Baseball & Softball Headlines - January 2002 (Grand Slam

Grand Slam

Baseball & Softball Headlines
January 2002

Compiled and Copyright © 1997-2002 by Marco Stoovelaar

Index News Archive JANUARY 2002

Miscellaneous
Site sets another record! (January 22)
Hans Meijer named Executive Director Head Office. (January 8)

Dutch Baseball
Marcel Joost honored. (January 25)
Tornado's add lefthanded pitcher. (January 17)
Storks celebrates 50th anniversary. (January 7)
ADO changes name. (January 6)

International Baseball
United States
USA: Hospitalized Hall of Famer Ted Williams respons well. (January 28)
USA: Prado named national team Head Coach. (January 26)
USA: Bonds carries Olympic Torch. (January 19)
USA: Wells returns to Yankees. (January 12)
USA: Ozzie Smith in Hall of Fame. (January 8)
Central America
Panamá: Ronner's wins title in four-game sweep! (January 28)
Panamá: Finals set to open. (January 24)
Nicaragua: Sandino throws No-Hitter. (January 23)
Nicaragua: Chinandega takes lead. (January 19-20)
Panamá: Regular season almost finished. (January 19)
Cuba: Two teams dominate season. (January 19)
Nicaragua: Moreno reach stolen base mark. (January 16)
Nicaragua: Tiburones win season opener. (January 12)
Cuba: Santiago wins season opener. (January 6)
Caribbean Play-Offs & Caribbean World Series.
Europe
Italy: Fraccari in Umpire Hall of Fame. (January 9)
Asia
Japan: Major League executive in Hall of Fame. (January 12)

Dutch Softball Women
Sparks wins award. (January 25)
American team wins International Indoor Tournament in Schiedam. (January 20)

New Archives
February 2002
March 2002
April 2002
May 2002
Specials

Miscellaneous

Site sets another record
AMSTERDAM (Neth.) - 'Grand Slam - Stats & News', the site you're visiting this moment, set another record on Tuesday. In the evening of January 22 it broke the site-record for most visitors in the month of January and there are still nine more days to go!
Last year, the site set a new record for most visitors ever in a complete year for the fourth consecutive year.
(January 22)

Opnieuw bezoekersrecord voor site
AMSTERDAM - 'Grand Slam - Stats & News', de site die u nu bezoekt, realiseerde dinsdag opnieuw een record. In de avond van 22 januari werd het bezoekersrecord voor de maand januari gebroken en er zijn nog negen dagen te gaan!
Vorig jaar realiseerde de site voor het vierde opeenvolgende jaar al een nieuw bezoekersrecord voor het gehele jaar.
(22 januari)

Hans Meijer named Executive Director Head Office
NIEUWEGEIN (Neth.) - The Board of the Royal Dutch Baseball and Softball Association announced it has named Hans Meijer Executive Director of the Association's Head Office, effective January 1. He already acted as interim-Director since September of last year.
Since 1986, Meijer was involved in swimming and was club-executive. From April 1999-October 2001 he was Treasurer of the Board of the Dutch Swimming Federation.
(January 8)

Nederlandse tekst

Dutch Baseball

Marcel Joost honored
HAARLEM (Neth.) - Veteran national team and Dutch big leaguer Marcel Joost was honored on Wednesday by the City of Haarlem during a Sports Gala.
The 41-year old outfielder/DH, who will play in his 23rd season this year, was presented a special medallion by the Municipality of Haarlem, the city where he plays with his team Kinheim. Last year, Joost homered his team to victory in the European Cup-final and made his comeback in the national team, participating in last years European Championship in Germany.
Joost was also nominated for Sportman of the Year of Haarlem, but was outvoted by Dennis van der Geest, who is a judo-player.
(January 25)

Tornado's add lefthanded pitcher

THE HAGUE (Neth.) - NTNT Tornado's, formerly known as ADO, announced it has acquired lefthanded pitcher Lester Victoria. In November last year, the 26-year old player from the Netherlands Antilles, made his debut in the Dutch national team, when he participated in the World Cup in Taiwan. During that event, he pitched in relief against Russia and Canada and was the starting pitcher vs. Japan.
Victoria has a professional background, as he pitched four seasons in the minor leagues of the Minnesota Twins-organization.
Earlier last year, Amsterdam Pirates had contacted Victoria, who was to be added to its roster in May, but that agreement was not finalized.
(January 17)

Nederlandse tekst

Special page World Championships 2001 at Taiwan

Storks celebrates 50th anniversary

THE HAGUE (Neth.) - Baseball and softball club Storks from The Hague is preparing for its 50th anniversary. The club was founded on January 15, 1952 by Henk Wortel, Cor Endlich, Jan Kieft and John Oosterbroek, who later became the Treasurer of the Board of the Dutch Baseball and Softball Association. Next Saturday-evening, January 12, the club will celebrate its 50th anniversary with a reception in its clubhouse. Every month, Storks plans a celebration, including a reunion on July 27, which must become a highlight. In fifty years, more than 4000 people were member of the club. One of the most famous members is politician and former Secretary of Internal Affairs Hans Dijkstal.
In 1967, the Storks-baseball team became the first from The Hague to play in the Dutch Major League. In that season, coached by Max Rietbergen (who passed away last year), the team finished in fourth place. 1967 was the first of nine seasons in the highest league, the first seven consecutively (1967-1973), the remaining two in 1975 and 1979. Storks played 237 games in the Dutch big leagyes.
1970 was its best season, finishing in second place behind champion Haarlem Nicols. Also in that season, Hudson John led the league in hitting, homeruns, RBI's and hits and was voted Most Valuable Player. Also, he became one of only five players in Dutch history to win the Triple Crown.
During its nine seasons, some of the best Dutch players played for Storks, including Roy Blijden, Ron Renooy, Rudi Dom, Ton de Jager, Fokke Jelsma, Ton Bodaan (who is still active as a senior big league-umpire), one of the best short stops ever Roy v.d. Dungen Gronovius and pitcher Win Remmerswaal, who went on to become the first-ever Dutch born and raised player to reach the American Major League as a pitcher with the Boston Red Sox. All these players also were members of the Dutch national team. In 1973, Remmerswaal threw a No-Hitter. Ton de Jager later coached the baseball squad and was named Coach of the Year in 1990.
Later, some talented youth-players were honored, including Lou Halkema, Jeroen Kwakernaak and Geza Kovacs, who now is a member of the Storks men softball team, which captured the Dutch title last year for the first time in club-history.
With 350 members, Storks is the biggest club of The Hague and the fifth in the country.
Grand Slam * Stats & News congratulates Storks with its anniversary!
(January 7)

Nederlandse tekst

ADO changes name
THE HAGUE (Neth.) - On Sunday, NTNT ADO announced it will change its name for the upcoming Major League-season into NTNT Tornado's. NTNT is the team's main sponsor. Last season, the second team of the club, playing in the First Division, already adopted this name. Also changing their name will be the juniorteam of the club.
The change was approved on Sunday by the members of the club from The Hague, which was known as ADO for the last 52 years. In a press realease it was stated that the name Tornado's was chosen for its strenghth and dynamic sound which fits with American sports. The new name is also important to attract spectators, new members and sponsors.
(January 6)

International Baseball

Panamá: Ronner's wins title in four-game sweep!
PANAMÁ CITY - On Thursday, January 24, the finals of the Liga de Béisbol Profesional de Panamá opened.

BEST-OF-SEVEN FINAL
Thursday, January 24: GAME ONE
PANAMÁ CITY - League-leader Ronner's Carta Vieja opened the final series with a narrow 2-1 win vs. Cerveza Panamá Canaleros, which was leading 1-0 after six innings. In the sixth, José Macias scored on an error by the catcher.
In the seventh, Ronner's tied the score, then added the winning run in the eighth. Héctor Luna and John Fitzgerald signed for the respective runscoring hits. Pitchers Miguel Gómez and Bienvenido Cedeńo, who both played with the Panamanian national team during last November's World Cup, combined on a four-hitter. Gómez allowed the four hits in seven innings, while reliever Cedeńo pitched two perfect innings to earn the victory.

Friday, January 25: GAME TWO
PANAMÁ CITY - Ronner's also won Game Two with a one-run margin, beating Canaleros, 3-2 on eleven hits, led by hitters Michelle Hernández, Alph Coleman and Tony Medrano. José Vargas won the game in relief, as Ronner's broke a 2-2 tie in the eighth.

Saturday, January 26: GAME THREE
PANAMÁ CITY - Ronner's took a 3-0 Series lead after shutting out Canaleros, 4-0 on nine hits. Winning pitcher Bienvenido Cedeńo went the distance, pitching a two-hitter and striking out seven. Ronner's is now one win shy of the Panamanian championship.

Sunday, January 27: GAME FOUR
PANAMÁ CITY - Ronner's del Carta Vieja beat Canaleros de Cerveza Panamá, 6-1, to complete a four-game sweep and win the Panamanian championship. Julio Rangel and Alberto Blanco did the pitching for Ronner's, which took a 1-0 lead in the first when Covelli Crisp doubled and scored on a sacrifice by Antony Medrano. In the fourth, Ronner's added four runs to secure the victory.

USA: Prado named national team head coach

TUCSON (USA) - USA Baseball announced it has named Lelo Prado this years Head Coach for the national USA-team of collegiate players.

Prado is in his seventh year as Head Coach of the University of Louisville Cardinals baseball team and was an assistant coach for Team USA in 2000. In 1997 he assisted during the Baseball USA Trials.
Team USA will play Japan in June and participate in this years Haarlem Baseball Week in July and the University Games in Italy in August.
The national professional team will play in the Intercontinental Cup in November in Cuba.
(January 26)

Nederlandse tekst

USA: Hall of Famer Ted Williams hospitalized
GAINESVILLE (USA) - On Thursday, it was announced that 83-year old Hall of Famer Ted Williams was hospitalized again. Last year, he received a pacemaker during open heart surgery. In 1994, he suffered a severe stroke.
In the following days, Mr. Williams was responding well to treatment for high temperature, below normal blood pressure and flu-like symptoms. As a result, he might soon be released from the hospital.
No furter details about the condition of Ted Williams, who played 19 seasons for the Boston Red Sox, were released.
(January 24-28)

Panamá: Finals set to begin
PANAMÁ CITY - League-leader Ronner's Carta Vieja and second place Cerveza Panamá will play the final series in the Panama Professional League, starting on Thursday.
On Wednesday, the regular season was completed with Ronner's beating Cerveza Panamá, 3-2. In the evening, Panamá won 2-1 vs. Tiburones.
At the conclusion of the 42-game season, Olmedo Sáenz, who plays for the Major League Oakland A's, was voted Most Valuable Player. The player of Macheteros de Azuero hit .331 in 39 games with 44 hits, including five homeruns and 20 RBI's.
(January 24)

Nicaragua: Sandino throws No-Hitter
MANAGUA - On Tuesday, pitcher Diego Sandino from Indios del Bóer wrote history in the Nicaraguan Professional League, throwing a No-Hit shutout vs. Estelí, 7-0. He missed a Perfect Game, as an error by second baseman Silvio Silva allowed only one batter to reach base. It was the first No-Hitter in the Nicaraguan league since Daniel Miranda pitched one on March 6, 1996. Veteran Nemesio Porras led Bóer to victory offensively, hitting a three-run homerun in the third.
(January 23)

USA: Bonds carries Olympic Torch
SAN FRANCISCO (USA) - Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants carried the Olympic Torch on Friday to conclude a relay in the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Area, which is part of the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Torch Relay.
The relay started on December 4 in Atlanta and will ends on February 8 during the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympic Winter Games at Salt Lake City.
(January 19)

Nicaragua: Chinandega takes lead
MANAGUA - Naranjeros de Chinandega beat Indios del Bóer, 7-5, on Friday, to take over first place in the Nicaragua Nacional League. In the game, played at Estadio Nacional Denís Martinez, winning pitcher Emiliano Sánchez dominated and was helped by outstanding play by middle-infielders Bayardo Dávila Montiel (short stop) and Jimy González Morales (second base). On Saturday, they beat Bóer, again 5-4.
In the first week of the new season, Chinandega won five of its six games.
(January 19-20)

Panamá: Regular season almost finished
PANAMÁ CITY - Ronner's Carta Vieja is the leader in the regular season in Panama, which ends next Tuesday. Ronner's leads the four-team league with 20 victories, after a 6-1 win vs. Tiburones-Atlas on Thursday.
Olmeda Sáenz, third baseman for the Major League Oakland A's, leads the league in hitting with a .333 average. He also leads with four homeruns.
All games in the Panamanian league are played in the Estadio Nacional de Beisbol in Panamá City. That was also the location of the All Star Game, which was played on Friday. Team Nacional beat Team Internacional 7-2.
(January 19)

Cuba: Two teams dominate season
SANTIAGO DE CUBA - Santiago de Cuba and Isla de la Juventud dominate the regular season, which opened January 6. Santiago de Cuba, with veterans Orestes Kindelán and Antonio Pacheco, leads Pool B of the Zona Oriental with seven victories. In Pool A, Villa Clara leads with five wins.
In the Zona Occidental, Isla de la Juventud is the best team in Pool A with seven victories and only one loss, while Sancti Spíritus leads Pool B with a 4-4 record.
The best hitter at the moment in the Serie Nacional de Beísbol is veteran Juan Manrique García, who has a .500 average (12-for-24). The catcher from Matanzas also leads with four homeruns.
(January 19)

Nicaragua: Moreno reach stolen base mark
GRANADA - Indios del Bóer veteran player Sandy Moreno, a member of the national team of Nicaragua, with whom he participated in last November's World Cup at Taiwan, reached a historic mark on Sunday.
In the eighth inning of the game vs. Tiburones del Granada, he became the first player in the history of the Nicaraguan Professional League to record his 400th career stolen base. Bóer won the game, 5-1 and the three-game series, 2-1.
(January 16)

Nicaragua: Tiburones win season opener
GRANADA (Nicaragua) - Tiburones del Granada opened the 2002 season in the Nicaragua Nacional Liga with a 4-2 victory over Indios del Bóer. The regular season in the six-team league ends April 13.
More than 6000 spectators saw veteran first baseman Nemesio Porras López hit a homerun for visiting Bóer, but in the fourth the home-team scored three runs, highlighted by a double by Jorge Luis Avellán and singles by Stanley Loáisiga and Álvero Acevedo.
(January 12)

USA: Wells returns to Yankees
NEW YORK (USA) - 38-year old lefthanded pitcher David Wells returned to the New York Yankees on Thursday after a three-year absence. In 1998, the year he pitched a Perfect Game, Wells was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for Roger Clemens, who he now joins in the pitching rotation.
'Boomer' signed a two-year deal and is happy to be back with the Yankees.
(January 12)

Nederlandse tekst

USA: Ozzie Smith in Hall of Fame
NEW YORK (USA) - On Tuesday, Ozzie Smith became the 36th player in history to be elected in the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibilty. Smith, nicknamed 'The Wizard of Oz' for his fabulous plays at short stop, received 433 votes or 91,7 percent of the ballots. Players needed 75 percent to be elected. Former catcher Gary Carter came only 11 votes short with 343.
Smith played 19 seasons in the Major League for the San Diego Padres (1978-1981) and St. Louis Cardinals (1982-1996), finishing with 2460 hits, 1257 runs and 580 stolen bases, but is most remembered for his defensive skills, being regarded by many as the best short stop ever. Smith committed only 281 errors in 12905 chances and won 13 Gold Gloves and played in 15 All Star Games.
Four other players received 200 or more votes: Jim Rice (260), Bruce Sutter (238), Andre Dawson (214) and Goose Gossage (203).
(January 8)

Nederlandse tekst

Cuba: Santiago wins season opener

SANTIAGO DE CUBA - The new season in the Cuban Nacional League went underway on Sunday. In the first game, Santiago de Cuba, which won the national title the last three seasons, played at home vs. Industriales and won 7-2.
Santiago broke a 1-1 tie in the second with one run, which was followed by a solo-homerun by Pedro Poll in the fourth. In the fifth, an RBI-triple by Yasser Gómez gave Industriales its second run. Santiago decided the game with a four-run sixth, helped by two errors.

Sixteen teams play in the Cuban Nacional League, divided in two leagues (Zonas) separated in two four-team divisions. It is the first time the season opens in January. The season start was delayed due to the World Championships in November in Taiwan.
(January 6)

Italy: Fraccari in Umpire Hall of Fame
LIVORNO (Italy) - Former international umpire and recently elected Italian Baseball and Softball Federation President Riccardo Fraccari is elected into the American Baseball Umpires Association Hall of Fame, together with four American umpires.
Fraccari will be inducted next Saturday during the fourth annual Hall of Fame Banquet of the ABUA in Dallas, Texas.
(January 9)

Japan: Major League executive in Hall of Fame
TOKYO (Japan) - Akihiro 'Ike' Ikuhara was posthumously elected in the Japan Baseball Hall of Fame on Friday, together with seven other former Japanese players or executives. Ikuhara is the first USA Major League executive to be elected.
Ikuhara, a Japanese native, joined the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1965 and was appointed Assistant to the President in 1982. He kept this position until 1992, when he passed away at age 55. Ikuhara is by many credited for his pioneering work and establishing international relations between the Major League and Asia.
The International BAseball Federation has named the award for the Most Valuable player at Youth Tournament after Ikuhara.
(January 12)

Nederlandse tekst

Dutch Softball Women

Sparks wins award
HAARLEM (Neth.) - Dutch champion Sparks was named Sports Team of the Year 2001 in the City of Haarlem on Wednesday.
Last year, Sparks not only won the championship, but also captured the CupWinners Cup.
Sparks-national team player Kim Kluijskens was named Most Promising Player of the City.
Also honored was Haarlem-based softball-umpire Cor van Nunen, who was named one of three Volunteers of the Year.
(January 25)

American team wins International Indoor Tournament in Schiedam
SCHIEDAM (Neth.) - American Red Stars won the Cup 2002 Indoor Tournament, winning the final on Sunday, 3-1 vs. Leafs, also from the USA. Terrasvogels finished in fourth place, losing 3-2 to Stars (USA).

On January 19 and 20, Schiedam organized the International Indoor Softball Tournament Cup 2002. This tournament was being held for the first time in The Netherlands. The event was staged the last seven years in Lyon (France), but the organization decided to change the location to The Netherlands, beause it is a more central place, so that more teams could participate. The indoor tournament was initiated by American Kirt Whiteside.
Participating in the two-day event were: Blue Stars, Eagles, Indians, Leafs, Red Stars, Stars and Stripes (all USA), National under-19 team from Great Britain, Flyrados (Switzerland), Almere '90, Euro Stars, MULO, Terrasvogels, Zwijndrecht and organiser Schiedam (all The Netherlands).
The Indoor Cup was opened by Jos Gieskens, President of the International Softball Federation, while Theo Reitsma, President of the Royal Dutch Baseball and Softball Association, attended the Closing and Award Ceremony.
Before the tournament, on Friday, January 18, Margo Jonker, coach of the USA 2000 Olympic softball-team, conducted a clinic.
(January 20)

Official website Cup 2002
Nederlandse tekst

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