(Story by Marco Stoovelaar; Photos by Coen Stoovelaar, HCAW & Hilversum Hurricanes)
IN MEMORIAM
...Rob Wentink...
(1944 - 2025) |
 Former baseball (development-)coach and softball-player Rob Wentink passed away
Nederlands
 LAREN (Neth.) -
Rob Wentink, who has been active for many years in baseball and softball since the sixties, has passed away on Wednesday, February 5, thirteen days before his 81st birthday.
Rob, who was a colourful person, suffered from some health-problems in recent years.
For many years, Rob also has been active as a player development coach, especially in some Eastern European countries.
The memorial service for Rob Wentink will be held on Thursday, February 13 at 2:00 PM in the Aula 'Heideburgh' of Crematorium Den en Rust, located at the Frans Halslaan 27 in Bilthoven.
After the memorial service, it is possible to offer condolences to the family in the lounge of the crematorium.
Robert (Rob) Wentink was born on February 18, 1944 in Rijswijk.
Although he grew up in this city near The Hague, the majority of Rob's baseball-career took place in the center of the country, as he lived in Huizen and for many years in Eemnes, where he lived since 1975.
In this region, Rob was involved in many club-activities at HCAW in Bussum and Donar, which was one of five clubs based in Hilversum in the late fifties.
Donar was a predecessor of the current club Hilversum Hurricanes for whom Rob also remained active as a coach and player.
Let's have a look at some history first.
Besides Donar, the other Hilversum-based clubs were FC Hilversum, 't Gooi, Victoria and P&S.
In the early sixties, the first two merged.
Shortly thereafter, Victoria and P&S also merged and became HBC (Hilversumse Baseball Club).
But Donar continued as club, while new local club OSO was founded a few years later.
Towards the end of the sixties, Donar separated from the soccer-club of the same name and continued as an independent club.
In the same period, HBC and OSO merged with Rugby Club Hilversum to become De Bosbokken.
In the early seventies, Donar created a youth-section and a softball-section was also added.
The club was the most successful in Hilversum and even attracted a sponsor for both the baseball- and softball-section.
As Donar Jaski, the main baseball-team played at the national level, as did the main softball-team under the name BLUF.
In 1975, Donar and De Bosbokken merged and became Base- and Softball Club Hilversum, which participated in competitions under its abbreviated name BSCH.
In following years, the sponsored baseball-team was known as Cuir 2000 Hilversum and Felix II Hilversum.
In August 1990, the American Football-club in Hilversum was in need of a new playing-site and found space as the site of BSCH.
The clubs joined forces and continued as Hilversum Hurricanes, which it the current name.
...The Netherlands Cadets Team at the...
...1977 European Championship in Brasschaat (Belgium)...
...Back row: Mark Stott (Asst. Coach), Wim Hageman (Asst. Coach),...
...Johan de Boed, Frans de Bruijn, Remko Blaauw, Erwin Visser,...
...Marcel Kruyt, Ronald Stoovelaar, Erik Otter, Pim Winkel, Herman Thomas...
...(Asst. Coach), Franklin Richardson, Floor Blaauw (Manager) and...
...Rob Wentink (Masseur); Front row: Roel Klaassen, Alan Perkins,...
...Gerlach Halderman, Jurgen van de Hoek, Ernst van de Ploeg,...
...Rob Hendriks, Geert Wilms and Marcel Meekers...
(© Photo: Coen Stoovelaar) |
One of the active members at Donar as a player and (youth)coach was Floor Blaauw.
He handled the administrative duties of the baseball-section (game-secretary) through 1968 and returned to this activity in 1973 when Nico Dunnebier became the club's new secretary.
In 1965, Donar promoted to the national Third Division and in following years, it promoted to the Second Division and First Division, which in those years was just below the big league.
In those years, Blaauw played for the team, but also became the Assistant Coach of Lucio Victoria in 1969.
Thereafter, he became the Head Coach and led the team through 1974.
After the merger between Donar and De Bosbokken, Blaauw handled the baseball-administration for one more year (1975) when the new club was now known as Cuir 2000 Hilversum and played in the Second Division.
Floor Blaauw passed away in October 2022 at age 88.
Another active person for Donar was Rob Wentink, who also played baseball and coached for the club in Hilversum.
Throughs the years, Floor and Rob became close friends and frequently coached teams together at several (age) levels, including many youth-teams.
Later, the two also became very active as youth-coach at HCAW and even coached the main-squad of the Bussum-club at the big league-level.
While being active for Donar and Hilversum in the seventies, Rob Wentink, who then lived in Huizen, also was an umpire.
In 1972-1974, he led baseball-games in the Rayon Midden-Nederland (Rayon Central Netherlands).
Amongst the other umpires in this Rayon in these years were Erik Bokern, Paul Bokern and Nico Dunnebier.
In 1974 and 1975, Wentink was one of the coaches of the youth-teams that represented Rayon Midden-Nederland.
Other coaches included Floor Blaauw, Ad Brevet, Teus Morren and Herman Thomas.
In 1977, Rob and Floor Blaauw also were members of the Technical Commission Baseball of Midden-Nederland, which was led by coordinator Jan van Meurs.
Also in 1977, Floor Blaauw began a stint of thirteen years as Manager of the Netherlands National Cadets Baseball Team (age 14-16).
Through the years, many of the players of this young group of talented Dutch players that were coached by Blaauw would go on to play in the Dutch big league, as well as in the Netherlands National Baseball Team.
And several of them also became a coach themselves, including at the big league-level.
When the Netherlands Cadets Team participated in the 1977 European Championship in Brasschaat (Belgium), Floor Blaauw's longtime friend Rob Wentink was the Masseur.
Jan Kort served as the Team Manager.
Like Blaauw and Wentink, he also was very active for HCAW, as both were coaching youth-teams of the Bussum-club at that moment.
During this tournament in Belgium, Blaauw was assisted by Herman Thomas and American Mark Stott, who was a player of California Stags and was a guest-coach.
Wim Hageman, who was one of the coaches of the Netherlands Juniors Team, also was with the team in Belgium as an Assistant Coach.
The Netherlands finished in second place.
The players of the Netherlands Cadets Team in 1977 were Remko Blaauw, Johan de Boed, Frans de Bruijn, Gerlach Halderman, Rob Hendriks, Jurgen van de Hoek, Roel Klaassen, Marcel Kruyt, Marcel Meekers, Erik Otter, Alan Perkins, Ernst van de Ploeg, Franklin Richardson, Ronald Stoovelaar, Erwin Visser, Geert Wilms and Pim Winkel.
From this group Blaauw, De Bruijn, Halderman, Hendriks, Klaassen (who then was an infielder, but became a pitcher), Kruyt, Otter, Perkins, Richardson, Stoovelaar, Visser, Wilms and Winkel all went on to play in the Dutch big league, some of them for many years.
Halderman, Hendriks, Klaassen, Kruyt and Stoovelaar later also played in the Netherlands National Team for several years.
Visser would become a longtime pitcher of the Netherlands Men Softball Team.
...The big league baseball-team of HCAW in 1988...
...Back: Rob Wentink (Asst. Coach), Dirk Peters (Head Coach), Alex Nansink,...
...Hans Bodemann, Rob de Wolf, Ben van den Berg, Hugh Glavin (Asst. Coach),...
...Ton van Koeverden, James Navilliat and Robert Rodriquez; Front: Alfred de Leeuw,...
...Jurjan Koenen, Erik Boland, Roland de Groot, Sven van der Graaf, Clive Mendes,...
...Roy Berrevoets, Chris Koster and Jacco van Nieuwenhoven; Bat-boy: Ronald Jaarsma...
(© Photo: HCAW) |
In 1977-1984, Rob Wentink was member of the board of the Netherlands Association for Baseball Coaches (NVBC).
When Rob joined, the board was chaired by Jan Prins and Henk Kempen was the secretary.
In following years, Max Rietbegen was the chaiman and Ton Ebben the secretary, while Kempen was boardmember.
In Rob's final year in the board, Wim Kwekkeboom had become the new secretary.
In Rob's eight years as NVBC-boardmember, Wim Ascherman was the treasurer.
Other boardmembers in that span were Leen Volkerijk (1977), Jan Groenewege (1978-1980), Rob Frie (1978-1979) and Ben van Amelsvoort (1981-1983),
Frie also compiled the NVBC-magazine 'The Coach' though 1981.
Hereafter, the coach-magazine was compiled by Marco Stoovelaar (1981-1983) and Ben Muller (1984).
In 1987, the big league baseball-team of HCAW was led Jan Schriek as Head Coach, assisted by Wim Koenders.
But halfway the season, when HCAW played in the Relegation Pool, Martin Ronnenbergh led the team with Koenders and Schriek as his assistants.
After that season, it was announced that Dave Daniels was to become the new Head Coach of HCAW, but he decided to stay at Amsterdam Pirates as player and Assistant Coach.
And so, Dirk Peters was named Head Coach of the main-team with Rob Wentink as his assistant for the 1988 season.
In the previous seasons, the two had coached the so-called interregional youth-team of the Bussum-club.
Hugh Glavin also was added as an assistant.
However, Peters and Wentink also didn't finish the season.
For both, 1988 was their first taste of coaching in the Dutch big league and so, they were unexperienced at that level.
HCAW didn't start the season well, winning only five of nineteen games.
In the first half of the season, HCAW was 10-17.
In May/June, HCAW had a 9-game losing streak, which included big losses against UVV (11-1, 14-5), Amsterdam Pirates (17-2) and Neptunus (13-3).
When HCAW opened the Promotion/Relegation Pool (second half) with four losses in five games, HCAW separated with Peters.
Rob Wentink supported him, didn't want to continue without him and stepped down as coach.
Player Sven van der Graaf and Assistant Coach Hugh Glavin took over the coaching.
They were assisted by former player/coach Craig Montvidas, who at that moment also was the Head Coach of the women's softball-team of HCAW, which also played in the highest league.
However, the successors of Peters and Wentink were unable to turn the tide in the remainder of the season, as HCAW finished in fifth place of the Promotion/Relegation-Pool and relegated.
Amongst the players in the 1988 team of HCAW led by Dirk Peters and Rob Wentink were Ben van den Berg, Roy Berrevoets, Hans Bodemann, Erik Boland, Sven van der Graaf, Roland de Groot, Jurjan Koenen, Ton van Koeverden, Chris Koster, Ed Kruijs, Alfred de Leeuw, Clive Mendes, Alex Nansink, James Navilliat, Jacco van Nieuwenhoven, Robert Rodriquez and Rob de Wolf.
...The men softball-team of Hilversum in 1999...
...Rob Wentink is sitting second from left; Amongst his teammates...
...are (softball-umpire) Frits Budding (standing 2nd from right),...
...(official scorer) Dieks Bannink (standing at right)...
...and (baseball-coach) Rudy Dirksen (seated at left)...
(© Photo: Hilversum Hurricanes) |
However, HCAW did return again to the big league in the following season.
In March 1989, HCAW merged with Amsterdam-club Amstel Tijgers, which had financial problems and would withdraw from the highest league.
And so, the Bussum-club stayed in the big league and would play as HCAW/Tijgers for four seasons, before changing the name again to HCAW.
When the club returned in 1989, Dave Daniels was the new Head Coach.
But like his predecessors, Daniels didn't finish the season.
He was replaced initially by his assistant Gene Grimaldi as interim-coach, then Floor Blaauw completed the season.
It marked the fourth consecutive year that HCAW parted ways with its Head Coach mid-season.
Rob Wentink continued as youth-coach at HCAW, but also became more active again for Hilversum.
There, he also went on to play softball, which he did for several seasons.
In the meantime, Rob had also started to do some 'development work'.
He frequently began to travel to Eastern Europe, where he gave clinics to local baseball-coaches in countries as Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary and also conducted practice-sessions for (youth)players.
Rob especially spent much time in Romania and Bulgaria, which became favorite locations.
In later years, Rob also created educational programs in Lithuania.
On several of his journeys to these countries, Rob was acccompanied by fellow-coaches Floor Blaauw and/or Hans Snel and later also turned his attention to softball.
Besides giving instructions and conducting clinics and practices, Rob and his coaching-colleagues also collected baseball- and softball-equipment, which was then donated to the Federations of the aforementioned countries or local clubs.
Or they set up ingatherings or fund-raising events for equipment.
Rob focussed on these activities for a long time, until some ten years ago.
Rob Wentink was a colourful personality.
He regularly was on his own, not spending that much time with others.
But he was very much liked and always showed interest in his fellow human beings.
And always offered a helping hand when needed or when he thought that it was needed.
Rob was respected by many for what he did for his club and for his numerous activities abroad.
He will surely be missed by many of us.
The webmaster of Grand Slam * Stats & News offers his condolences to the family and friends of Rob and wishes them a lot of strength with this big loss.
(February 7)
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