Joop Geurts (February 20, 1923 – February 26, 2009) was a Dutch

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

baseball player Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

for Schoten Haarlem of the Hoofdklasse Honkbal or Major League Baseball in

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

. He was also a member of the

Netherlands national baseball team The Netherlands national baseball team is the national baseball team of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, representing the country in international men's baseball. They are the best-ranked team in the WBSC Europe, Europe, and WBSC World Rankings, ...

Career

Geurts made his debut in the Dutch national team in 1938 as a catcher, at only 15 years of age. In 1957 he was named

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

of the Main Class. Between 1956 and 1960 he captured the European title four times with the Dutch team. Geurts appeared in 36 games over 23 years for the national team. In 1956 he was part of the selection that came out for the first time against the United States team and was also named a

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

. Geurts was also known by the so-called "ball incident" of 1948 with American ambassador Baruch. The ambassador was invited to throw the first ball at the start of the main class baseball season. Baruch threw the ball to Geurts, who then offered it to the members of the baseball league board that were present. They said they had no interest in the ball and that Geurts could keep it. Geurts asked the ambassador to sign the ball. However, a few days later, the league officials changed their mind and asked for the ball from Geurts. However, he refused because the league representatives had originally told him that he could keep the ball. A scandal arose and Geurts decided to travel to the embassy and asked Baruch to sign a second ball. At an open meeting to decide the fate of Geurts' in this matter, the latter showed the two signed balls and asked the league officials to choose one, which he gave to the leagues, while keeping the other one. Years later, Geurts was asked by the administrators of the National Baseball Museum if he still had the ball in question. He sent his son

Tom Geurts Tom Geerd Geurts (born in Dedemsvaart on April 2, 1964) is a Dutch economist currently employed by Bucknell University and an Honorary Professor at the Technische Universität Berlin. Current Chair of the Education Committee of the American Real E ...

to the attic to search and the ball was found. Ironically, the museum could not find their copy, so only one signed ball is exhibited at the museum today.

Death

Geurts died on February 26, 2009, at the age of 86 in

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English language, English) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the Provinces of the Nether ...

. Geurts had some health issues in the final years of his life, however the exact

cause of death In law, medicine, and statistics, cause of death is an official determination of the conditions resulting in a human's death, which may be recorded on a death certificate. A cause of death is determined by a medical examiner. In rare cases, an ...

was not released to the public.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geurts, Joop 1923 births 2009 deaths Dutch baseball players Baseball catchers Baseball players from Haarlem People from Avereest Sportspeople from Overijssel