Dudley Leonora Joins Hotsand Macerata

A surprising move in Italian baseball. Five days ago, Hotsand Macerata announced it has signed former Dutch National team player and former Dutch hoofdklasse player Dudley Leonora for the 2024 season.

On their Facebook page, the Macerata Angels posted the following announcement:

“We welcome another great player to join Hotsand Macerata this year. Dudley Leonora, who has come from San Marino for two seasons, will be included in the Macerates roster this year. Born in Sint Maarten, a constitutional nation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, along with the Netherlands and the Caribbean states of Aruba and Curaçao, of Dutch nationality, he is 1.85 tall and began his career in the American minors with Orioles affiliation from 2009 to 2012, with disputed seasons also in single A.

Then he finds a place in the Dutch championship, having had great seasons in the Netherlands from 2015 to 2021, with always high batting averages (. 349 in Neptune in 2021). In 2022 he lands in Italy in San Marino and is confirmed there in 2023 with averages above . 300, respectively . 303 and . 318.

To Macerata he will bring his professionalism, experience and strength, giving balance and confidence to the team. Ticket from Curacao and meeting in Macerata in the first days of April. Welcome Dudley, we’ll be waiting for you.”

With San Marino, Leonora played forty-two games in 2023, in which he batted a respectable .295 with five doubles and a home run. On the defensive side he proved to be a reliable player with a fielding percentage of .996.

In the qualification round of the 2023 season, Hotsand Macerata finished on top of region A with a 9-1 record. In the second round, the club finished on top of the Region F with a 20-2 record. In the quarter finals, the club fell to Big Mat Grosseto 1952.

Where the club was a contender in 2023 already, one may expect a stronger team in 2024.

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