Martijn Meeuwis (born July 14, 1982 in

Moergestel Moergestel () is a village in the Dutch province of North Brabant. It is located in the municipality of Oisterwijk, about 7 km East of Tilburg. History The village was first mentioned in 1147 as Gestele, and means "guest house". Moer (moor ...

) is a Dutch

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 who currently plays for

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 ...

and the Dutch national team. Meeuwis debuted with the Twins Sport Club in 1999 as a teenager but did not return to the

Hoofdklasse The Vierde Divisie, formerly known as Hoofdklasse () is the second-highest league of amateur football in the Netherlands, and the fifth tier in general. Background The league is divided into two sections: Saturday and Sunday. This is a result of ...

again until 2004, when he became a full-time player. When the Twins were relegated, Meeuwis moved to

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 ...

. In 2005, he hit .184/.266/.233 as a regular outfielder. In 2006, he was the club's regular center fielder, though he also filled in at second base. He hit .304/.377/.402 and led the league in triples (5). In 2007, Meeuwis really blossomed after joining

DOOR 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 ...

. He hit .301/.394/.500 with 37 RBI in 39 games while returning to catcher, his original position. He threw out 19 of 35 would-be base-stealers. He was 7th in 2007 Hoofdklasse in batting average, third in home runs (6) and second in RBI (six behind leader

Tjerk Smeets Tjerk Smeets (born 3 June 1980) is a Dutch baseball player who currently plays for Kinheim and the Dutch national team. He is the son of Dutch radio and television personality, writer, and columnist Mart Smeets. Smeets played his college baseb ...

). He was named as one of the three finalists for the league MVP award alongside Fausto Álvarez and

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 ...

; Álvarez won. Meeuwis joined the Dutch national team when

Johnny Balentina Randolph Benito ("Johnny") Balentina (born August 8, 1971, in Willemstad, Curaçao) is a Dutch baseball player, who competed in three consecutive Summer Olympics for the Netherlands, starting in 1996 (Atlanta, Georgia). Twice he finished in sixth ...

, another C-OF, was injured. He was part of the team's historic first visit to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, which included a win over the college edition of

Team USA The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

. He played also in the

2007 World Port Tournament The 2007 World Port Tournament was an international baseball competition held at the DOOR Neptunus Familiestadion in Rotterdam, the Netherlands from August 2–12, 2007. It was the 11th edition of the tournament and featured teams from Chinese Ta ...

, going 1 for 6. Balentina was back with the team for the 2007 European Championship but Meeuwis replaced him once more for 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 was 3 for 10 with 2 walks and a double in the World Cup that year, helping fill in for CF

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 ...

. He had a key role in the Dutch win over host

Chinese Taipei "Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan. Due to the One-China principle stipulated by th ...

in the quarterfinals.

En-Yu Lin Lin En-yu, (; born 25 March 1981), is a former Taiwanese professional baseball pitcher. After serving in Chinese Taipei's National Training Team in 2003 and 2004, he was drafted by the Macoto Cobras of the Chinese Professional Baseball League i ...

had retired 13 batters in a row and held a 2-0 lead when Meeuwis walked and came around to score on a hit by Reily Legito. Gregory Halman later replaced Meeuwis in center in that game. Meeuwis hit .231/.375/.231 in the 2008 European Cup in

Regensburg Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...

. Meeuwis was selected by coach Robert Eenhoorn, in the team that represents the Netherlands at 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 ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

.Dutch Olympic Baseball squad 2008
, knbsb.nl, ret: Aug 5, 2008

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meeuwis, Martijn 1982 births Living people Dutch baseball players Olympic baseball players for the Netherlands Baseball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics People from Oisterwijk HCAW players DOOR Neptunus players Sportspeople from North Brabant