A belated edition of “Transactions in Belgian Baseball” but yours truly understood that the transaction period of the Deurne Spartans was surrounded by a lot of uncertainties. But eventually we can sum up the players that left the team and the players that will reinforce the team.
Last year, the four-time champions didn’t really play a role of importance in the battle for the Belgian championship in the strange COVID19-shortened 2020 season. They had to miss their Venezuelan players Anderson Gerdel and David Ochoa. Also this year it remains to be seen if these two players will be able to join the club due to the virus. IF they will join the club, Deurne Spartans will be a force to be reckoned with for sure.
Five players left the club for greener pastures. Nabil Tauil and Nasser Tauil will join Mont-Saint-Guibert Phoenix, Elio Fundora and Leonel Reina Viant will reinforce the ranks of the Brussels Kangaroos, and Jarno Reyniers will move to the opposite (South) side of Antwerp Airport to join the Mortsel Stars. One coach that will leave the club and that will move to the Northwest side of Antwerp Airport is Mike De Vriendt, who will join cross-airport rival Borgerhout Squirrels as new coach.
The new additions to the Spartans are: Sam de Ruyter (from Zeeuwse Honk, a club that plays in the lower Dutch leagues) and two other players of which the administrative parts of the transfers are not settled yet. Furthermore the Spartans will use more players from their own youth development system (Stef Wuyts, Robbe De Kam, Ollie Smits, Hsibullah Niazi, and Nando Mostaert) which is clearly a trend in the BelgianTop League. But the availability depends on the fact whether or not these youth players will have to play with their own youth teams. Especially Nando Mostart is a real rookie. The other youth players already had a shot last year.
The coaching staff will remain the same with Angel Williams (manager), “ Tito “ Rosario (assistant), Jose Luis Larringa Ocampo (assistant), Ronny De Vriendt (assistant), and Robert Group (assistant).
A big thank you goes out to Luc van Hove, chairman of the Deurne Spartans and to Pit de Bens, who passed the information.
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