Gregory Anthony Halman (August 26, 1987 – November 21, 2011) was a Dutch professional

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 ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

. He played with the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

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), ...

(MLB) during the and seasons. He also played internationally with the Dutch national team in the

2009 World Baseball Classic The 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international baseball competition. It began on 5 9 and finished 5 26. Unlike in 2006, when the round-robin format of the first two rounds led to some eliminations being decided by run-difference ti ...

. He died of stab wounds in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

after the 2011 MLB season. His brother was arrested in connection with the stabbing but was acquitted on the grounds of temporary insanity.

Career

Netherlands

Halman made his debut at sixteen years of age at the Dutch major league team of

Corendon Kinheim Kinheim is a baseball and softball team based in Haarlem, the Netherlands. The title sponsor of the club is currently ''Corendon'' so that the official name of the team is Corendon Kinheim. Kinheim baseball team plays in the Honkbal Hoofdklass ...

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English) is a city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland. Haarlem is situated at the northern edge of the Randstad, one of the most populated metropoli ...

in 2003. Like his father, Eddy, and his younger brother, Jason, Greg played on the Dutch national baseball team. His sister, Naomi, is a professional basketball player in Europe. Halman played for the Netherlands in the

Seattle Mariners

Halman was signed as a non-drafted

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the

on June 26, 2004. He participated in the 2004 Mariners Arizona Instructional League playing for the

Peoria Javelinas The Peoria Javelinas are a baseball team that plays in the West Division of the Arizona Fall League. The Javelinas play their home games in the Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Arizona. The ballpark is also the spring training facility for the Sa ...

. He began his professional career in by playing 26 games with the rookie-level

Arizona League Mariners The Arizona Complex League Mariners are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Seattle Mariners, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Arizona. The team is com ...

. He played all three outfield positions. He recorded a season-high three RBIs on July 9 against the

Arizona League Royals The Arizona Complex League Royals are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Kansas City Royals, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona. The team is compos ...

. He went 4 for 5 with a run and first career home run on July 10 against the

Arizona League Giants Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Four C ...

. Halman hit .438 against lefties, compared to .219 against right-handed pitchers. He participated in the 2005 Arizona Instructional League. In 2006, he

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

.259 with 5

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 15 RBI in 28 games for the Low-A

Everett AquaSox The Everett AquaSox are a Minor League Baseball team in Everett, Washington. The team is a member of the Northwest League and is affiliated with the Seattle Mariners. The AquaSox play their home games at Funko Field, which has a seating capacity o ...

. He finished 3rd on the team with 10 stolen bases. He hit safely in 21 of 28 games. He recorded a season-high 12-game hit streak, batting .309 from June 21 to July 4. He had eight multi-hit games, including a season-high three hits on July 19. He was placed on the disabled list on July 22 through the remainder of the season with a fractured right hand. In , Halman showed his power potential by hitting 20 home runs combined for Everett and Single-A

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. He was named to the Short-Season A and

Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Pacific Northwest, Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Maj ...

All-Star teams and was also named the Short-Season A Player of the Year. For , he was promoted to High-A High Desert to start the season. After batting .268 with 19 home runs and 53 RBI in 67 games, he was promoted in 2009 to Double-A West Tenn where he hit 10 more home runs. He ended the season with 29 total home runs and 31

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

s, which led him to be named the Mariners' Minor League Player of the Year. On September 22, 2010, Halman was called up by the Seattle Mariners along with four other players following the conclusion of the

Tacoma Rainiers The Tacoma Rainiers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Tacoma, Washington, and play their home games at Cheney Stadium, which opened in 1960. ...

season. On June 3, 2011, Halman was called up to replace struggling outfielder

Michael Saunders Michael Edward Brett Saunders (born November 19, 1986) is a Canadian former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Toronto Blue Jays, and Philadelphia Phillies. He was nickname ...

, who was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma. Halman hit his first home run in the big leagues on June 15 in a 3–1 victory over the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

Personal life

Halman spoke four languages:

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

, and

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 ...

. He grew up speaking Dutch and English and learned Spanish in 2005, his first year in the United States. He graduated from Mendel College in

North Holland North Holland ( nl, Noord-Holland, ) is a province of the Netherlands in the northwestern part of the country. It is located on the North Sea, north of South Holland and Utrecht, and west of Friesland and Flevoland. In November 2019, it had a ...

in June 2004.

Death

On November 21, 2011, Halman died of blood loss in

from a laceration to his

carotid artery Carotid artery may refer to: * Common carotid artery, often "carotids" or "carotid", an artery on each side of the neck which divides into the external carotid artery and internal carotid artery * External carotid artery, an artery on each side of t ...

. He was 24 years old. His brother, Jason Halman, was arrested for the killing. Reportedly, Greg approached Jason about loud music, which resulted in an argument and then a stabbing. On August 16, 2012, Dutch authorities released Jason Halman from custody, after prosecutors agreed with defense counsel that Jason, at the time of the stabbing, had been suffering from a

psychosis Psychosis is a condition of the mind that results in difficulties determining what is real and what is not real. Symptoms may include delusions and hallucinations, among other features. Additional symptoms are incoherent speech and behavior ...

that had been induced in part by his use of

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

. Jason agreed to be under the supervision of a probation officer and that he would undergo mental health treatment. A Dutch court then formally acquitted Jason on August 30, 2012, on the ground of temporary insanity. The court also allowed Jason to go free, stating that psychiatric and psychological assessments of him had found that there was "only a remote chance of any reoccurrence" and that it was "well possible that the psychosis adbeen a singular event." Greg was buried in a small grove near the sea. The spot was chosen because the plot reminded his family of a baseball diamond. He was the first former Major League Baseball player known to have died in the Netherlands.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Halman, Greg 1987 births 2009 World Baseball Classic players 2011 deaths Arizona League Mariners players Deaths by stabbing in the Netherlands Dutch expatriate baseball players in the United States Dutch murder victims Dutch people of Aruban descent Everett AquaSox players Fratricides High Desert Mavericks players Major League Baseball players from the Netherlands 2011 murders in the Netherlands Male murder victims People murdered in the Netherlands Peoria Javelinas players Seattle Mariners players Sportspeople from Haarlem Tacoma Rainiers players West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx players Wisconsin Timber Rattlers players Corendon Kinheim players