- Loek van Mil
Infobox MLB player
name = Loek van Mil
width = 300
caption =
team = Minnesota Twins Class A Midwest League Affiliate
Beloit Snappers
number = 40
position = Pitcher
birthdate = birth date and age|1984|09|15
birthplace =Oss ,Netherlands
bats = Right
throws = Right
teams =
*Gulf Coast League Twins (by|2006)
*Elizabethton Twins (by|2007)
*Beloit Snappers (by|2008-present)
awards =
* Midwest League All-Star (by|2008)
*Netherlands Olympic Baseball Team (2008)Loek van Mil (born
September 15 ,1984 inOss ) is a Dutchbaseball player who currently plays forBeloit Snappers a Class Aminor league baseball team, affiliated with theMinnesota Twins , that plays in theMidwest League and the Dutch national team. [http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Loek_van_Mil BR Bullpen: Loek van Mil] , baseball-reference.com, ret: Aug 5, 2008]Van Mil debuted in the
Hoofdklasse in 2005 withHCAW , going 2-3 with a 5.26 ERA at age 20. He allowed 59 hits in 51 1/3 IP, struck out 34 and walked 24. He signed a 7-year deal in 2005 with theMinnesota Twins , though theSeattle Mariners had also shown interest. At 7' 1", the Twins had trouble finding pants that fit for his first spring training. Van Mil threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings for HCAW in 2006, spending most of the year with theGCL Twins . He was 1-2 with a 3.30 ERA in 10 games, 8 of them starts. In 2007, the tall right-hander had a 2-2, 2.63 record in 13 relief stints for theElizabethton Twins and held opponents to a .171 average, though he walked 17 in 24 innings. He struck out 23 batters.Van Mil joined the Dutch national team for the first time for the
2007 Baseball World Cup . He pitched 2 1/3 perfect innings in a save against the Venezuelan national team and threw three shutout frames for a save against the South Korean national team to keep the Dutch hopes alive for the quarterfinals; they would advance after they upset Cuba the next game. van Mil threw 3 2/3 scoreless frames against the host Chinese Taipei national team in the quarterfinals to help the Netherlands win again. van Mil pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings in the Bronze Medal game against the Japanese national team but was yanked after a walk to open the 8th and the runner came around to score. van Mil still finished the Cup with a 0.71 ERA, second toKenny Berkenbosch on the 4th-place Dutch team. He led the Netherlands with two saves. Van Mil throws a low to mid 90's fastball, a slider and a change-up.Van Mil was selected by coach
Robert Eenhoorn in the team that represents the Netherlands at the2008 Summer Olympics inBeijing . [ [http://www.knbsb.nl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1392&Itemid=174 Dutch Olympic Baseball squad 2008] , knbsb.nl, ret: Aug 5, 2008] . He returned home before the games started because of a injury at his right arm.External links
* [http://www.honkbalsite.com/nederlandsteam/loekvanmil.html Van Mil's profile at honkbalsite.com] nl
* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Loek_van_Mil Loek van Mil @ Baseball Reference]References
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