched in Triple-A for Baltimore Orioles.
He also played in Taiwan.
This season, Martis was 2-7 with a 6.44 ERA in 22 games (nine starts) for Lincoln Saltdogs (Independent League), where he was a teammate of Randolph Oduber and Curt Smith.
26-year old, Curaçao-born infielder Calten Daal plays professionally since 2013 in the organization of the Cincinnati Reds.
This season, he played in 82 games for Chattanooga Lookouts (Double-A), hitting .301 (84-for-279) with seven doubles and three triples.
He scored 27 runs and batted in 32.
Daal played for the Netherlands Team in 2015 during the Premier12.
35-year old, Curaçao-born outfielder Roger Bernadina last played for the Netherlands Team during the European Championship in 2016.
Between 2008 and 2014, Bernadina played in 548 Major League-games for Washington Nationals, Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds and Los Angeles Dodgers.
After having played in Triple-A in 2015 (Colorado Rockies) and 2016 (New York Mets), Bernadina played two seasons in the professional Korean Baseball Organization for Kia Tigers.
This year, Bernadina initially was to play in an Independent League in Japan, but instead he played for Lamigo Monkeys in the professional league in Taiwan.
After the first part of the season, Bernadina was released at the end of June
He played in 24 games and batted .256 with five doubles and two homeruns.
Two weeks later, Bernadina signed a contract with Algodoneros de Unión Laguna in Mexico.
In 34 games, he batted .336 (43-for-128) with seven doubles and four homeruns for the Mexican team.
In the Dutch big league, Bernadina played for Sparta-Feyenoord in 2001-2002.
Two players, who made their Orange-debut during last years Super6 are back with the team in Germany, being catcher Sicnarf Loopstok and outfielder Ademar Rifaela.
26-year old, Aruban-born catcher Sicnarf Loopstok plays professionally in the organization of the Cleveland Indians since 2013.
This year, he started the season for Lynchburg Hillcats, but played in only three games, hitting 2-for-10 (.200).
At the end of April, he was assigned to Extended Spring Training.
24-year old, Curaçao-born outfielder Ademar Rifaela plays professionally since 2013 in the Baltimore Orioles-organization.
This year, he played in 60 games for Bowie Baysox (Double-A) and in 38 games for Norfolk Tides (Triple-A).
Overall, Rifaela batted .249 (86-for-345) with 18 doubles, six triples and ten homeruns.
He scored 41 runs and batted in 44.
Four other regular players, who have played for the Netherlands Team regularly in the big international events are also back with the team, being catcher Dashenko Ricardo, first baseman Curt Smith, infielder Yurendell De Caster and outfielder Randolph Oduber.
29-year old, Curaçao-born catcher Dashenko Ricardo played in the Minor League in 2007-2013 for Baltimore Orioles, San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers.
Hereafter, Ricardo played in the Dutch big league for Kinheim (2014-2015) and Neptunus (2016).
In the following two seasons, he played for Lincoln Saltdogs in an Independent League.
This year, Ricardo returned to the Minor League after being signed by Tampa Bay Rays in March.
He was assigned to Durham Bulls (Triple-A), but also was sent to Extended Spring Training three times (April, May and June).
During the season, Ricardo also was assigned to the Rays-teams in the Rookie League and Single-A Short Season, but he didn't play for these teams.
Ricardo played in 16 games for Durham Bulls and batted .171 (6-for-35) with two doubles and a homerun.
Early August, he was assigned again to the Single-A Team, but didn't play, as he was on the so-called 'reserve-list'.
Curaçao-born infielder Yurendell De Caster, who turns 40 later this month, plays professionally since 1998.
From that year through 2009, De Caster played in the organizations of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Pittsburgh Pirates, Washington Nationals and New York Yankees.
While being with Pittsburgh, he played in three Major League-games in 2006.
Since 2009, De Caster played in Venezuela, Mexico and Independent Leagues in the USA and Canada through 2015, but he also was active in Nicaragua.
In the past few seasons, De Caster played for Wild Cats in the Curaçao Baseball League.
32-year old, Curaçao-born first baseman Curt Smith plays profesionally since 2008.
He played in the organizations of the St. Louis Cardinals, Miami Marlins and Minnesota Twins.
Since 2011, he mainly played in Independent Leagues.
Smith, who plays for the Netherlands Team since 2009, also played in the professional league in Nicaragua.
This season, he again played for Lincoln Saltdogs.
In 95 games, Smith batted .288 (106-for-368) with 23 doubles and 14 homeruns.
He scored 55 runs and batted in 58.
30-year old, Aruban-born outfielder Randolph Oduber played in the organization of Washington Nationals in 2010-2015.
Since 2017, he plays in Independent Leagues.
This season, Oduber played in 79 games for Lincoln Saltdogs, hitting .284 (90-for-317) with 13 doubles and nine homeruns.
The outfielder scored 39 runs and batted in 41.
He briefly played for Neptunus (eight games) in the Dutch big league in 2016.
32-year old, Curaçao-born short stop Sharlon Schoop played professionally since 2005 in the organizations of the San Francisco Giants, Kansas City Royals and Baltimore Orioles.
In May, Schoop joined Amsterdam Pirates in the Dutch big league with whom he celebrated winning the Championship-title last Sunday.
33-year old outfielder Kalian Sams, born in The Hague, plays professionally since 2007.
He played in the organizations of the Seattle Mariners, San Diego Padres and Texas Rangers through 2013.
Since 2014, Sams played in Independent Leagues in the USA, Canada and Mexico.
During this years Holland Series, Sams played for Amsterdam Pirates.
In the past, he also played in the Dutch big league for ADO, Kinheim and Neptunus.
The roster looks as follows:
Pitchers:
Tom de Blok (Lakeland Flying Tigers, Single-A, Detroit Tigers, USA), Mike Bolsenbroek (Heidenheim Heideköpfe, Germany), Donny Breek (GCL Twins, Rookie League, Minnesota Twins, USA), Rob Cordemans, Tom Stuifbergen (both L&D Amsterdam Pirates), Lars Huijer (Hoofddorp Pioniers), Kevin Kelly, Diegomar Markwell, Orlando Yntema (all Curaçao Neptunus), Shairon Martis (Lincoln Saltdogs, Independent League, USA) and Juan Carlos Sulbaran (DSS).
Catchers:
Hendrik Clementina (Daytona Tortugas, Single-A, Cincinnati Reds, USA), Sicnarf Loopstok (Single-A, Cleveland Indians, USA) and Dashenko Ricardo (Durham Bulls/Hudson Valley Renegades, Triple-A/Single-A, Tampa Bay Rays, USA).
Infielders:
Calten Daal (Chattanooga Lookouts, Double-A, Cincinnati Reds, USA), Yurendell De Caster (Wild Cats, Curaçao), Dwayne Kemp (Curaçao Neptunus), John Polonius (UnipolSai Fortitudo Bologna, Italy), Sharlon Schoop (L&D Amsterdam Pirates) and Curt Smith (Lincoln Saltdogs, Independent League, USA).
Outfielders:
Roger Bernadina (Algodoneros de Union Laguna, Mexican League, Mexico), Randolph Oduber (Lincoln Saltdogs, Independent League, USA), Ademar Rifaela (Norfolk Tides/Bowie Baysox, Triple-A/Double-A, Baltimore Orioles, USA) and Kalian Sams (High Point Rockers/Sussex County Miners, Independent Leagues, USA).
Coaching Staff:
Evert-Jan 't Hoen (Manager), Sharnol Adriana (Bench Coach), Wim Martinus (1B Coach), Ben Thijssen (3B Coach), Robin van Doornspeek (Pitching Coach), Sidney de Jong (Assistant Coach/Hitting Coach).
Supporting Staff:
Paul Venner (Strength & Conditioning Coach), Kevin Sprengers (Physical Therapist), Calvin Maduro (Scout), Niels van Weert (Team Manager) and Seb Visser (Equipment Manager/Media Officer).
Twelve countries participate in the European Championship, which opens on Saturday (September 7) with six games.
Four games will be played at the main-site in Bonn, two other games are scheduled for nearby Solingen.
Reigning European champion Netherlands again is one of the favorites for the title, as is Italy.
Other contenders for the top-positions are the Czech Republic, Germany and Spain and possibly Israel.
The Netherlands plays its first game in Pool A against Great Britain at Solingen, starting at 4 PM.
In the following days, the Orange Team meets the Czech Republic, Sweden, Germany and Israel.
All these games will be played in Bonn.
Playing in Pool B are Austria, Belgium, Croatia, France, Italy and Spain.
The Championship closes on Sunday, September 15.
The five best teams will qualify for participation in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
The winners of the four Quarter Finals at the European Championship that will be played on Friday (September 13) secure a spot for the event.
They will play Semi-Finals on Saturday with the winners advancing to the European Final on Sunday-evening
The four Quarter Final-losers will meet in a Play-Off on Saturday.
The two winners will then face each other on Sunday in the game for fifth and sixth place with the winner becoming the final team to advance to the Olympic Qualifier.
The Europe/Africa Olympic Qualifying Tournament begins on Wednesday, September 18 in Italy, where games will be played in Parma and Bologna.
The five teams from the European Championship will be joined by South Africa, which in May won the African title to qualify.
The six teams will play a round-robin in five days.
The winner of the event qualifies for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo (Japan).
The second-best team gets another change to reach Tokyo.
That team will participate early next year in the final Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Taiwan.
When the Netherlands is successful in Germany and prolongs its European title, the team will play its first game in the Qualifier against South Africa.
According to the provisional schedule, that game will be played in Parma on Wednesday-evening, September 18.
(September 6)
Complete schedule European Championship
Complete provisional schedule Olympic Qualifying Tournament
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