Ludovicus Jacobus Maria "Loek" van Mil (; 15 September 1984 – 28 July 2019) 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 ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. At the height of , he was and still is the tallest player in the history of professional baseball. He played for

Curaçao Neptunus Neptunus is a baseball and softball club in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Following its 2014 championship season, the club signed a sponsorship contract for the 2015, 2016 and 2017 seasons with Curaçao and competes under the name Curaçao Neptun ...

of the

Honkbal Hoofdklasse 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 Softba ...

and for the

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles The , often shortened as the , are a baseball team based in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. It has played in Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League since the team's formation in November 2004. The team is owned by the Internet shopping c ...

of the

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB). On 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 ...

he served as the team's closer in the

2013 World Baseball Classic The 2013 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, held from March 2 to March 19, 2013. This was the third iteration of the WBC, following the two previous tournaments, held in 2006 and 2009. Unlike ...

and the 2015 Premier 12 and appeared in the

2007 Baseball World Cup The 2007 Baseball World Cup (BWC) was the 37th international Men's amateur baseball tournament. The tournament was sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation, which titled it the Amateur World Series from the 1938 tournament through the ...

. He missed the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

due to injury.

Early life

Mil competed in

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...

from ages 4 through 7. When his mother encouraged him to join a team sport, he chose to play baseball, as he had played a similar game in his

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

. Mil reached the height of at age 12, and grew to by 14 and at the age of 15. He played as a

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

, until he became too tall to play the position and shifted to

first base A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

. At the age of 17, a coach decided to try Van Mil as a

due to his strong throwing arm.

Career

Minnesota Twins

Van Mil signed a seven-year deal as a non-drafted free agent on 7 July 2005, with the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

. Van Mil threw scoreless innings for HCAW in 2006, spending most of the year with the

Gulf Coast League Twins The Florida Complex League Twins are the Rookie-level affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays in Fort Myers, Florida, at the Lee County Sports Complex. Prior to 2021, the ...

of the Rookie-level

Gulf Coast League The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the lo ...

. Van Mil pitched for the

Beloit Snappers The Beloit Sky Carp are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Beloit, Wisconsin, and play their home games at ABC Supply Stadium. They previously played at Harry C ...

of the Class A

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

during the 2008 season. He had a 2–2 record with 3 saves and a 3.22 ERA and 42 strikeouts in his first innings, making the Midwest League All-Star game. Van Mil suffered a partially torn

ulnar collateral ligament Ulnar collateral ligament (or UCL), may refer to: * Ulnar carpal collateral ligament * Ulnar collateral ligament of elbow joint The ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) or internal lateral ligament is a thick triangular ligament at the medial aspec ...

in his right arm while preparing for participation in the

, and missed the first seven weeks of the 2009 season while rehabilitating. Van Mil began his 2009 season in late May with the

Fort Myers Miracle The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Fort Myers, Florida, and play their home games at the Lee County Sports Complex a ...

, playing in the

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

. Later that year, he was promoted to the

New Britain Rock Cats The New Britain Rock Cats were a minor league baseball team that competed in the Eastern League. They were the Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox for 12 years, the Minnesota Twins for 20 years and the Colorado Rockies for one. They playe ...

in the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...

Eastern League. He finished the season with a 1–1 record and a 2.79 ERA in 42 games between the two clubs, 25 games out of the bullpen with Fort Myers with a 2.86 ERA and another 8 games with New Britain for a 2.45 ERA. On 20 November 2009, he was added to the Twins' 40 man roster. Van Mil began the 2010 season with Fort Myers. He was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

to make room on the roster for

Brian Fuentes Brian Christopher Fuentes (; born August 9, 1975) is an American former professional baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Seattle Mariners, Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Minnesota Twins, Oakland A ...

on 27 August 2010.

Los Angeles Angels

Mil was announced as the

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

going to the

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 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 ...

in the trade for Brian Fuentes on 1 September 2010. With the

Arkansas Travelers The Arkansas Travelers, also known informally as The Travs, are a Minor League Baseball team based in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The Travelers are affiliated with the Seattle Mariners as members of the Texas League. History The team succeeded ...

of the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

in 2011, Van Mil had a 3–5 record and 2.04 ERA in innings across 30 games. He began the 2012 season with the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL ...

Salt Lake Bees The Salt Lake Bees are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. They are located in Salt Lake City, Utah, and play their home games at Smith's Ballpark. The ballpark op ...

, where he had a 1–0 record and 6.30 ERA.

Cleveland Indians

On 5 May 2012, the Angels traded Van Mil to the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

for future considerations. The Indians assigned him to the

Akron Aeros The Akron RubberDucks are a Minor League Baseball team based in Akron, Ohio. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They play in Canal Park, located in downtown Akron, which seats 7,630 ...

of the Class AA Eastern League.

Rakuten Golden Eagles

Van Mil signed a one-year deal with the

Rakuten Golden Eagles The , often shortened as the , are a baseball team based in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. It has played in Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League since the team's formation in November 2004. The team is owned by the Internet shopping c ...

in early 2014. He spent most of the year with Rakuten's farm team.

Curaçao Neptunus

In March 2015 it was announced that van Mil would spend the year with Curaçao Neptunus Rotterdam of

. Van Mil was also named to Team Europe's roster for the 2015 Global Baseball Matchup against Samurai Japan.

Return to the Minnesota Twins

Van Mil pitched for the Minnesota Twins AAA affiliate, the Rochester Red Wings, on 2 September 2015, pitching 2 scoreless innings in relief in his first action stateside since 2013. On 10 April 2016, Van Mil in relief gave up four runs in 1.2 innings with a strikeout against Pawtucket, 4–9. With the loss, the Red Wings went to 4–8 on the season, the team losing six of their last eight games. They dropped to last place in the International League's Northern Division. The 7-foot-1 Dutch native had allowed 15 runs (14 earned) in 5 1/3 innings over his first five appearances (including one start) with Triple-A Rochester. On 25 April 2016, he was released by the Minnesota Twins.

Australia

Van Mil played in the

Australian Baseball League The Australian Baseball League (ABL) is a professional baseball league in Australia. The league is governed by the Australian Baseball Federation (ABF). It uses the same name as a now-defunct competition held during the 1990s, and though it sh ...

with the

Adelaide Bite The Adelaide Giants are a professional baseball team that plays in the Australian Baseball League. They are one of the six foundation franchises of the league, in its first incarnation from 1989 to 1999. The team adopted the name Bite or Adelaid ...

for the 2015–16 and 2017–18 seasons before signing with the

Brisbane Bandits The Brisbane Bandits are a professional baseball team in Brisbane, Queensland that plays in the Australian Baseball League and is one of the six founding teams of the league. From the 2010/11 season till the 2012/13 season their home ballpark w ...

for the 2018-19 ABL season.

Dutch national team

Van Mil joined the

for the first time for the

. He competed as part of the KNB team in the

2017 World Baseball Classic The 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, composed of 16 competing nations, held from March 6 to March 22, 2017. It was the fourth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. The first-round hosts ...

in March 2017. In what

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

reported was thought to be the tallest batter-pitcher matchup in baseball history, the van Mil walked

Nate Freiman Nathan Samuel Freiman (born December 31, 1986) is an American former professional baseball first baseman who played for the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball in 2013 and 2014. In 2013, baseball writer Tim Brown wrote, "Near as anyone c ...

of Team Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic in a round one game.

Scouting report

Van Mil threw a

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. "Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thro ...

that averaged , which had been recorded as fast as . Van Mil also threw a

slider Slider or Sliders may refer to: Arts * K.K. Slider, a fictional character within the ''Animal Crossing'' franchise * '' The Slider'', a 1972 album by T. Rex * ''Sliders'' (TV series), an American science fiction and fantasy television series * ...

and a

change-up A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced speed ...

. Van Mil was and weighed . He was one of the tallest players in the history of professional baseball, tied with former Minor League Baseball prospect Ryan Doherty.

Death

During a December 2018 series against the

Canberra Cavalry The Canberra Cavalry (nicknamed Cavs) is a professional baseball team from Canberra, ACT, Australia. Established in 2010, the team is a founding member of the Australian Baseball League (ABL). The Cavs home ground is Narrabundah Ballpark, know ...

, van Mil went

bushwalking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

without his teammates near Canberra. During his hike, he slipped and hit his head on rocks. He was unconscious for about 24 hours before being woken up by

kangaroo Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...

s and attracted the attention of another hiker who drove him to a hospital. He was diagnosed with fourteen fractures, a

ruptured eardrum A perforated eardrum (tympanic membrane perforation) is a hole in the eardrum. It can be caused by infection (otitis media), trauma, overpressure (loud noise), inappropriate ear clearing, and changes in middle ear pressure. An otoscope can be us ...

and bleeding on the brain. He was cleared to return to baseball in January 2019 in time to help the Adelaide Bite win the 2019

Claxton Shield The Claxton Shield was the name of the premier baseball competition in Australia held between state-based teams, as well as the name of the trophy awarded to the champion team. From the summer of 1989–90 until 2001–02, and again since 2010� ...

. On 29 July 2019, the

Royal Netherlands Baseball and Softball Federation The Royal Netherlands Baseball and Softball Federation ( nl, Koninklijke Nederlandse Baseball en Softball Bond, KNBSB) is the national governing body of baseball in the Netherlands. Baseball is widely played in the Netherlands but has struggled to ...

announced van Mil had died. He had announced his retirement from baseball to focus on his recovery only a week earlier.

References

External links

Van Mil's profile at honkbalsite.com

Loek van Mil, one of tallest baseball players ever at 7-foot-1, dies from 'fatal accident'
(Loek van Mil Obituary at USA Today) {{DEFAULTSORT:Mil, Loek van 1984 births 2019 deaths 2013 World Baseball Classic players 2015 WBSC Premier12 players 2016 European Baseball Championship players 2017 World Baseball Classic players Adelaide Bite players Akron Aeros players Arkansas Travelers players Baseball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Beloit Snappers players Brisbane Bandits players Columbus Clippers players Curacao Neptunus players Deaths from head injury Dutch expatriate baseball players in Japan Dutch expatriate baseball players in the United States Elizabethton Twins players Fort Myers Miracle players Gulf Coast Twins players Louisville Bats players Mr. Cocker HCAW players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers New Britain Rock Cats players Olympic baseball players for the Netherlands Pensacola Blue Wahoos players Sportspeople from Oss Rochester Red Wings players Salt Lake Bees players Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles players Dutch expatriate baseball players in Australia Neurological disease deaths in the Australian Capital Territory Accidental deaths from falls