Curaçao-born baseball player Wladimir Balentien has announced his retirement. Last year, you could read here that Balentien already hinted at his retirement. Now the word is out. Always known as a hitter with a powerful bat, Balentien broke into the Majors in 2007 with the Seattle Mariners. In that season, he played only three games …
Wladimir Balentien is Talking Retirement
A few weeks ago, Curaçao native Wladimir Balentien posted a somewhat mysterious Tweet about things having an end. Yours truly's first thought was "He is retiring." But from there no new Tweet or answer to the questions that came after that specific Tweet. The specific Tweet, Wladimir Balentien started all confusion with, is shown below. …
Two Milestones For Wladimir Balentien
In an inter league game vs the Yakult Swallows, Curaçoa's own Wladimir Balentien set two milestones in the NPB. Two dingers from his bat could not prevent the SoftBank Hawks from falling to the "other" team from Tokyo. In a 6-4 loss, Balentien reached two milestones. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Wladimir put …
SoftBank Hawks add Wladimir Balentien to NPB Roster
It has been announced that Curaçao-born Wladimir Balentien will be added to the NPB roster of the SoftBank Hawks. This will happen on May 18. The other day, Wladimir Balentien came up with a somewhat vague Tweet, saying that God's timing is perfect. https://twitter.com/cocobalentien/status/1393884698359721986 The only thing that yours truly could think of, was his …
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Rick van den Hurk is warming up, Wladimir Balentien not so much
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 …
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Rick van den Hurk gets no decision in second Ni-Gun start, Balentien makes his presence felt.
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 Hits Dinger in First At-Bat of Season
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. Wladimir Balentien in his first at-bat of 2021 After arriving in Japan in the end of March, Wladimir Balentien had to pass two weeks in quarintine. He …
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Dutchies in Japan thread
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 …
Balentien opts for Softbank Hawks
According to yahoo.co.jp, Curaçao born Wladimir Balentien has reached a basic agreement with the Softbank Hawks. The Japanese news website states that the news will be announced officially by the Hawks later this year. That Balentien has decided to join the Hawks, doesn't come as a surprise. In the past months, he could not hammer …
Softbank Hawks about to make Balentien a two-year offer
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 …
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Wladimir Balentien not an FA yet
Even though he has the right to do so, Wladimir Balentien didn't use his free-agent rights yet. Apparently, he wants to talk with the club he has spent his entire NPB career with first. Due to this move, the Yakult Swallows will have exclusive negotiation rights until the end of November. If both parties will …
Wladimir Balentien’s new status makes him interesting for other teams
Wladimir Balentien comes off his ninth season in the NPB. The Curaçao-born slugger joined the Yakult Swallows in 2011 and has not left the club ever since. Since his first season in the NPB, Balentien has hit at least 30 home runs per season. He only fell short on that mark in 2015 as his …
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Dutchies around the world
In this episode of Dutchies around the world, we pay attention to Andrelton Simmons, Zander Wiel, Juremi Profar, Kevin Josephina, Wladimir Balentien and Phildrick Llewellyn. Andrelton Simmons So far, Andrelton Simmons is having a career year. In previous years he never topped .300, although he came rather close last year with a .292 average, but …
Wladimir Balentien placed on inactive list
According to a tweet by American baseball journalist in Japan, Jim Allen, the Yakult Swallows have placed Curaçaoan outfielder Wladimir Balentien on the inactive list as they worry about the condition of his upper body. Balentien is hitting considerably better than the past four years, when he never topped. 270. So far this season, he …
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Dutchies Around the World
In this episode of Dutchies around the world we pay attention to Andrelton Simmons, Ademar Rifaela, Ray-Patrick Didder, Kirvin Moesquit, Wladimir Balentien and Kevin Kelly. MLB Andrelton Simmons is still one of the best shortstops in the game. He is capable of the most amazing plays. In the past few years, his fielding percentage was in …
Van den Hurk highly ineffective today
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 …
Wladimir Balentien signs one-year extension with Swallows
Last week you could read here that Wladimir Balentien was likely to return to the Yakult Swallows. Today, Yahoo.com confirmed the 33-year old Curaçaoan slugger signed a one-year deal with the other team from Tokyo. According to Yahoo.com, both parties reached an agreement yesterday. By signing a $3 million deal, Balentien agrees with a deduction …
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Balentien likely to extend his stay with Swallows
Good news for baseball fans from Curaçao and the Netherlands. Curaçao native Wladimir Balentien and the Yakult Swallows are on the verge of signing a one-year contract extension. According to Yaoo.com, the 33-year old outfielder decided yesterday to stay with the team. Currently, both parties are working on the finishing touches of the contract, which is …
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