‘How is Robert Unicorn doing now’
Brief stop at Neptunus, Haarlem Nicols, Dutch Team, Anaheim Angels, New York Mets and New York Yankees. Coach at Neptunus and Dutch Team.
Fondest memory of Baseball Week:
“I remember as a little boy being very impressed by the big stadium and all those baseball players from abroad. Watching great games, sandwiches along. It really was a day out. And, of course, I secretly dreamed of one day standing there, too. Baseball Week is one of the most beautiful tournaments you can experience. A sold-out house, great opponents, the pacesetters at third base. The 1st time in a full Pim Mulier felt the same as the 1st time in a full Yankee stadium. As a coach, of course, you are on the other side of the chalk line and experience such a tournament very differently. Surely the highlight of that period was winning the final against Cuba in 2004. With this win, the Dutch Team won Baseball Week for the first time.
Favorite player:
“I used to have a poster of Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson hanging in my room. ‘The Man of Steal’ he was also called. An incredible hitter and base runner. If you had told me then that we would ever play together again with the Anaheim Angels I probably would have told you that you were crazy. When I started playing big league myself, there were definitely guys I looked up to. Marcel Joost, Haitze de Vries, Frank Bos. I remember my move to the Haarlem Nicols very well. Suddenly I found myself among those guys on the field. With the Yankees I grew up as a pro, that’s really club number one for me. In current baseball, I have a lot of respect for players like Didi Gregorius, Xander Bogaerts and Jonathan Schoop. Those have now proven to be of great value to Major League Baseball.”
Are you still doing anything in baseball?
“Since I stopped, I haven’t actually touched baseball. Funny really, but I don’t really feel the need to. My son played baseball for a brief Monday, but I think he mostly enjoyed hanging out with the other kids. When he sat in the dugout one day with a parrot on his shoulder instead of watching the game, I knew he would have a different career than me, haha. In daily life, though, I am still involved in top sports. That must be the nature of the beast. It’s all or nothing.”