Loek van Mil facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Loek van Mil |
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van Mil with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
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| Pitcher | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born: 15 September 1984 Oss, Netherlands |
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| Died: 28 July 2019 (aged 34) Canberra, Australia |
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| debut | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 14 September, 2014, for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014, for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NPB statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Win–loss record | 0–1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Earned run average | 4.15 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Strikeouts | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medals
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Loek van Mil (born September 15, 1984 – died July 28, 2019) was a professional baseball pitcher from the Netherlands. He was known for being incredibly tall. At 7 feet 1 inch (2.16 meters), he was the tallest player ever in professional baseball history.
Loek van Mil played for teams like Curaçao Neptunus in the Netherlands and the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles in Japan. He also played for the Netherlands national baseball team. He was a key player in big international tournaments. These included the 2013 World Baseball Classic and the 2015 Premier 12.
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Growing Up and Playing Baseball
Loek van Mil started playing judo when he was four years old. When he was seven, his mom told him to try a team sport. He chose baseball because he had played a similar game in elementary school.
Loek grew very fast. By age 12, he was already 6 feet 1 inch tall. At 14, he reached 6 feet 7 inches. By the time he was 15, he was 6 feet 11 inches tall!
He first played as a catcher. But he became too tall for that position. So, he moved to first base. When he was 17, a coach saw his strong throwing arm. The coach decided to try him as a pitcher.
Loek van Mil's Baseball Journey
Loek van Mil signed his first professional baseball contract in 2005. He joined the Minnesota Twins team in the United States. He spent time playing for their smaller, or "minor league," teams.
In 2008, he played for the Beloit Snappers. He did very well and was chosen for the Midwest League All-Star game. Sadly, he hurt his arm while getting ready for the 2008 Summer Olympics. This injury made him miss part of the next season.
He continued to play for different minor league teams. In 2009, he played for the Fort Myers Miracle and the New Britain Rock Cats. He pitched very well for both teams. In 2010, he was moved to a different team, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
Playing for Different Teams
With the Angels, Loek played for the Arkansas Travelers in 2011. He had a great year with a low earned run average (ERA). In 2012, he was traded to the Cleveland Indians. He played for their minor league team, the Akron Aeros.
In 2014, Loek van Mil moved to Japan. He signed a one-year deal with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. He mostly played for their farm team that year.
After Japan, he returned to the Netherlands in 2015. He played for Curaçao Neptunus Rotterdam. He also played for Team Europe in a special game against Japan.
Later in 2015, he briefly returned to the Minnesota Twins organization. He pitched for their Triple-A team, the Rochester Red Wings. He was released by the Twins in 2016.
Playing in Australia
Loek van Mil also played baseball in Australia. He joined the Adelaide Bite for two seasons. Then, he signed with the Brisbane Bandits for the 2018-19 season.
Playing for the Netherlands
Loek van Mil first joined the Netherlands national baseball team in 2007. He played in the 2007 Baseball World Cup.
He was also part of the Dutch team in the 2017 World Baseball Classic. In one game, he faced a very tall batter from Team Israel. Loek was 7 feet 1 inch tall, and the batter was 6 feet 8 inches. This was thought to be the tallest pitcher-batter match-up ever!
How He Pitched
Loek van Mil was a powerful pitcher. He could throw his fastball very fast, usually around 95 miles per hour (153 km/h). Sometimes, it was even as fast as 99 miles per hour (159 km/h)! He also threw a slider and a change-up.
His height of 7 feet 1 inch (2.16 meters) made him stand out. He was one of the tallest players in professional baseball history.
Loek van Mil's Passing
In December 2018, Loek van Mil was in Australia. He went for a walk in the bush (a wild area) near Canberra. During his walk, he slipped and hit his head on some rocks. He was unconscious for about a day. He was later found and taken to a hospital. He had several serious injuries, including a serious head injury.
After recovering, he was cleared to play baseball again in January 2019. He even helped his team, the Adelaide Bite, win a championship.
However, on July 29, 2019, the Royal Netherlands Baseball and Softball Federation announced that Loek van Mil had died. He had just announced his retirement from baseball a week before, to focus on his recovery.
