Rob Cordemans

Rob ("Robbie") Cordemans (born October 31, 1974 in Schiedam, Zuid-Holland) is a Dutch baseball player, who competed in three consecutive Summer Olympics for the Netherlands, starting in 1996 (Atlanta, Georgia). Twice he finished in sixth place (1996 and 2004), once in fifth place (2000).

He pitched for the Netherlands in the 1996 Summer Olympics as a 21-year-old and had both of the club's wins, losing none despite a 6.94 ERA. Pitching in the US in '98, Cordemans had a 1.47 ERA for Indian River Community College, the 4th-lowest mark for a junior college pitcher in the US.

In 1999, Cordemans was 14-2 with a 2.20 ERA for the Honkbal Club Kinheim, leading Hoofdklasse in ERA (by 1.36) and wins. He won his first "Pitcher of the Year Award". The next season, the young right-hander went 8-4 with 94 strikeouts (4th-best) but was not among the win leaders. He helped his new Neptunus team to the European Cup title by fanning 11 Italian players in a complete game win. He was 1-1 with a 2.51 ERa in the 2000 Summer Olympics.

He was 10-2, 0.47 in 2002 and the top pitcher in the Netherlands. In '03, Cordemans was 12-1, 0.93 and won pitcher of the year honors. He led Hoofdklasse in ERA, wins and strikeouts (106 in 106 innings) to win the pitching Triple Crown for the champion Neptunus club.

Cordemans was the Holland Series MVP in 2004 after winning games one and four. He played in the Olympics for the third time, appearing for the Netherlands in the 2004 Summer Olympics. In '05, the 30-year-old veteran had another huge year (13-1, 0.77), winning yet another ERA title and tying for the lead in wins in being named "Pitcher of the Year" once again. During the 2005 Baseball World Cup, he went 2-1 with a 2.63 ERA and 17 K in 13 2/3 IP.

Pitching for the Netherlands in the 2006 World Baseball Classic, he fanned four but allowed four hits and two runs (one earned) in 2 2/3 IP. He joined ADO for the '06 campaign and went 9-3 with a 1.72 ERA and 127 strikeouts in 131 IP. He finished fourth in the league in ERA and led in strikeouts and innings in a drop-off from his recent performances.

Cordemans' play earned him a 6-week trial in the Uni-President Lions organization of Chinese Professional Baseball League in Taiwan for 2007. If he makes it into a CPBL game, he likely would be the first Dutch player to do so. Cordemans was released On 28 May 2007 and went 3-4 with 4.5 ERA.

References

* [http://www.sport.nl/overige/deelnemersfinder/ Dutch Olympic Committee]