(Story by Marco Stoovelaar)
IN MEMORIAM
...Etienne Artsen...
(1948 - 2020)... |
  Former Dutch big league-player Etienne Artsen passed away
Nederlands
 PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten (Kingdom of the Netherlands) -
Former Dutch big league-outfielder Etienne Artsen has passed away on Wednesday, December 16 at the age of 72.
The memorial service for Etienne Artsen, who was a popular player with Quick Amersfoort, was held on Wednesday, December 23.
Etienne Albert Artsen was born on May 2, 1948 on Aruba, where he grew up and attended school.
In 1960, the Artsen-family moved to Marigot, the capital of the French part of Sint Maarten (Saint Martin).
There, and also on Aruba, he continued his study, then traveled to the Netherlands in 1968 to study French.
After his study was interrupted by military service, Artsen went on to work in Amersfoort, where he lived for many years since then.
In the sixties, Artsen was one of several Antillian students from Aruba and Curaçao, who came to study or work in the Amersfoort-area in the Netherlands.
Most of them had talented baseball-skills and went on to play for local club Quick Amersfoort, some for several seasons, like Artsen.
It is the third time in a short period that Quick Amersfoort lost a beloved club-member.
On November 13, Stanley Engelhardt passed away at age 68.
Stanley had been one of the coaches of the main-team of Quick that played in the highest league.
Two days later, Emerito 'Boy' Janzen passed away at age 78.
Boy Janzen has been very active for many years in the youth department of the club.
Together with Paul Berkel, he trained and coached youth-teams, playing an important role in the development of young players.
Like Etienne Artsen, Janzen (who came from Curaçao) came to the Netherlands in the sixties.
In the team of Quick Amersfoort, Etienne Artsen developed into a real utility player.
He was an outfielder, mostly in centerfield, but also played as catcher and first baseman.
Artsen was known for his power as a hitter, but also was a speedy baserunner and a solide defensive player with a strong arm.
In his playing career, Artsen always played with uniform number 44 in honor of his idol Hank Aaron.
The legendary Aaron wore number 44 in 22 of his 23 Major League-seasons (1954-1976).
Aaron, like Artsen an outfielder, had number 5 on his back in his first season (1954) when he made his debut playing for Milwaukee Braves, the club he played for in 21 seasons.
After the 1965 season, Aaron transfered with the team from Milwaukee to Atlanta and continued to play there through 1974.
Aaron closed his career with Milwaukee Brewers for whom he played in 1975 and 1976.
Aaron, who was nicknamed Hammerin' Hank, hit his 715th homerun in 1974 to break the record of another legend, Babe Ruth.
Hank Aaron closed his career with 755 homeruns, which was the all-time record until it was broken by Barry Bonds in 2007.
Etienne Artsen played some ten seasons for Quick Amersfoort, the club he loved and where he became one of its popular and beloved players.
In an In Memoriam on the website of Quick Amersfoort, it is mentioned that Artsen belonged to a 'golden generation' that was responsible for many successful seasons and moments for the club.
That is true, as Artsen's teams were a contender in the First Division, then promoted to the Dutch big league in 1975.
In the last six of his seasons (1976-1981), Artsen played with Quick in the highest division.
In his career, Artsen was both a contact-hitter and powerhitter.
When he first started to play for Quick, he was a back-up player in his first season, but later became a regular.
In the early seventies, he went back to Sint Maarten, but shortly thereafter, he returned to the Netherlands.
There, he continued to play for Quick, the club he always stayed loyal.
Amongst his 188 big league-basehits were 25 doubles, three triples and 21 homeruns.
Artsen stole more than 30 bases.
The exact total is not known, as not all statistics are available from those years.
...The Quick Amersfoort-team that promoted to the big league in 1975...
...Standing: Carlos Stamper, Frank James (back), Ronald Hosé...
...(Head Coach), Jules Elbers, Paul Berkel (Coach), Frank Lindesey,...
...Etienne Artsen, Louis Jacobs, Carlos van Heyningen, James Joseph...
...Sitting: Ron Cooiman, Sammy Richardson, Jerrel Bernardus,...
...Clarence de la Paz, Rijk van den Bunt, Eric Bergeyk and...
...Felix Kirindongo (Equipment Manager)...
...Sitting in front is bat-boy Anthony Hosé... |
In his seasons, the players with whom he was a teammate the most include Eric Bergeyk, Jerrel Bernardus, Hubert Bomba, Rijk van den Bunt, Jules Elbers, Tico Fleming, Carlos van Heyningen, Louis Jacobs, Frank James, James Joseph, Franklin Lindesey, Clarence de la Paz and Carlos Stamper.
In most of these seasons, Ronald 'Donnie' Hosé (who also played with Artsen), Paul Berkel and Kiki Paulina were the coaches.
Other players with whom Artsen played together include Iby Adelina, Rocky Angela, Judsel Baranco, Mario Berkel, Ricardo Bryson, Anthony Concencion, Winston Gibbs, Ed Halman, Dick van Hattem, Eligio Kelly, Ricky Placidus, Tony Rombley, Alfio Troeman, Juani Werleman and John van de Worm.
In these years, Quick Amersfoort was known for its packed stands with thousands of enthusiastic spectactors and its festive and sportive atmosphere.
Because of this, it always was a pleasure to travel to Amersfoort and play against Quick Amersfoort or officiate in one its games.
Almost always, the games were very attractive and exciting.
That Etienne Artsen was a talented and respected player was underscored in 1976 when he was selected for the Netherlands National Baseball Team with whom he then participated in the Haarlem Baseball Week.
Artsen was one of two Quick-players that were selected for this event, the other being infielder Louis Jacobs.
Later in the year, pitcher Carlos van Heyningen became the third Quick-plater in the National Team.
In this year, American Ernie Myers was the Manager of the National Team, assisted by Hamilton Richardson and Leen Volkerijk.
The other players in the Orange squad during this event were pitchers Nol Beenders, Bertil Haage, Henk Meijer, Ferry Neuteboom, Martin Ronnenbergh, Charles Urbanus and Bart Volkerijk, catchers Paul Smit and Alfio Troeman, infielders Harry van der Berg, Harm Horeman, Jim Sieval, Frank Smit, Arnold Smith and Don Wedman and outfielders Berry Eijgendaal, Frank Lewis and Ben Richardson.
During the event, Erik Jager was a member of the supporting staff as Team Doctor.
Unfortunately, Dr. Jager passed away on November 19 at age 78.
In the ninth edition of the Haarlem Baseball Week, the Netherlands Team played against the Sullivans (USA), Arizona Wildcats (USA), USAFE (then West-Germany) and the National Team of South Korea.
Etienne Artsen got into action in four games, two against both the Sullivans and Arizona.
After ending his playing career with Quick Amersfoort, Etienne Artsen returned to his beloved Sint Maarten in 1982.
There, Artsen later started his own company and became the manager of Artsen Service Center, which is specialized in car services and is located in Marigot.
Artsen, who also was known by his nickname Camaro, went on to play softball, but also continued his baseball-career on Sint Maarten.
This time, he turned to coaching and instructing youth players and became a source of inspiration for many.
Artsen was a longtime instructor at the Sint Maarten Baseball Academy and also was active for many years for the Sint Maarten National Baseball Federation.
Currently, Etienne Artsen was the treasurer of the Federation with Carlos van Heyningen as president.
Artsen became closely involved in the Sint Maarten community and gave a lot of attention to the youth, helped them in many ways and became a mentor.
Through the years and with his montviations, Artsen made a big contribution to the growth of youth baseball on Sint Maarten.
In the In Memoriam on the Quick-site, the club stated that Etienne Artsen was above all a family-man, who enjoyed family-moments and being around with his family-members.
It was something that motivated him.
On Sint Maarten, he wanted to see his children grow up and loved to work inside and outside his home.
Etienne had five children.
His son Serge Artsen also went on to play baseball for Quick Amersfoort, as did his grandson Remian Denis.
Serge Artsen played for the team in the Dutch big league in 1990-1996, then continued his career with Twins Oosterhout and Sparta-Feyenoord.
Remian Denis played for Quick in the highest league during the 2018 and 2019 seasons.
Before that, he also had played in the big league for The Hawks.
Etienne Artsen was a charismatic, well-respected and beloved player, who will surely be missed by his former teammates, his opponents on the baseball-field and his many friends.
The webmaster of Grand Slam * Stats & News offers his condolences to Etienne's family and wishes them a lot of strength with this big loss.
(December 23)
|
