As all the baseball fans of the Dutch Kingdom (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, St. Eustace, St. Martin and The Netherlands) will know, there are two players (Wladimir Balentien and Rick van den Hurk) from the Dutch Kingdom playing in Japan for a couple of years now. For the first time, they are playing on one…
Most of you will know by now that I would regret the contraction of 42 minor league teams by Major League Baseball, especially for the (IMO) made-up reasons. So I thought “What’s better to have a former minor leaguer have his say about the minors to (perhaps) cast some new light on the issue?” And…
According to several Japanese news outlets, the Softbank Hawks from Fukuoka will make Curaçaoan slugger Wladimir Balentien an offer for a two-year deal worth about $9 million. One of the demands/wishes Balentien has is to play with number four, the number he has worn during his NPB career with the Yakult Swallows. The Softbank Hawks…
The Softbank Hawks and Dutchie Rick van den Hurk agreed on a one-year contract extension. It was rumored Rick was looking for opportunities in the MLB but he decided to stay with the Japanese champion. Van den Hurk’s contract expired after the 2019 season, which was rather injury-riddled. Rick appeared in only three games of…
A few days ago, pitcher Rick van den Hurk of the Softbank Hawks pitched another game for the Ni-gun (minor league) team of the Hawks. The 34-year old Dutchman lasted five innings in a game vs the farm team of the Hanshin Tigers. In a Western League matchup, Rick gave up two runs and struck…
In today’s 12-6 loss, Rick van den Hurk had an enormous off day. The tall Dutch pitcher was responsible for a big chunk of the runs the Seibu Lions scored. After Rick worked his way through the first two innings without giving up a run, things went wrong in the third frame as he gave…
After losing his first start of the season due to lack of run support, Dutch RHP Rick van den Hurk bounced back by pitching six quality innings for his first win of the season as the Softbank Hawks beat the Nippon Ham Fighters 8-5. In the game vs the Nippon Ham Fighters, Rick got plenty…
At the brink of elimination, the DeNA BayStars have grabbed the last straw and won game for of the Nippon Series. With two hits, the Softbank Hawks never came close to clinching the win as they fell to the BayStars 6-0 and were outhit 12-2. Until the fifth inning both teams kept each other in…
With the Pacific League’s Climax Series (the NPB semi-finals) tied at two, thanks to an extra win awarded to the Softbank Hawks as the winner of the regular competition, the Softbank Hawks took on the Rakuten Golden Eagles in game four and beat their opponent 4-3 after blowing a 2-0 lead. In game four, Dutchie Rick…
Another superb outing for Rick van den Hurk. The tall Dutchman of the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks pitched a two-hitter over seven innings. Rick got plenty of run support, so he earned his twelfth win of the season. Today, Rick dominated the Seibu Lions’ lineup as he cruised through seven innings as his pitches topped 93…
