Joop Geurts (February 20, 1923 – February 26, 2009) was a Dutch

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

baseball player 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 te ...

for Schoten Haarlem of the

Hoofdklasse Honkbal The Honkbal Hoofdklasse (Dutch for ''Major League Baseball'') is the highest level of professional baseball in the Netherlands. It is an eight-team league that plays a 42-game schedule and is overseen by the Royal Netherlands Baseball and Softbal ...

or Major League Baseball in

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 ...

. He was also a member of the

Netherlands national baseball team The Netherlands national baseball team is the national baseball team of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, representing the country in international men's baseball. They are currently ranked as the best team in the WBSC Europe, and the team is also ...

Career

Geurts made his debut in the Dutch national team in 1938 as a catcher, at only 15 years of age. In 1957 he was named

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

of the Main Class. Between 1956 and 1960 he captured the European title four times with the Dutch team. Geurts appeared in 36 games over 23 years for the national team. In 1956 he was part of the selection that came out for the first time against the United States team and was also named a

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

. Geurts was also known by the so-called "ball incident" of 1948 with American ambassador Baruch. The ambassador was invited to throw the first ball at the start of the main class baseball season. Baruch threw the ball to Geurts, who then offered it to the members of the baseball league board that were present. They said they had no interest in the ball and that Geurts could keep it. Geurts asked the ambassador to sign the ball. However, a few days later, the league officials changed their mind and asked for the ball from Geurts. However, he refused because the league representatives had originally told him that he could keep the ball. A scandal arose and Geurts decided to travel to the embassy and asked Baruch to sign a second ball. At an open meeting to decide the fate of Geurts' in this matter, the latter showed the two signed balls and asked the league officials to choose one, which he gave to the leagues, while keeping the other one. Years later, Geurts was asked by the administrators of the National Baseball Museum if he still had the ball in question. He sent his son

Tom Geurts Tom Geerd Geurts (born in Dedemsvaart on April 2, 1964) is a Dutch economist currently employed by George Washington University, The George Washington University and an Honorary Professor at the Technical University of Berlin, Technische Universit� ...

to the attic to search and the ball was found. Ironically, the museum could not find their copy, so only one signed ball is exhibited at the museum today.

Death

Geurts died on February 26, 2009 at the age of 86 in

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 ...

. Geurts had some health issues in the final years of his life, however the exact

cause of death In law, medicine, and statistics, cause of death is an official determination of conditions resulting in a human's death, which may be recorded on a death certificate. A cause of death is determined by a medical examiner. The cause of death is ...

was not released to the public.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geurts, Joop 1923 births 2009 deaths Dutch baseball players Baseball catchers Sportspeople from Haarlem People from Avereest Sportspeople from Overijssel