Tio Daou Ballpark, Curaçao — Here are just a few of the crazy and wonderful things that happened during the Curaçao Baseball Week Home Run Derby on Friday night at Tio Daou Ballpark, Curaçao:
● Andrelton Simmons pitched to Jurickson Profar
● A dog with a reality TV show posed for photos with Japan’s Home Run King, Wladimir “Coco” Balentien
● “Bam Bam” Meulens came to the plate to the delight of the crowd and after two line drives off Simmons, parked one deep over the center field fence, -raised his bat to the crowd, and took a seat
● Andrelton Simmons served up dingers to Profar (!!!!), Coco Balentien and Andruw Jones
● Jurickson Profar threw batting practice for Jonathan Schoop, Balentien and Jones
The first annual Curaçao Baseball Week has brought some of the island’s best talent back home for a week of baseball activities, culminating in Friday night’s showcase event — a Home Run Derby featuring Japan Home Run Champion Wladimir “Coco” Balentien, MLB veteran slugger Andruw Jones, Rangers’ second baseman Jurickson Profar, O’s infielder prospect Jonathan Schoop and his older brother Sharlon Schoop. Spoiler alert: it was a baseball party of awesome.
Here’s Coco Balentien going deep, to the delight of the over 2,000 Curaçao fans in attendance:
The players from this small Caribbean island are like family. Every event — whether a coaching clinic, a game or even a casual get-together — turns into some sort of game. Smiles and laughter abound. It’s like watching a family reunion where the backyard happens to be a baseball diamond. Friday night’s Home Run Derby (and exhibition softball game that followed) was no exception. Before the festivities began, Didi Gregorius, Hainley Statia and a few other infielders played hot potato with the glove and baseball. How’s your hand-eye coordination these days?
Andrelton Simmons, who used to pitch and would love to take the mound in a Braves game if manager Fredi Gonzalez would let him, served up many dingers, including this monster shot to Andruw Jones:
Though everybody was having fun, the Home Run Derby was still a competition. Balentien under performed (perhaps there was too much pressure on the Japanese Home Run King or he might have just been exhausted from a week of being fêted all over the island and interviewed by everybody in town). O’s top infielder prospect Jonathan Schoop (one home run in 14 career major league at-bats) moved through the preliminary rounds easily, knocking off favorite Andruw Jones in the semis and displaying a quick wrist and lots of pop on his way to the finals, where he faced older brother Sharlon (recently signed by the Orioles).
The younger Schoop closed out his crowd-pleasing performance with a bat flip on his final home run that would have made Yasiel Puig proud. He followed up his Home Run Derby win with a two-run home run in the exhibition softball game that followed. It was the perfect way to cap off a fun and crazy Curaçao Baseball Week.
