Tio Daou Ballpark, Curaçao — For three days this week, Curaçao’s Tio Daou Ballpark has been transformed from the host ballpark of the Santa Rosa Indians to a veritable field of dreams for aspiring baseball players from the small Caribbean island which has developed some of the top talent in the game today. Thanks to the first annual Curaçao Baseball Week, over 1,200 local youth have the opportunity to work with MLB stars and Curaçao baseball legends one on one.
On this hot Wednesday afternoon, over 125 Little League players ages 10 and 11 worked on defensive drills with Atlanta Braves’ Gold Glove winning shortstop Andrelton Simmons, learned tips on outfield positioning from ten-time Gold Glove winner Andruw Jones, turned double plays with Arizona Diamondbacks’ shortstop Didi Gregorius, and got batting advice from San Francisco Giants’ hitting coach Hensley “Bam Bam” Meulens.
“It means everything. I'm the first. I'm the oldest. There was nothing like this growing up,” Meulens, the first Curaçaoan to make the major leagues, said. “There are so many of us achieving at a high level. We have so much knowledge now and we want to give back and [teach] the importance of playing the game the right way.”
Curaçao Baseball Week has brought some of the island’s best talent back home for a week of baseball activities — starting with three days of clinics with kids ages 7 to 18 and culminating in a Home Run Derby (featuring Japan Home Run Champion Wladimir “Coco” Balentien) and exhibition softball game at Tio Daou Ballpark on Friday night. But during the defensive drills session with the 10 and 11-year olds, it wasn’t just the Little Leaguers who were impressed with the major league talent. The feeling was mutual.
“I'm not gonna lie. There is a lot of talent here,” Gregorius said. “I was surprised. These are 10, 11-year old kids. And to have a cannon for an arm? We are all impressed.”
Robert Eenhoorn, the Technical Director for the Royal Dutch Baseball and Softball Association (KNBSB), stood off to the side, observing the infield defensive drills led by Simmons, Gregorius and Rangers’ prospect Jurickson Profar.
Eenhoorn, who played parts of four seasons with the Yankees and Angels in the 1990’s and managed the Netherlands national baseball team from 2001-2008, has been assessing baseball talent for well over a decade as he’s helped build the Dutch baseball program.
“All the talent, it’s amazing what I’ve seen,” Eenhoorn said about the Curaçao kids. “The older groups are still to come. But the way they move their feet, the way their arms work, it’s really eye-opening. I know that there’s great players but this is impressive. Seeing the third group, to me they’re ahead of their time. I see kids from nine years old all the time and then I see them here and there are some kids here where you go, ‘They’re nine? Are you kidding me?’”
While Simmons didn’t participate in large clinics like the ones during Curaçao Baseball Week, the 24-year old defensive whiz did benefit from working with infielder Hainley Statia, who hasn’t made the majors (he’s currently in the Brewers’ system), but is widely regarded as a top defensive player among Curaçaoans. Simmons coached the kids like an old pro, crouching down to show them proper positioning and providing positive reinforcement during the double play drills. The Braves’ shortstop, who might know a thing or two about defense, thinks the future is bright for Curaçao baseball.
“It’s getting bigger now and that’s a good thing,” Simmons said. “There’s a lot of talent. The only thing I feel like is they have to be more disciplined, more focused. They’re still kids, though, I understand, they have their friends around. They definitely have the talent.
“I see future big leaguers here.”
Photos and videos via Amanda Rykoff
