• Source: Loek van Mil

Ludovicus Jacobus Maria "Loek" van Mil (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈluk fɑ ˈmɪl]; 15 September 1984 – 28 July 2019) was a Dutch professional baseball pitcher. At the height of 7 feet 1 inch (2.16 m), he was and still is the tallest player in the history of professional baseball. He played for Curaçao Neptunus of the Honkbal Hoofdklasse and for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He also played for the Netherlands national baseball team, serving as the team's closer in the 2013 World Baseball Classic and the 2015 Premier 12. He also appeared in the 2007 Baseball World Cup and 2017 World Baseball Classic. He missed the 2008 Summer Olympics due to injury.




Early life


van Mil competed in judo from ages 4 through 7. When his mother encouraged him to join a team sport, he chose to play baseball, as he had played a similar game in his elementary school.
van Mil reached the height of 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) at age 12, and grew to 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) by 14 and 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) at the age of 15. He played as a catcher, until he became too tall to play the position and shifted to first base. At the age of 17, a coach decided to try Van Mil as a pitcher due to his strong throwing arm.




Professional career



van Mil made his professional debut with Dutch Honkbal Hoofdklasse club HCAW in 2005, pitching briefly for the team in 2006 as well.




= Minnesota Twins

=
van Mil signed a seven-year deal as a non-drafted free agent on 7 July 2005, with the Minnesota Twins. He first pitched in the United States in 2006 with the Rookie-levelGulf Coast League Twins. He had a 1–2 record, with a 3.30 ERA in 10 games, eight of them starts.
In 2007, the right-hander had a 2–2 record, with a 2.63 ERA in 13 relief stints for the Elizabethton Twins of the Rookie-level Appalachian League In 24 innings pitched, he walked 17 batters and struck out 23 batters.
van Mil pitched for the Beloit Snappers of the Class A Midwest League in 2008. He had a 2–2 record with 3 saves and a 3.22 ERA and 42 strikeouts in his first 44+2⁄3 innings, making the Midwest League All-Star game. He suffered a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right arm while preparing for participation in the 2008 Summer Olympics and missed the first seven weeks of the 2009 season while rehabilitating.
van Mil began his 2009 season in late May with the Fort Myers Miracle, playing in the Class A-Advanced Florida State League. Later that year, he was promoted to the Double-A New Britain Rock Cats. He finished the season with a 1–1 record and a 2.79 ERA in 42 games between the two clubs, 25 games out of the bullpen with Fort Myers with a 2.86 ERA and another 8 games with New Britain for a 2.45 ERA. On 20 November 2009, he was added to the Twins' 40-man roster.
van Mil began the 2010 season with Fort Myers. He was designated for assignment by the Twins to open a roster spot for newly acquired Brian Fuentes on 27 August 2010.




= Los Angeles Angels

=
van Mil was announced as the player to be named later going to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the Brian Fuentes trade on 1 September 2010. He was on the Angels' 40-man roster for one day before being optioned down to the Double-A Arkansas Travelers, pitching just one inning the remainder of the season.
With the Travelers in 2011, van Mil had a 3–5 record and 2.04 ERA in 66+1⁄3 innings across 30 games. He began the 2012 season with the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees, where he had a 1–0 record and 6.30 ERA in 8 games out of the bullpen.




= Cleveland Indians

=
On 5 May 2012, the Angels traded van Mil to the Cleveland Indians for future considerations. The Indians assigned him to the Akron Aeros of the Double-A Eastern League.




= Cincinnati Reds

=
van Mil signed a minor league contract with the Cincinnati Reds on 14 December 2012. He pitched in 48 games for the Double-A Pensacola Blue Wahoos, posting an 0–9 record, 3.38 ERA, and 8 saves. He finished the season pitching three teams for the Triple-A Louisville Bats.




= Rakuten Golden Eagles

=
van Mil signed a one-year deal with the Rakuten Golden Eagles of Nippon Professional Baseball in early 2014. He spent most of the year with Rakuten's farm team. He pitched 8+2⁄3 innings over seven games for the Golden Eagles, with a 4.15 ERA.




= Curaçao Neptunus

=
In March 2015, van Mil agreed to a one-year contract with Curaçao Neptunus in the Dutch Honkbal Hoofdklasse. van Mil was also named to Team Europe's roster for the 2015 Global Baseball Matchup against Japan.




= Return to the Minnesota Twins

=
On 29 July 2015, he re-signed with the Minnesota Twins who originally signed him in 2005. van Mil pitched for the Twins' Triple-A affiliate, the Rochester Red Wings, debuting on 2 September 2015 with 2 scoreless innings in relief in his first action stateside since 2013. He had two more scoreless appearances for the Red Wings in 2015.
van Mil started the 2016 season in Rochester, but his performance was notably worse. On 10 April, he gave up four runs in 1+2⁄3 innings with a strikeout against Pawtucket, 4–9. On 25 April 2016, he was released by the Minnesota Twins. van Mil had allowed 15 runs (14 earned) in 5+1⁄3 innings over his five appearances, including one start, with Rochester.




= Australia

=
van Mil played winter league baseball in the Australian Baseball League with the Adelaide Bite for the 2015–16 and 2017–18 seasons before signing with the Brisbane Bandits for the 2018–19 season.




Dutch national team


van Mil joined the Netherlands national baseball team for the first time for the 2007 Baseball World Cup. He pitched in 48 games for the Netherlands.
van Mil was selected for the Dutch team competing in the 2008 Summer Olympics. However, he returned home before the competition after partially tearing the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow during training in Beijing.
He pitched for the Netherlands in the 2013 World Baseball Classic and 2017 World Baseball Classic. In what NBC reported was thought to be the tallest batter-pitcher matchup in baseball history, the 7-foot-1-inch (2.16 m) van Mil walked 6-foot-8-inch (2.03 m) Nate Freiman of Israel in a game on 9 March 2017.




Scouting report


van Mil threw a fastball that averaged 95 miles per hour (153 km/h), which had been recorded as fast as 99 miles per hour (159 km/h). He also threw a slider and a change-up.
van Mil was 7-foot-1-inch (2.16 m) and weighed 240 pounds (110 kg). He was one of the tallest players in the history of professional baseball, along with former Minor League Baseball reliever Ryan Doherty. His height provided an advantage, because his release point when pitching was closer to hitters, giving them less time to react.




Accident and death


During a December 2018 series against the Canberra Cavalry, van Mil went bushwalking without his teammates near Canberra. During his hike, he slipped and hit his head on rocks. He was unconscious for about 24 hours before being woken up by kangaroos and attracted the attention of another hiker, who drove him to a hospital. He was diagnosed with 14 fractures, a ruptured eardrum, and bleeding on the brain. He was cleared to return to baseball in January 2019, in time to help the Brisbane Bandits win the 2019 Claxton Shield.
van Mil died on 28 July 2019, with a statement from the Royal Netherlands Baseball and Softball Federation attributing his death to a fatal accident. One week earlier, he had announced his retirement from baseball to focus on his recovery.




References






External links


Career statistics from MLB, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
Van Mil's profile at honkbalsite.com (in Dutch)
Loek van Mil, one of tallest baseball players ever at 7-foot-1, dies from 'fatal accident' (Loek van Mil Obituary at USA Today)

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