Still with the Ni-Gun team of the Yakult Swallows, Rick van den Hurk is slowly warming up. With Wladimir Balentien, it is quite the opposite. Until today, Rick had pitched in three games, allowed six earned runs and struck out seven. Today, against the DeNa BayStars, Rick pitched four innings in relief. He was very…
For the second time after being presented by the Yakult Swallows, last Monday, Rick van den Hurk took the mound in a Ni-Gun (minor league) game. The Tokyo Yakult Swallows lost to Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles 5-4. Two of these runs were given up by Dutch Rick van den Hurk. After pitching three scoreless innings,…
Wladimir Balentien is back in Japanese baseball. Not at the highest level yet. In today’s Ni-Gun (Minor League) game vs the Chunichi Dragons, he made his presence felt. After arriving in Japan in the end of March, Wladimir Balentien had to pass two weeks in quarintine. He joined the SoftBank Hawks on the thirteenth of…
After three players of the Hanshin Tigers have been diagnosed with the coronavirus, the NPB (Nippon Professional Baseball) has decided to cancel all practice games of the Japanese major league clubs. At least, according to a Tweet by Dutch pitcher Rick van den Hurk, all practice games are cancelled but the Ni-Gun (minor league) games…
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…
Good news for the new New Zealand ABL franchise. A top NPB club has agreed to send players to the team. With this move, the new club may be a lot more competitive. But there may be more help underway. According to the New Zealand Herald, Baseball New Zealand chief executive Ryan Flynn stated that an…
Yesterday, Dutch star pitcher of the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks, Rick van den Hurk pitched his second game for the Ni-Gun team of the Hawks as part of his rehab. Rick has been sidelined with signs of fatigue and little ailments since June. Ever since he has had several checkups at various hospitals. The Hakws clearly…
