Michael Duursma

Michael Duursma

Personal information
Full name	Michael Duursma
Date of birth	February 26, 1978 (1978-02-26) (age 33)
Place of birth	Heiloo, Netherlands
Playing position	shortstop, third baseman, right handed
Club information
Current club	Pioniers
National team‡
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2000-	Netherlands
† Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of August 5, 2008

Medal record
Men’s Baseball
Competitor for  Netherlands
Intercontinental Cup
Silver	2006 Taiwan	National team
European Baseball Championship
Gold	2005 Czech Republic	National team
Gold	2007 Spain	National team
Silver	2010 Germany	National team

Michael "Mike" Duursma (born February 26, 1978 in Heiloo) is a Dutch baseball player who currently plays for Pioniers and the Dutch national team. He is the brother of Mark Duursma and was one of the few Dutch players to play in NCAA Division I.^[1]

Duursma hit .343/.414 in 1999 as a sophomore for Cypress Community College; he had started at shortstop and as a freshman as well.^[1] Also in 1999, Duursma played for the Dutch team in the European Championship and was rated the best defensive player.^[1] He also was with HCAW in the Hoofdklasse and went 5 for 9 with 2 runs, 2 RBI, 2 doubles and a steal in a valiant effort in a losing cause in the 1999 Holland Series.^[1]

In 2000, he transferred to Purdue University. As a junior, he fielded .942 and hit .267/.367/.331. He was hit by a pitch 13 times, which at the time ranked second in school history behind Sean Helsel.^[1] He played for the Dutch team in the preliminary games for the 2000 Summer Olympics, but was not selected for the final squad that represented the nation in Sydney.^[1]

In his senior year, he started every game for Purdue at shortstop, usually hitting 9th. He fielded .938 and was called by the Purdue website arguably the best defensive shortstop in the Big Ten.^[1] He batted .298/.378/.416 and went 3 for 7 in the Big Ten Conference tournament. He made the All-Conference team as the top shortstop. Overall, he had hit .283/.351/.374 with Purdue.^[1]

Undrafted in the 2001 amateur draft, Duursma returned to the Netherlands with the Minolta Pioniers.^[1] He hit .340 in 2002 but did not qualify for the batting championship; he would have tied Percy Isenia for 4th in Hoofdklasse. He did tie for sixth with two triples.^[1] Duursma replaced Ralph Milliard on the Dutch national team for the 2003 World Port Tournament but saw limited action, going 0 for 2 with 3 runs, presumably used as a pinch-runner.^[1] He also was on the European Cup winners with Pioniers.^[1] In the Hoofdklasse he led in runs (43, 6 more than runner-up Milliard) and tied for 9th with 10 steals.^[1]

Duursma hit .328 in 2004, fifth in Hoofdklasse.^[1] He again led in runs (39, four more than René Cremer) and tied Johnny Balentina for sixth in hits (45) and led in steals (20 in 21 tries, two more SB than Milliard).^[1] He also went 0 for 4 against Japan in the 2004 Haarlem Baseball Week.^[1] He failed to make the final cut for the 2004 Summer Olympics as the Dutch team went with Evert-Jan 't Hoen, Milliard and Reily Legito on the middle infield.^[1]

In 2005, Duursma batted .307/.439/.346 and fielded .964. He was 10th in Hoofdklasse in average, fifth with 47 hits (one behind brother Mark), 6th with 24 RBI and tied for 7th with 9 steals.^[1] He led the 2005 European Championship with 14 walks in 10 contests; no one else had more than 9.^[1] He also played error-free ball at second base. In the 2005 Baseball World Cup, Duursma hit .302/.412/.395 with 12 runs in 11 games.^[1] During the 2006 World Baseball Classic, Duursma had the best average on the Dutch team, though he played in just one game. He went 2 for 4 with two strikeouts in the contest against Panama.^[1]

Duursma slipped a bit in 2006, hitting .274/.433/.306 with 12 steals in 13 tries and a .952 fielding percentage. He was still second in Hoofdklasse in runs, with 38, only two behind leader Balentina.^[1] He was 4th in the circuit in stolen bases. He led the league with 11 times hit by pitch and his 33 walks tied brother Mark for the lead.^[1] In the 2006 Holland Series, he hit .278/.409/.333 in a losing cause, leading the Series with two steals.^[1]

He was 4 for 15 with 4 walks and 3 runs in the 2006 Haarlem Baseball Week as the Netherlands took the title.^[1] In the 2006 Intercontinental Cup, Duursma batted .323/.432/.323. In the Gold Medal game, with the Netherlands down 3-2 in the bottom of the 10th, Duursma singled off of Frank Montieth, then scored on a double by Dirk van 't Klooster.^[1] The Dutch team got no closer but still won the silver medal.^[1]

Duursma batted .319/.440/.333 in 2007 Hoofdklasse, scoring 37 runs in 38 games. He tied for 10th in the league in OBP, was 4th in runs and tied for fifth with 25 walks.^[1] He hit .231/.286/.231 in the 2007 Holland Series; his 3 hits came in game one, in which he also had a crucial run-costing error. The Pioniers lost the Series to Kinheim.^[1] Duursma hit .143/.208/.286 and made two errors as the worst Dutch starting position player in the 2007 European Baseball Championship. The team still won the Gold and qualified the 2008 Summer Olympics.^[1] He was 3 for 16 with 4 walks in the 2007 World Port Tournament. Duursma struggled again in the 2007 Baseball World Cup, going 1 for 7 with a run and an error in three games as Roel Koolen took over as the main second baseman.^[1]

Duursma was selected by coach Robert Eenhoorn in the team that represents the Netherlands at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.^[2]

External links

• Duursma's profile at honkbalsite.com (Dutch)
• Michael Duursma @ Baseball Reference

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae} BR Bullpen: Michael Duursma, baseball-reference.com, ret: Aug 5, 2008
2. ^ Dutch Olympic Baseball squad 2008, knbsb.nl, ret: Aug 5, 2008

Persondata
Name	Duursma, Michael
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	February 26, 1978
Place of birth	Heiloo, Netherlands
Date of death
Place of death