Yurendell Eithel DeCaster (born September 26, 1979) 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 ...

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

. He played part of one season in

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), ...

with the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

. 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

Originally signed by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays as a free agent in 1996, DeCaster was selected by the

from Tampa Bay in the 2000

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

phase of the Rule 5 draft. DeCaster was one of just three players to hit three home runs in the

2004 Summer Olympic Games The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

Athens, Greece Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, while playing for 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 ...

team. He spent the entire 2005 season with Triple-A

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which open ...

, where he made 28 appearances at third base, 25 at

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 ...

, 13 at second base and 58 in the outfield. He posted a .280 batting average with 11

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 ...

s and 61 RBI, and also led his club in

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Basebal ...

(122) and doubles (31). Besides, he had a productive 2005–2006 season while playing for the Caribes de Anzoátegui of the

Venezuelan Winter League The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League or Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP) is the professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Early years Baseball exp ...

, when he batted .325 (68-for-209) with 17 home runs and 47 RBI in just 60 games. His 17 home runs tied him with Tom Evans for the league lead. In 2006, DeCaster returned to Indianapolis, with whom he spent most of the season. In 119 games with the Indians, he batted .273 with 11 home runs and 51 RBI. He was called up to the Pirates twice, from May 21–24 and June 5–13, and appeared in three games. He struck out in both of his at-bats in the majors. He was released on December 9, 2006, but came back to Pittsburgh in 2007 and spent the whole season in the minor leagues with them. On November 27, 2007, DeCaster signed a minor league contract with the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

that included an invitation to the 2008

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

. He then was assigned to the Double-A Harrisburg Senators of the Eastern League to begin the regular season, becoming a free agent at the end of the season. In February 2009, DeCaster signed a minor league contract 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 ...

, but was released in April. He began the 2009 season with the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks of the

Northern League Northern League may refer to: Sport Baseball * Northern League (baseball, 1902–71), a name used by several minor leagues that operated in the upper midwestern U.S. and Manitoba from 1902 to 1971 * Northern League (baseball, 1993–2010), an indep ...

, but on June 29, 2009, DeCaster's contract was purchased by the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

, who assigned him to the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees. He was released on September 2. He later played with the

Reynosa Broncos The Reynosa Broncos (''los Broncos de Reynosa'') were a Mexican team that played in the Adolfo Lopez Mateos stadium in the city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas. The Broncos de Reynosa played in the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol and it was part of the Zona Nor ...

of the Mexican League in 2010 and 2011, collecting a .339 average in 101 games for them in his season debut. He entered 2012 with the

Olmecas de Tabasco The Olmecas de Tabasco (English: Tabasco Olmecs) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico. Their home ballpark is the Estadio Centenario 27 de Febrero. The Olmecas won their only Mexican Leag ...

, before joining the independent

Winnipeg Goldeyes The Winnipeg Goldeyes are a minor-league baseball team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Goldeyes play in the American Association of Professional Baseball, which they joined in 2011. Previously, the Goldeyes were members of the Northern ...

of the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

during the midseason. He won the league championship, as the Goldeyes swept the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks in the first round, 3 games to 0, and did the same with the

Wichita Wingnuts The Wichita Wingnuts were an independent baseball team based in Wichita, Kansas, in the United States. The Wingnuts were members of the South Division of the American Association of Professional Baseball. An expansion franchise in the 2008 seas ...

in the championship finals 3 games to 0. DeCaster played with the Goldeyes for the 2013 season as well.

International career

DeCaster was on the preliminary roster for the

2009 Baseball World Cup The 2009 Baseball World Cup (BWC) was the 38th 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 ...

. DeCaster has played for the Netherlands national team in the

World Baseball Classic The World Baseball Classic (WBC) is an international baseball tournament sanctioned from 2006 to 2013 by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and after 2013 by World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) in partnership with Major Leagu ...

during the

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, and

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

tournaments. And also he was named to the Dutch roster for the ,

2014 European Baseball Championship The 2014 European Baseball Championship was an international baseball tournament held in the Czech Republic and Germany. The defending champion Italy lost in the final to the Netherlands, who became champion for the 21st time. Qualification Th ...

2015 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 Ha ...

2015 WBSC Premier12 The 2015 WBSC Premier12 was an international baseball championship sponsored by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), the inaugural event of the WBSC Premier12. It was held from November 8 to 21 in Taiwan and Japan. The South Korean ...

2016 Haarlem Baseball Week The 2016 Haarlem Baseball Week was an international baseball competition held at the Pim Mulier Stadium in Haarlem, the Netherlands from 15–24 July 2016. It was the 28th edition of the tournament. In the final the Netherlands won over Japan, ...

, , and the

2016 European Baseball Championship The 2016 European Baseball Championship was an international baseball tournament organized by Confederation of European Baseball. The 2016 European Championship was held from September 9 to 18, 2016 in Hoofddorp, Netherlands. It was organized by t ...

. In the 2009 WBC edition, he lined a ball hard off of first-baseman

Willy Aybar Willy Del Jesus Aybar Marquez (born March 9, 1983) is a Dominican former professional baseball infielder. He previously played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves and Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He is the older brother ...

(credited an error) to score the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning in his team's second game against the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

team, securing the Netherlands a second-round berth in Pool 2. For the 2012/13 season of the Nicaraguan Professional Baseball League, he played with

Tigres del Chinandega The Tigres del Chinandega are a baseball team competing in the Nicaragua Professional Baseball League, Nicaragua's professional baseball league. References Nicaraguan Professional Baseball League {{Baseball-team-stub ...

and won the Triple Crown when he hit .417 and had 13 home runs and 56 RBI. DeCaster returned to Winnipeg in 2013 and ended the year with the Acereros de Monclova. He combined for a .315 average in 94 games for both teams, including 13 homers, 64 RBI, and 171 total bases for a .461

slugging average In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at bats for a given player, a ...

. He played for Team Netherlands in the

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

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 ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Decaster, Yurendell 1979 births Living people Acereros de Monclova players Águilas del Zulia players Curaçao expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Algodoneros de Guasave players Altoona Curve players Baseball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Baseball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Bravos de Margarita players Broncos de Reynosa players Caribes de Oriente players Charleston RiverDogs players Columbus Clippers players Curaçao expatriate baseball players in Canada Curaçao expatriate baseball players in Mexico Curaçao expatriate baseball players in the United States Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks players Gulf Coast Devil Rays players Harrisburg Senators players Hickory Crawdads players Indianapolis Indians players Lynchburg Hillcats players Major League Baseball players from Curaçao Mayos de Navojoa players Mexican League baseball first basemen Mexican League baseball left fielders Mexican League baseball right fielders Mexican League baseball second basemen Mexican League baseball third basemen Olmecas de Tabasco players Olympic baseball players of the Netherlands Piratas de Campeche players Pittsburgh Pirates players Princeton Devil Rays players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees players Winnipeg Goldeyes players 2006 World Baseball Classic players 2009 World Baseball Classic players 2013 World Baseball Classic players 2016 European Baseball Championship players 2017 World Baseball Classic players 2019 European Baseball Championship players Curaçao expatriate baseball players in Nicaragua