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Rick van den Hurk

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In this Dutch name, the surname is van den Hurk, not Hurk.
Rick van den Hurk
van den Hurk with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows
Pitcher
Born: (1985-05-22) May 22, 1985 (age 39)
Eindhoven, Netherlands
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
Professional debut
MLB: April 10, 2007, for the Florida Marlins
KBO: April 17, 2013, for the Samsung Lions
NPB: June 14, 2015, for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
Last appearance
MLB: October 3, 2012, for the Pittsburgh Pirates
KBO: October 14, 2014, for the Samsung Lions
NPB: May 28, 2021, for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows
MLB statistics
Win–loss record8–11
Earned run average6.08
Strikeouts179
KBO statistics
Win–loss record20–13
Earned run average3.55
Strikeouts317
NPB statistics
Win–loss record43–20
Earned run average3.78
Strikeouts547
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Henricus "Rick" Nicolas van den Hurk (Eindhoven, May 22, 1985) is a Dutch former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida Marlins, Baltimore Orioles, and Pittsburgh Pirates, in the KBO League for the Samsung Lions and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks and Tokyo Yakult Swallows. In international play, he was a member of the Netherlands national baseball team.

Early years

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At the age of 16, van den Hurk was scouted by Chicho Jesurun when playing for the Oosterhout baseball team Twins, where his father was coach. He went to Fort Lauderdale Preparatory School where he graduated in 2003.

Professional career

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Florida Marlins

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van den Hurk was signed by the Florida Marlins as an international free agent in 2002. van den Hurk made his professional debut with the GCL Marlins in 2003, pitching to a 2–6 record and 5.35 ERA in 11 games. In 2004, Van den Hurk logged a 2–3 record and 3.26 ERA in 14 games for the High-A Jupiter Hammerheads. He underwent ligament replacement surgery on his right arm in 2005 and pitched to a 2.83 ERA in 6 games between Jupiter and the Single-A Greensboro Grasshoppers. In 2006, van den Hurk started five games for the Gulf Coast League Marlins in rookie ball and three more games for the Jupiter Hammerheads of High-A. In the rookie league, van den Hurk allowed just two runs on four hits in 15 innings of work, while striking out 26 batters. With the Hammerheads, he allowed three earned runs on five hits through ten innings and striking out 15.[1] Prior to his major league debut in 2007, he had never pitched above Class-A.

On April 9, 2007, van den Hurk was promoted to the Marlins from the Double-A Carolina Mudcats when pitcher Ricky Nolasco was placed on the disabled list.[2] At the time of his debut, he was the youngest player in the National League. He made his first major league appearance on April 10, starting against the Milwaukee Brewers. A rain delay cut his debut short after 42⁄3 innings, in which he allowed one earned run on five hits, with five strikeouts and three walks.[3]

Van den Hurk with the Marlins in 2009

van den Hurk was sent back to Double-A after the team's April 24 loss to the Atlanta Braves. In his fourth appearance, he pitched just one inning while giving up six earned runs on four hits and four walks. Pitcher Nate Field was called up from Triple-A Albuquerque to take his roster spot.

On June 5, the Marlins called up van den Hurk to throw the second game of a double header. He went six innings without giving up a hit until Yunel Escobar hit a double to lead off the 7th inning. He did not give up a run and earned his first win.[4] He was sent again to Double-A on June 16.

During the 2007 midseason, van den Hurk was selected to the All-Star Futures Game for which he received the win. He finished his rookie season with a 4–6 record and 6.83 ERA in 18 major league appearances. He began the 2008 season with the Double-A Carolina Mudcats, and was later promoted to the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes. On July 22, 2008, he was recalled to the majors on to start against the Atlanta Braves. He finished the 2008 season with a 7.71 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 14.0 innings pitched for Florida. He was assigned to the Triple-A New Orleans Zephyrs to begin the 2009 season. He was brought up again to join the rotation on July 20, 2009 when the Marlins sent struggling left-hander Andrew Miller to the minor leagues. His first opponent was the San Diego Padres with van den Hurk coming away the winner that day in a 3–2 game. He finished the 2009 season with a 3–2 record and 4.30 ERA in 11 appearances with the Marlins.

During November 2009, van den Hurk pitched for Gigantes de Carolina of the Puerto Rico Baseball League, a Winter Baseball league. Van den Hurk made three starts going 0–0 with an ERA of 2.50 striking out 13 in 18 innings, while walking just one. He began the 2010 season with Triple-A New Orleans, and also made 2 appearances for the Marlins, surrendering 4 runs in 1.1 innings.

Baltimore Orioles

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Van den Hurk with the Baltimore Orioles in 2011

On July 31, 2010, van den Hurk was traded to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for Will Ohman.[5] He was assigned to the Triple-A Norfolk Tides. On August 16, van den Hurk was recalled to the major leagues, and logged a 4.96 ERA in 7 appearances for Baltimore. On March 30, 2011, van den Hurk was outrighted off of the 40-man roster.[6] He was assigned to Norfolk to begin the year, and pitched to a 9–13 record and 4.43 in 26 games. On September 1, van den Hurk was selected to the active roster, and pitched in 4 games, struggling to an 8.00 ERA. On January 24, 2012, van den Hurk was designated for assignment by Baltimore.[7] On February 3, 2012, he was released by the Orioles organization.[8]

Cleveland Indians

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On February 22, 2012 the Toronto Blue Jays signed van den Hurk to a split contract.[9]

van den Hurk was claimed off waivers by the Cleveland Indians on March 21, 2012,[10] but was designated for assignment by the team on March 29.[11] van den Hurk was subsequently ourighted to the Triple-A Columbus Clippers on April 4, 2012, but declined his minor league assignment and elected free agency two days later.[12]

Pittsburgh Pirates

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On April 11, 2012, van den Hurk signed a minor league contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization.[13] He was assigned to the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians, and also appeared in 1 game for the High-A Bradenton Marauders, recording a 14–5 record and 3.06 ERA in 22 appearances. Van den Hurk was promoted to the Pirates on September 10, 2012.[14] He appeared in 4 games for the Pirates, pitching to an 0–1 record in 22⁄3 innings. He was released on January 4, 2013 so he could pursue an opportunity in Korea.[15]

Samsung Lions

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On January 8, 2013, van den Hurk signed with the Samsung Lions of the Korea Baseball Organization for 2013.[16][17] On April 17, 2013, Van den Hurk made his KBO debut. In his first KBO season, he logged a 7–9 record and 3.95 ERA with 137 strikeouts in 143.2 innings pitched, and also won the Korean Series with Samsung. In 2014, Van den Hurk finished with a 13–4 win–loss record, a 3.18 ERA (lowest ERA in KBO), and a league-high 180 strikeouts over 1522⁄3 innings pitched. He won the Korean Series for the second consecutive year with Samsung and became a free agent after the season.

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks

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On December 26, 2014, van den Hurk signed a contract with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).[18] On June 14, 2015, van den Hurk made his NPB debut. In 2015, he made 15 starts for the SoftBank Hawks, compiling a perfect 9–0 record, with a 2.52 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. He struck out 120 batters in 93 innings pitched.

In 2016, in his second season with the Hawks, van den Hurk recorded 14 consecutive wins from his first game at Hawks. This was NPB's first record in 50 years.[19] He finished 2016 with a 7–3 record in 13 starts, with a 3.84 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP. He struck out 92 batters in 82 innings pitched.

On January 4, 2017, he was selected as the Netherlands national baseball team in the 2017 World Baseball Classic.[20] In 2017, van den Hurk played in 25 games with a record of 13–7 with an ERA of 3.24 striking out 162 in 153 innings pitched.[21]

In 2018, he finished the regular season with a 10–7 Win–loss record, a 4.30 ERA, a 127 strikeouts in 138 innings. In the 2019 season, van den Hurk finished the regular season with a two games with two wins. On November 29, 2019, van den Hurk signed a 1-year extension to remain with the Hawks.[22] In 2020, van den Hurk pitched to a 2–2 record and 6.92 ERA in 5 appearances for the Hawks. On December 2, 2020, he became a free agent.[23]

Tokyo Yakult Swallows

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On February 24, 2021, van den Hurk signed with Tokyo Yakult Swallows of NPB.[24] van den Hurk was released by the Swallows on September 22, 2021.

On April 22, 2022, van den Hurk announced his retirement from professional baseball.[25]

Post-playing career

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On May 14, 2022, van den Hurk was named the technical director of the Royal Netherlands Baseball and Softball Federation.[26]

References

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  1. ^ "Rick van den Hurk Minor, Winter, Korean & Japanese Leagues Statistics & History".
  2. ^ "Nolasco goes to disabled list". MLB.com. Retrieved April 9, 2007.
  3. ^ "Marlins, Brewers halted due to rain". MLB.com. Retrieved April 11, 2007.
  4. ^ "Right-hander allows one hit, notches first Major League win". MLB.com. Retrieved June 6, 2007.
  5. ^ "Marlins Acquire Will Ohman". July 31, 2010.
  6. ^ "Orioles Moves: Hendrickson, Riske, VandenHurk". March 28, 2011.
  7. ^ "Orioles Designate Rick VandenHurk for Assignment". January 24, 2012.
  8. ^ "Orioles Release Rick VandenHurk". February 3, 2012.
  9. ^ "Blue Jays Sign Rick VandenHurk". February 22, 2012.
  10. ^ "Indians Claim Rick VandenHurk". March 21, 2012.
  11. ^ "Indians acquire RHP Jairo Asencio". ESPN.com. March 29, 2012. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
  12. ^ "Rick VandenHurk Elects Free Agency". April 6, 2012.
  13. ^ "Pirates Sign Rick VandenHurk". April 11, 2012.
  14. ^ Meisel, Zack (September 10, 2012). "Bucs promote three, designate Meek for assignment".
  15. ^ "Minor Moves: Rick VandenHurk". January 5, 2013.
  16. ^ "NL Notes: d'Backs, Rafael Soriano, Posey, Marlins". January 6, 2013.
  17. ^ "Official: Rick van den Hurk joins Samsung Lions « Mister Baseball".
  18. ^ Adams, Steve; Todd, Jeff (December 26, 2014). "Minor Moves: Mitch Lively, Rick VandenHurk". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
  19. ^ "Sports Nippon baseball news (Japanese) バンデン日本記録の無傷１４連勝 堀内超え５０年ぶり更新". Sports Nippon (in Japanese). May 10, 2016. Retrieved October 12, 2019.
  20. ^ "Rick van den Hurk met Koninkrijksteam naar WBC". Honkbalsite. January 4, 2017. Retrieved October 12, 2019.
  21. ^ Organization., Nippon Professional Baseball. "van den Hurk, Rick（Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks） | Players". Nippon Professional Baseball Organization (in Japanese). Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  22. ^ "R.バンデンハーク投手との契約合意のお知らせ". 福岡ソフトバンクホークス 公式サイト (in Japanese). November 29, 2019. Retrieved December 22, 2019.
  23. ^ "2020年度 自由契約選手". NPB.jp 日本野球機構 (in Japanese). Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  24. ^ "新外国人選手獲得のお知らせ". 東京ヤクルトスワローズ オフィシャルサイト (in Japanese). February 24, 2021. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  25. ^ "Global Game: Dutch MLB, KBO, NPB pitcher Rick van den Hurk retires". wbsc.org. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  26. ^ "NPB and KBO champion appointed Royal Netherlands Baseball and Softball Federation technical director". insidethegames.biz. May 14, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
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