Robert Franciscus Eenhoorn (born February 9, 1968) is a retired 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 t ...
player and
manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includes the activities ...
. He played four seasons of
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), ...
as a
utility infielder
In baseball, a utility player is a player who typically does not have the offensive abilities to justify a regular starting role on the team but is capable of playing more than one defensive position. These players are able to give the various s ...
for the
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...
and
California/Anaheim Angels. On September 27, 1997, Eenhoorn became the first Dutch-born player to hit a
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 ...
in the Major Leagues since
Jack Lelivelt
John Frank Lelivelt (November 14, 1885 – January 20, 1941) was an American outfielder who played for the Washington Senators, New York Highlanders / Yankees and Cleveland Naps. While playing for the Rochester Hustlers, he set the Internation ...
in 1912. The feat was later repeated by
Greg Halman and
Didi Gregorius
Mariekson Julius "Didi" Gregorius (born February 18, 1990) is a Dutch professional baseball shortstop who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Yankees and Philadel ...
. (All other Dutch MLB players to have hit home runs were born elsewhere, mainly in the country's Caribbean territories, most notably the
Curaçao natives
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 ...
and
Hensley Meulens
Hensley Filemon Acasio Meulens (; born June 23, 1967), nicknamed "Bam Bam", is a Curaçaoan professional baseball coach and retired player. He is the hitting coach for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB).
A native of Curaçao ...
.) Eenhoorn played for the Triple-A
Norfolk Tides
The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's location on the Chesapea ...
of the
New York Mets
The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...
organization in 1998.
From 2009 to 2014 Eenhoorn served as the technical director for 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 ...
.
Since 2014, Eenhoorn has been the general director of the Dutch football club
AZ Alkmaar
Alkmaar Zaanstreek (), better known as AZ Alkmaar or simply AZ (), is a Dutch professional football club from Alkmaar and the Zaan district. The club plays in the Eredivisie, the highest professional football league in the Netherlands, and host ...
. In March 2015, he hired another former Major Leaguer,
Billy Beane, as an advisor.
Early life
Eenhoorn was born 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 ''"Ne ...
, Netherlands. His father played baseball during World War II as an act of Dutch rebellion against the German occupation. Eenhoorn played
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
and baseball growing up and credited his football play with helping his footwork on the
baseball diamond.
Dutch baseball career
Eenhoorn played 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
Haarlem Nicols in the Dutch
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 ...
, the highest level of professional baseball in the Netherlands, from 1984 through 1990. He won the Ron Fraser Award as the top Dutch prospect in 1984. He was on the Netherlands’ Gold Medal team in the
1987 European Baseball Championship The 1987 European Baseball Championship was held in Spain and was won by the Netherlands. Italy finished as runner-up.
Standings
References
*(NL)''European Championship Archive at honkbalsite
European Baseball Championship
European Baseball Ch ...
. He also played for his homeland in the
1988 Seoul Olympics
The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...
and in the
1988 Baseball World Cup,
hitting .256 with a .283
on-base percentage, .395
slugging percentage, .887–
fielding percentage, and committing 8
errors in 11
games at
shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...
.
American baseball career
Eenhoorn was named the third-team
All-America
The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...
n shortstop by ''
Baseball America'' in 1990 while attending
Davidson College in
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...
. The
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...
drafted Eenhoorn in the second round (45th overall) of the
1990 Major League Baseball draft
The 1990 Major League Baseball ( MLB) Draft was held in June 1990. The draft placed amateur baseball players onto major league teams. 1,487 players were distributed to 26 teams. The draft consisted of first round selections, supplemental first ...
, with a compensation pick obtained for the loss of free agent
Walt Terrell
Charles Walter Terrell (born May 11, 1958) is a retired Major League Baseball player. A starting pitcher, Terrell pitched from 1982 to 1992 for the New York Mets (1982–1984), Detroit Tigers (1985–1988), San Diego Padres (1989), New York Yank ...
to the
Pittsburgh Pirates.
Eenhoorn began his professional career with the pennant-winning Class-A
Oneonta Yankees
Oneonta may refer to several places:
Communities
*Oneonta, New York, A small city and inspiration for some of the other "Oneontas"
*Oneonta (town), New York, a town that surrounds the City of Oneonta
*Oneonta, Alabama, Blount County
* Oneonta, Ke ...
in the
New York–Penn League
The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...
and hit .268/.324/.355. He stole 11 bases in 15 tries. He was voted to the League All-Star team as a utility infielder and was labeled a "defensive genius" by ''Baseball America''. He led the league's shortstops in fielding percentage (.960). According to ''Baseball America'', he was the top prospect in the league.
In 1991, Eenhoorn hit .350/.395/.575 for the
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 l ...
Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...
and .241/.320/.343 for the Class-A Advanced
Prince William Cannons. The next season, he batted .305/.370/.409 with the Class-A Advanced
Fort Lauderdale Yankees
The Fort Lauderdale Yankees, based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, were an American Minor League Baseball franchise that existed from 1962 through 1992. The team was a member of the Florida State League (FSL) as an affiliate of the New York Yankees ...
and .235/.271/.327 for the Double-A
Albany-Colonie Yankees
The Albany-Colonie Yankees were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Double-A Eastern League from 1983 to 1994. They were located in Colonie, New York, and played their home games at Heritage Park. The team was known as the Albany A ...
after entering the season as the #6 prospect in the Yankees system according to ''Baseball America''. He was downgraded to #7 after the year, behind
Derek Jeter and ahead of
Dave Silvestri
David Joseph Silvestri (born September 29, 1967) is a former infielder in Major League Baseball from 1992 to 1999. He also played for the United States baseball team at the 1988 Summer Olympics.
Playing career
Silvestri attended the University o ...
among Yankees shortstops.
Eenhoorn batted .280/.324/.433 in 1993 with Albany-Colonie. He was the All-Star shortstop in the
Eastern League. He was removed from the top Yankee prospect list after that year. Eenhoorn batted .239/.270/.324 for the
Triple-A Columbus Clippers in 1994. He went 2 for 4 in his first three MLB games with the
1994 New York Yankees.
On May 28, 1995, Eenhoorn was the last player to start at shortstop for the New York Yankees before Derek Jeter's debut. Due to Jeter's promotion to Columbus, the Yankees shifted Eenhoorn to
second base. He batted .252/.300/.352 that year, and batted 2 for 14 in the majors. In
1996, he hit .337/.406/.448 for the
International League champion Clippers, but batted only 1 for 14 in the major leagues.
The Yankees placed Eenhoorn on
waivers in September 1996, and he was claimed by the
Anaheim 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 h ...
. In 1997, he hit .308/.350/.473 for the Triple-A
Vancouver Canadians
The Vancouver Canadians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Vancouver, British Columbia. They are members of the Northwest League and are affiliated with the Toronto Blue Jays. The Canadians play their home games at Nat Bailey Stadiu ...
. He was 7 for 20 with the
1997 Anaheim Angels, with his only MLB
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 ...
.
Managing career
Back 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 ''"Ne ...
, Eenhoorn became
player-manager
A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the s ...
of the
Hoofdklasse team of
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 ...
, during the seasons 1999–2001. All three seasons, Neptunus was most successful on a national level, since it both won in the Hoofdklasse (Dutch Major League) and the
Holland Series
The Holland Series has been the annual championship series of the highest level of professional baseball in the Netherlands since 1987, concluding the postseason of Honkbal Hoofdklasse. It is played between the two winners of the playoffs.
The Ho ...
.
[Robert Eenhoorn](_blank)
Sport1. Retrieved on 2007-11-17. He was named
Hoofdklasse Most Valuable Player as well as Coach of the Year in 2000, the first person to take both honors in the same year.
[Best Players 2000 honored: Eenhoorn, Gouverneur, Anasagasti MVP; Eenhoorn, Berk Best Coach]
/ref> The team also had international success when it won the World Port Tournament
The World Port Tournament is an international baseball tournament held at the ''Neptunus Familiestadion'' in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The tournament has been held every other year ( excluded) in odd-numbered years since , alternating with the H ...
in 1999 and the European Cup in 2000 and 2001. In the 1999 World Port Tournament, Eenhoorn was named co-MVP with Ken Brauckmiller. Eenhoorn also played for the Netherlands national baseball team at the 2000 Sydney Olympics
The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...
. He was not productive in those Olympics, going 3 for 26 with one walk, no runs and no RBI. He was caught stealing in both of his attempts.
Eenhoorn managed the Netherlands national baseball team between 2001 and 2008, winning four consecutive European Baseball Championship
The European Baseball Championship is the main championship tournament between national baseball teams in Europe, governed by the Confederation of European Baseball (CEB).
History
Italy won the inaugural European Baseball Championship in , and ...
s and qualifying for the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games. When he retired to take up the position of technical director for the Dutch baseball union KNBSB, similar to the position of General Manager
A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
, succeeded by Rod Delmonico
Rodney James Delmonico (born May 14, 1958) is an American baseball coach. He served as head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers of the University of Tennessee from 1990 through 2007, and for the Netherlands national baseball team in the 2009 World ...
as Dutch coach. Eenhoorn left the national team in sixth place of the IBAF
The International Baseball Federation (IBAF; Spanish: ''Federación Internacional de Béisbol'', French: ''Fédération internationale de baseball'') is the former worldwide governing body recognized by the International Olympic Committee as over ...
World Rankings.
Eenhoorn then set up the first baseball academy in Europe, the Unicorns academy (Eenhoorn is Dutch for unicorn). The baseball academy model has been duplicated in other European countries and has led to a significant increase in the number of European players signing with MLB clubs.
Personal life
Eenhoorn's son Ryan died at age 6 of a Wilms tumor
Wilms' tumor or Wilms tumor, also known as nephroblastoma, is a cancer of the kidneys that typically occurs in children, rarely in adults.; and occurs most commonly as a renal tumor in child patients. It is named after Max Wilms, the German ...
in 2003; Eenhoorn and his wife Maureen have one surviving son, Ralph.
On November 11, 2011, Eenhoorn was knighted on the order of Queen Beatrix
Beatrix is a Latin feminine given name, most likely derived from ''Viatrix'', a feminine form of the Late Latin name ''Viator'' which meant "voyager, traveller" and later influenced in spelling by association with the Latin word ''beatus'' or "bles ...
, after he led the Dutch team to the 2011 Baseball World Cup
The 2011 Baseball World Cup (BWC) was the 39th 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 ...
title in his role as technical director. It was the first global baseball tournament won by the Netherlands. Also knighted were manager Brian Farley and catcher Sidney de Jong
Sidney de Jong (born 14 April 1979) is a Dutch former baseball player.
De Jong represented the Netherlands at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens where he and his team finished sixth. He also represented the Dutch at the 2009 World Baseball Cla ...
.Baseball America column by John Manuel
/ref>
References
External links
:
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eenhoorn, Robert
1968 births
Albany-Colonie Yankees players
Anaheim Angels players
Baseball player-managers
Baseball players at the 1988 Summer Olympics
Baseball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics
California Angels players
Columbus Clippers players
Davidson Wildcats baseball players
Dutch expatriate baseball players in the United States
Dutch expatriate baseball players in Canada
Directors of football clubs in the Netherlands
Fort Lauderdale Yankees players
Gulf Coast Yankees players
Living people
Major League Baseball infielders
Major League Baseball players from the Netherlands
New York Yankees players
Norfolk Tides players
Olympic baseball players of the Netherlands
Olympic baseball managers
Oneonta Yankees players
Prince William Cannons players
Sportspeople from Rotterdam
Vancouver Canadians players