Baseball from a Dutch point of view since 2014
The other day, Joe Kelly of the Los Angeles Dodgers tried to bean Alex Bregman of the Astros. After retiring the final batter of the inning, he made some remarks to Carlos Correa. As a result, the benches cleared. No punches were thrown but it was enough for MLB to take steps.... Steps... Joe Kelly …
Continue reading "MLB loses its credibility… if it still had any"
Throughout the world, baseball is shut down due to the coronavirus. The sole exception is Taiwan, where the CPBL started this week without fans in the stands. But elsewhere clubs struggle to stay afloat. Take Europe for example. Baseball season hasn't started yet and the question remains if there WILL be any baseball in 2020. …
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Today thirty-nine years ago, a 20-year old Mexican rookie made a spot start for the Los Angeles Dodgers on Opening Day. The kid would pitch a complete game shutout, limiting the Houston Astros to five hits, as he walked two and struck out five. This would be the start of what was called Fernandomania. The …
Continue reading "Today in Baseball: Spot start marks the start of Fernandomania"
In the past few years, you could read several posts about my aversion to minor league clubs adopting the identity of the parent club. Good examples are the Dodgers' and Braves' farm teams. But sometimes adoptions like that are inevitable. On April 17, 18, and 19 the Daytona Tortugas will be Dodgerized for the occasion …
For the third year in a row, Andruw Jones was on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot. And once again he got more votes than in the previous year. On a day on which Derek Jeter got one vote shy of becoming the second unanimous HOF inductee and Larry Walker was voted in on his …
Draci Brno has made a surprising move by signing a twelve year MLB veteran. The 40-year old Peter Moylan will wear the colors of the Dragons for one season. One may wonder why an ex MLB player is opting for the Czech Republic instead of Italy where still quite some money can be earned by …
They have to wait until July 2nd but then the Los Angeles Dodgers will sign another player from Aruba to a minor league contract. Rolando Petronia from Oranjestad will likely be sent to the Dominican Summer League before he will start to play on the American mainland. The infielder spent most of his years with …
Don Newcombe, the legendary pitcher of the Brooklyn Dodgers, who recently passed away, had a "secret" I did not know about. In the final year of his baseball career, Newcomb played in Japan. Not as a pitcher but as a position player. In 1962, the year the New York Yankees won their last World Series …
Continue reading "1962, the year Don Newcombe went to Japan"
For the second year in a row, Curaçao native Andruw Jones managed to stay on the HOF ballot as he got more than five percent of the votes again. This year his numbers were even better than in 2018. The Curaçao kid got 7.3% of the votes in 2018 (31 of all votes). This year …
The Los Angeles Dodgers and the Ogden Raptors have extended their PDC through the 2020 season. The announcement was made jointly by Los Angeles Dodgers President and CEO Stan Kasten and Director of Player Development Brandon Gomes. Raptors team president Dave Baggott confirmed the agreement is a standard two-year deal, something the Dodgers did not mention. The new extension …
After an absence of ten years, the Cincinnati Reds have returned to Chattanooga. The MLB club signed a two year Player Development Contract with the local Lookouts (AA Southern League) that will run through the 2020 season. When the Reds moved on after the 2008 season, the Dodgers jumped in and stayed in Chattanooga for …
With a new ballpark for the upcoming season, Las Vegas (Summerlin to be exact) became a very attractive location for the Oakland A's to locate their AAA team. Las Vegas is much closer to home than Nashville. Last year it was announced that the New York Mets would leave Las Vegas as they had bought the …
Continue reading "Athletics sign two year PDC with Las Vegas"
Aruban catcher Shawn Zarraga has found a new club. After a long absence in professional baseball since his release by the Los Angeles at the start of the season, he finally signed a contract with a team. The Summerset Patriots of the Atlantic League will be his new club. Since Zarraga has experience at AAA …
Continue reading "Shawn Zarraga signs with Atlantic League team"
In the fifties, sixties, and seventies it was a common thing to name a minor league club after the parent club. Slowly things changed and nowadays most of the minor league clubs have a moniker other than the parent club. But since the start of the 2010s, there is an ongoing trend. A trend regarding …
Continue reading "Why are some MiLB teams so eager to lose their own identity?"
Yesterday, Misja Harcksen got a phone call from the new manager of the Dutch national team Evert-Jan 't Hoen. In this call, Van 't Hoen told Misja he had been selected for the Dutch squad that will participate in the 2018 Baseball Week Haarlem (previously known as Haarlem Baseball Week). I got a soft spot …
In his first start behind the dish, Spencer Kieboom collected his first MLB hit. The 27-year old catcher was called up last week but saw action for the first time today. Spencer caught the first game of a doubleheader vs the Los Angeles Dodgers. In the bottom of the third inning, Spencer got his first …
A 25-year old MS patient from Rijswijk (near The Hague) in the Netherlands was in desperate need of funds to pay for a stem cell treatment. But this treatment is not available in the Netherlands, so he has to go to Russia, which makes it very expensive. Too much for him to pay. But he got …
Hendrik Clementina has been promoted to A Full Season Dayton Dragons by the Cincinnati Reds. Last season he played at A Short Season with the Billings Mustangs. The 20-year old catcher will play his fifth season in 2018. Curaçao native Clementina made his first steps with the Dodgers in the Dominican Summer League. After two …
Baseball from a Dutch point of view since 2014
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Een kijk op de MLB met een vleugje Arizona Diamondbacks
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Baseball from a Dutch point of view since 2014
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