Todd Bertram Van Steensel (born 14 January 1991) is an Australian former professional baseball pitcher.

Career

Van Steensel was born on 14 January in 1991 in Sydney, Australia. Van Steensel has represented his native

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

on several occasions, most notably in the MLB opening series in 2013/14. He also plays for the Sydney Blue Sox in the Australian Baseball League where he garnered the nickname "Hop Scotch" after one his superstition of not stepping on the foul lines.

Philadelphia Phillies

Van Steensel began his career for the GCL Phillies in the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

organization in 2009. Van Steensel recorded a 6.44 ERA in 12 games for the club. He was released during Spring Training in 2010. Van Steensel joined the Sydney Blue Sox of the Australian Baseball League for the 2010 season.

Minnesota Twins

Van Steensel signed a minor league 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 ...

on 6 June 2011. He finished the season with the rookie ball

Elizabethton Twins The Elizabethton Twins were a Minor League Baseball team of the Appalachian League and a Rookie-level affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They were located in Elizabethton, Tennessee, and were named for their major league affiliate. The team playe ...

, recording a 5-2 record and 5.68 ERA with 58 strikeouts.

Corendon Kinheim

2012 saw Van Steensel head to Europe to play for Corendon Kinheim in the Dutch National League. In his first trip to the mound (June 2012) he pitched 2.2 innings, giving up just 1 hit and no free passes whilst striking out 6 (six). Corendon Kinheim would go on to win the championship. In mid July Van Steensel returned to Australia, after an elbow injury sustained while playing basketball required surgery. In 2013 he unsuccessfully attempted to stop a face off between Sydney Blue Sox catcher Daniel Arribas and Brisbane Bandits runner Patrick Leonard. The incident escalated rapidly after Josh Roberts charged from the Brisbane dugout and tried to remove Arribas' head.

Minnesota Twins (second stint)

Van Steensel rejoined the

organization on a minor league contract on 6 February 2014. He split the season between the High-A Fort Myers Miracle and the High-A Cedar Rapids Kernels. In late 2014 Van Steensel announced he would sit out the rest of the year after a long minor league season. He spent the 2015 season in Fort Myers, registering a 2.32 ERA in 46 appearances. In 2016, Van Steensel split the season between the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts and Fort Myers, accumulating a 5-2 record and 3.30 ERA in 44 games. He spent the 2017 season in Chattanooga, pitching to a 5-3 record and a stellar 1.38 ERA in 58.2 innings of work. Van Steensel recorded a 5-1 record and 3.01 ERA for Chattanooga before being released by Minnesota on 7 August 2018. He was named the reliever of the 2018–19 season.

St. Paul Saints

Van Steensel signed with the

St. Paul Saints The St. Paul Saints are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and have played their home games at CHS Field since 2015. They prev ...

of the American Association for the 2019 season. He recorded a 3-2 record and 4.33 ERA with 43 strikeouts in 2019. He was released following the season on 10 January 2020.

Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks

On 3 February 2020, Van Steensel signed with the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks of the American Association. He was released prior to the season on 18 June 2020.

Mariachis de Guadalajara

On 1 March 2021, Van Steensel announced on his Twitter that he had signed with the Mariachis de Guadalajara of the Mexican League. Van Steensel registered a 4.85 ERA in 26 appearances for the team.

Lake Country DockHounds

On 7 January 2022, Van Steensel signed with the Lake Country DockHounds of the American Association of Professional Baseball. On 12 May 2022, Van Steensel was released by the DockHounds without appearing in a game.

Gastonia Honey Hunters

On 22 February 2023, Van Steensel signed with the Gastonia Honey Hunters of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...

. In 22 games for Gastonia, he struggled to a 6.48 ERA with 18 strikeouts in 25.0 innings of work. On 11 August, Van Steensel retired from professional baseball.

International career

Van Steensel was a member of the Australia national baseball team in the Australian Challenge, ,

2017 World Baseball Classic Qualification The Qualifying Round of the 2017 World Baseball Classic was held from February 11 to September 25, 2016. Teams which participated at the 2013 World Baseball Classic were automatically qualified for the 2017 tournament except the four nations whic ...

in 2016,

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 ...

, 2018 exhibition games against

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

2019 WBSC Premier12 The 2019 WBSC Premier12 was an international baseball championship featuring the 12 highest-ranked national teams in the world, held by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). It was the second WBSC Premier12 event. The championship ...

, and

2023 World Baseball Classic The 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC), an international professional baseball tournament, is set to be the fifth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. It was originally set for 2021 (as per tradition to hold the event every four years), but wa ...

References

External links

Todd Van Steensel stats
MiLB.com
Todd Van Steensel stats
ABL.com * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Steensel, Todd 1991 births Living people Australian expatriate baseball players in Mexico Australian expatriate baseball players in the Netherlands Australian expatriate baseball players in the United States Australian people of Dutch descent Baseball pitchers Cedar Rapids Kernels players Chattanooga Lookouts players Elizabethton Twins players Fort Myers Miracle players Florida Complex League Phillies players Gastonia Honey Hunters players Mariachis de Guadalajara players Baseball players from Sydney Sydney Blue Sox players St. Paul Saints players 2017 World Baseball Classic players 2023 World Baseball Classic players Sportsmen from New South Wales