Arthur Benjamin "Chicho" Jesurun (10 July 1947 – 16 December 2006) was a
Netherlands-Antillian baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
player, coach, manager, and scout.
Biography
During his playing career, Jesurun played for several teams. He started in
Curaçao
Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coast ...
with the
Korporaal Cardinals, later, in the 1960s he was one of the founders and players of the
Caribe
Caribe may refer to:
* ''Caribe'' (Venezuelan TV series), a Venezuelan telenovela
* ''Caribe'' (American TV series), a 1975 television series produced by Quinn Martin
* Caribe, or Cabir, a computer worm designed for mobile phones
* ''Caribe'' ...
from
Groningen
Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...
in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
. In that period he also started his coaching career as a coach at the
Rayon Het Noorden team.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Jesurun was working as a baseball coach in his native Curaçao with the
Wildcats Felipe II and the
Curaçao national baseball team. With this team he reached the second spot in the national league, before winning the league in three consecutive years. Later he also became an
umpire
An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection.
The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per'', ...
in the sport.
Jesurun also worked as a
scout for several
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
teams, including the
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...
and the
Florida Marlins
The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park.
The franc ...
. During his time with the Braves, he brought fellow Antillean
Andruw Jones
Andruw Rudolf Jones (; born April 23, 1977) is a Curaçaoan former baseball outfielder and designated hitter who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), most notably for the Atlanta Braves. Jones also played for the Los Angeles Dodgers ...
to the team. He also worked for
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
n professional team
Los Tiburones de la Guairia, where he become an assistant to the owner. Other teams he managed were the
Amsterdam Pirates
Amsterdam Pirates is a Dutch baseball and softball organization based in Amsterdam. It was founded as an expansion of the football club SV Rap on 17 February 1959 by Loek Loevendie. In the first years it was known as the RAP Pirates, but after ...
and
Almere '90.
Jesurun also worked in other functions at Dutch clubs
Pioniers
Pioniers is a baseball and softball team based in Hoofddorp, the Netherlands. The club is currently sponsored by Raamsdonkveer-based construction company ''Vaessen BV'' and the team is officially known as the Vaessen Pioniers.
Pioniers baseball ...
and
SV ADO SV ADO was a baseball club based in The Hague, the Netherlands. The club's top men's team was a regular participant in the Honkbal Hoofdklasse, the highest level of Dutch baseball.
The organization dissolved itself in 2015 after declaring bankrupt ...
. In the years prior to his death, he was a bench coach at
HCAW
HCAW (formerly known as Mr. Cocker HCAW ( sponsored name)), in full ''Honkbalclub Allen Weerbaar'', is a Dutch baseball and softball club from Bussum. As of 2021 the club numbers about 400 members, including 270 players, making it one of the lar ...
, a Dutch baseball club from
Bussum
Bussum () is a commuter town and former municipality in the Gooi region in the south east of the province of North Holland in the Netherlands near Hilversum. Since 2016, Bussum has been part of the new municipality of Gooise Meren.
Bussum had ...
. The period in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
came after he worked for the
Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...
. The two teams became partners and the Pirates temporarily changed their name to the Amsterdam Expos, and were managed by Jesurun for four years. Besides Jones for the Braves, Jesurun contracted players like
Vince Rooi,
Danny Rombley
Danny Rombley (born 26 November 1979, in Amersfoort) is a Dutch baseball player for the Amsterdam Pirates. He also played six years in Minor League Baseball.
Career
Rombley was selected by coach Robert Eenhoorn in the team that represents the ...
,
Tim van Pareren,
Roger Bernadina
Rogearvin Argelo "Roger" Bernadina (born June 12, 1984) is a Dutch Curaçaoan professional baseball outfielder for Curaçao Neptunus of the Honkbal Hoofdklasse. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Washington Nationals, Philadelphi ...
(for the Expos),
Rick VandenHurk
Henricus "Rick" Nicolas van den Hurk ( Eindhoven, May 22, 1985) is a Dutch professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He has also pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida Marlins, Baltimore Orioles, and Pittsbur ...
,
Kenny Berkenbosch and
Jeffrey de Vrieze (for the Marlins).
As of 1977, Jesurun also worked on radio, starting as a baseball reporter, and later he presented the news for
Radio Netherlands
Radio Netherlands (RNW; nl, Radio Nederland Wereldomroep) was a public radio and television network based in Hilversum, producing and transmitting programmes for international audiences outside the Netherlands from 1947 to 2012.
Its services i ...
in the
papiamento
Papiamento () or Papiamentu (; nl, Papiaments) is a Portuguese-based creole language spoken in the Dutch Caribbean. It is the most widely spoken language on the Caribbean ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao), with official status in Arub ...
language. During the
2005 Baseball World Cup, which was held in the Netherlands, he was featured as a reporter on the Dutch sport broadcasting program ''
Langs de Lijn''.
Jesurun died in 2006 at the age of 59 due to a
myocardial infarction
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may ...
.
Further reading
In Memoriam Wereldomroep
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jesurun, Chicho
1947 births
2006 deaths
Baseball coaches
Curaçao baseball players
Dutch people of Curaçao descent
People from Willemstad
Dutch sports journalists