Tom Robin de Blok (born May 8, 1996) is a Dutch

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher who is a free agent. He played for Team Netherlands in the

2019 European Baseball Championship The 2019 European Baseball Championship was an international baseball tournament organized by the Confederation of European Baseball. The 2019 Championship was held September 7–15, 2019, in Bonn and Solingen, Germany. The tournament contributed ...

, and at the Africa/Europe 2020 Olympic Qualification tournament in Italy in September 2019.

Career

Seattle Mariners

On August 26, 2013, de Blok signed a minor league contract with the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

organization. However, on April 17, 2014, de Blok retired from professional baseball without playing in a game for the organization.

Mr. Cocker HCAW

de Blok came out of retirement to join Mr. Cocker HCAW for the 2014 season, a team in 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 Softball ...

, the top baseball league in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, where he posted a 3.20 ERA in 17 appearances.

Amsterdam Pirates

The following season, de Blok joined the

Amsterdam Pirates Amsterdam Pirates is a Dutch baseball and softball organization based in Amsterdam. It was founded as an expansion of the football club SV Rap on 17 February 1959 by Loek Loevendie. In the first years it was known as the RAP Pirates, but after a ...

, where he posted a 4-0 record and 1.54 ERA in 20 games with the team. After the season, de Blok was offered a tryout 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 ...

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), the top baseball league in

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 ...

. After the tryout de Blok decided to return to the Pirates. That season, he recorded a 5-0 record and 0.88 ERA with 43 strikeouts in 41.0 innings of work.

Detroit Tigers

After a good performance 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 ...

, de Blok signed a four-year minor league deal with the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

organization on April 10, 2017. He made his affiliated debut for the Low-A

Connecticut Tigers The Norwich Sea Unicorns are a baseball team located in Norwich, Connecticut. From 2010 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL) as the Class A Short Season affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They play th ...

, and after pitching 3.2 scoreless innings, was promoted to the Single-A

West Michigan Whitecaps The West Michigan Whitecaps are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Comstock Park, Michigan, a suburb of Grand Rapids, and play their home games at LMCU Ballpark. ...

, where he spent the rest of the season, posting a 4-2 record and 2.87 ERA with a 1.02 WHIP in 82 innings pitched. de Blok spent the 2019 season with Lakeland, recording a 2-13 record and 4.04 ERA in 21 games. de Blok did not play in a game for the Tigers organization in 2020 after the minor league season was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. On November 2, 2020, he elected free agency.

Amsterdam Pirates (second stint)

de Blok returned to the

following his stint with the Tigers organization after logging a 2.00 ERA in 5 games with the team in 2020. In 2021, de Blok posted a 3-2 record and 1.64 ERA in 6 games with the team. On May 14, 2021, de Blok threw the fourth perfect game in the history of the Dutch Major Leagues, defeating

Corendon Kinheim Kinheim is a baseball and softball team based in Haarlem, the Netherlands. The title sponsor of the club is currently ''Corendon'' so that the official name of the team is Corendon Kinheim. Kinheim baseball team plays in the Honkbal Hoofdklass ...

12-0 while striking out seven.

Pericos de Puebla

On June 27, 2021, de Blok signed with the

Pericos de Puebla The Pericos de Puebla (English: "Puebla Parrots") are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Puebla, Mexico. History The state of Puebla came upon baseball in the early 1920s when returning Poblanos that had come from militar ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

. He made just one start before he was released on July 8, 2021.

International career

de Blok was 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 ...

in the

.Teams release World Baseball Classic rosters , theScore.com
/ref> He played for Team Netherlands in the

, at the Africa/Europe 2020 Olympic Qualification tournament in Italy in September 2019.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blok, Tom de 1996 births Living people Sportspeople from Amstelveen Dutch expatriate baseball players in the United States Baseball pitchers L&D Amsterdam Pirates players Mr. Cocker HCAW players Connecticut Tigers players West Michigan Whitecaps players Lakeland Flying Tigers players 2016 European Baseball Championship players 2017 World Baseball Classic players 2019 European Baseball Championship players Pericos de Puebla players Dutch expatriate baseball players in Mexico