Over the years, fantastic baseball players have participated in Baseball Week. Dutch players with an impressive track record at national and international level, but also many players from other participating countries, some of whom would later make it to baseball's hall of fame: Major League Baseball.
From Haarlem to the Big Leagues. It seems like a big step, but many future Major Leaguers have played in recent editions of Baseball Week. The main supplier? The collegiate Team USA, which is also participating in Baseball Week this summer, but also Cuba's A-team, Team USA's opponent on July 11 this year!
This game will be closely watched by fans, but also by scouts. Do you have a few empty balls lying around at home? (If not, you can just buy them at the Keystone stand in the stadium!) Bring them to Baseball Week and hunt for the autograph of the player you think has the brightest future.
Over the years, major stars have played at Baseball Week. Dave Winfield hit 3,000 hits in the Major League for the Padres and Yankees and has been inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame. Matt Stairs won the World Series and is a member of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. In more recent history (2000 to present), All-Stars such as Mark Prior, Mark Teixeira, Ryan Howard, Dustin Pedroia (AL Rookie of the Year in 2007 and AL MVP in 2008), Yoennis Cespedes, Carlos Rodon (no-hitter in 2021), Andrelton Simmons, Stephen Strasburg (World Series MVP in 2019), Kris Bryant (NL Rookie of the Year in 2015 and NL MVP in 2016), Trea Turner, Jose Abreu (AL MVP in 2020), Yulieski Gurriel, Alex Bregman, and Dansby Swanson (World Series winner in 2021) on the mound or in the batter's box at Pim Mulier Stadium.
The 2012 edition takes the crown when it comes to future Major Leaguers. No fewer than 21 players from Team USA and Cuba from that year have reached the Major League. Of the 2012 Team USA, only Ben Grover, then pitcher for L&D Amsterdam, was not drafted. Nine of them were selected in the first round of the draft in 2013 or 2014.
Five players from the 2014 American selection were even selected in the top 10 of the 2015 MLB Draft: Dansby Swanson (No. 1, Arizona Diamondbacks), Alex Bregman (No. 2, Houston Astros), Dillon Tate (No. 4, Texas Rangers), Tyler Jay (No. 6, Minnesota Twins), and Carson Fulmer (No. 8, Chicago White Sox). The quartet of Tate, Fulmer, Jay, and fifth-round draft pick Ryan Burr pitched a combined no-hitter in 2014, the most recent in the history of Baseball Week.
The conclusion? Make sure you're there on July 11 when Team USA plays Cuba. Bring a camera, a ball, and a pen, because there might be a future MLB player or even a Hall of Famer in the lineup!
Tickets for July 11 can be purchased here. Below is an overview of Baseball Week participants who later reached the Major League:
|
1972 |
Dave Winfield (Alaska Goldplanners) |
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1988 |
Matt Stairs (Canada) |
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1998 |
Jose Contreras (Cuba) |
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2000 |
Mark Prior, Mark Teixeira, Ryan Howard, Xavier Nady, Bobby Crosby, Jeff Baker, Dewon Brazelton, Lenny Dinardo, Kirk Saarloos (USA) |
|
2002 |
Dustin Pedroia, Rickie Weeks, Aaron Hill, Carlos Quentin, Huston Street, Philip Humber, Sam Fuld, Conor Jackson, Ryan Garko, Chad Cordero (USA) |
|
2006 |
Yoennis Cespedes (Cuba) |
|
2008 |
Andrelton Simmons (Curaçao), Stephen Strasburg, Mike Leake, Mike Minor, Kyle Gibson, Matt den Dekker, Tyler Lyons, Derek Dietrich (USA) |
|
2010 |
Anthony Bemboom (USA) |
|
2012 |
Marco Gonzales, Carlos Rodon, Kris Bryant, Michael Lorenzen, Trea Turner, Michael Conforto, Jose Trevino, Kyle Farmer, Adam Frazier, Adam Plutko, Ryne Stanek, Trevor Williams (USA), Jose Abreu, Yulieski Gurriel, Rusney Castillo, Aledmys Diaz, Arisbel Arruebarruena, Odrisamer Despaigne, Alex Guerrero, Guillermo Heredia, Dalier Hinojosa (Cuba) |
|
2014 |
Dansby Swanson, Alex Bregman, Dillon Tate, Ryan Burr, Carson Fulmer, James Kaprielian, DJ Stewart, Kyle Funkhouser, A.J. Minter, Zack Collins, Taylor Ward, Bryan Reynolds, Thomas Eshelman, Mark Mathias (USA) |
Incidentally, Japan has also often sent talented players to Haarlem. A number of them have made it to the NPB (Nippon Professional Baseball), the world's second-best league after Major League Baseball. Loyal Baseball Week fans will remember one of them well: the chubby first baseman who stole the hearts of spectators and won the audience award in 2008: Ryoji Nakata. He later played for the Chunichi Dragons.
The best Japanese player ever at Baseball Week was the MVP of the 1992 tournament: Tosihisha Nisi. He played twelve seasons in the NPB and won the Japan Series twice.
Photo: Team USA. Bergman/Swanson (front row, right), Collins (standing third from right), Fulmer (top row, center)