Ludovicus Jacobus Maria "Loek" van Mil (; 15 September 1984 – 28 July 2019) was a Dutch professional

baseball 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 ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. At the height of , he is one of the tallest people to play professional baseball. He pitched for the

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles The , often shortened as the , are a baseball team based in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. It has played in Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League since the team's formation in November 2004. The team is owned by the Internet shopping ...

of the

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

(NPB). He also played in

Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

for affiliates of the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, and

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

. He also pitched in professional leagues in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. van Mil pitched for 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, ...

in international competitions, serving as the team's closer in the

2013 World Baseball Classic The 2013 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, held from March 2 to 19, 2013. This was the third iteration of the WBC, following the two previous tournaments, held in 2006 and 2009. Unlike the tw ...

and the 2015 Premier 12. He also appeared in the

2007 Baseball World Cup The 2007 Baseball World Cup (BWC) was the 37th international Men's amateur baseball tournament. The tournament was sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation, which titled it the Amateur World Series from the 1938 tournament through th ...

and

2017 World Baseball Classic The 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, composed of 16 competing nations, held from March 6 to 22, 2017. It was the fourth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. The first-round hosts wer ...

. He missed the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

due to injury. van Mil died in 2019, several months after suffering a serious accident while hiking alone in Australia.

Early life

van Mil competed in

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

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 school. van Mil reached the height of at age 12, and grew to by 14 and at the age of 15. He played

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

until he became too tall to for the position and shifted to

first base A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

. At the age of 17, a coach decided to try van Mil as a

due to his strong throwing arm.

Professional career

HCAW

van Mil made his professional debut with Dutch

Honkbal Hoofdklasse The Honkbal Hoofdklasse ( Dutch for ''Major League Baseball'') is the highest level of professional baseball in the Netherlands. It is an eight-team league overseen by the Royal Netherlands Baseball and Softball Federation (KNBSB). Games are pl ...

club

HCAW HCAW (formerly known as Mr. Cocker HCAW ( sponsored name)), in full ''Honkbalclub Allen Weerbaar'', is a Dutch professional baseball and softball club from Bussum. As of 2024, the club has about 400 members, including 270 players. The club's top ...

in 2005, with a 2–3 record and 5.26 ERA in innings in the league. He also pitched in the European Champions Cup in Rotterdam. He pitched briefly for HCAW in 2006, as well.

Minnesota Twins

van Mil signed as an undrafted free agent on 7 July 2005, with the

. He first pitched in the United States in 2006 with the

Rookie-level Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National L ...

Gulf Coast League Twins The Florida Complex League Twins are the Rookie-level affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays in Fort Myers, Florida, at the Lee County Sports Complex. Prior to 2021, the ...

. He had a 1–2 record, with a 3.30 ERA in 10 games, eight of them starts. In 2007, he had a 2–2 record, with a 2.63 ERA in 13 relief appearances for the

Elizabethton Twins The Elizabethton Twins were a Minor League Baseball team of the Appalachian League and a Rookie-level affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They were located in Elizabethton, Tennessee, and were named for their Major League Baseball, major league aff ...

of the Rookie-level

Appalachian League The Appalachian League is a Collegiate summer baseball, collegiate summer baseball league that operates in the Appalachian regions of Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Designed for rising freshmen and sophomores using wooden ...

He walked 17 batters and struck out 23 batters in 24 innings. van Mil pitched for the

Beloit Snappers The Beloit Sky Carp are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Beloit, Wisconsin, and play their home games at ABC Supply Stadium. They previously played at Harry C ...

of the Class A

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

in 2008. He had a 2–2 record with 3 saves and a 3.22 ERA and 42 strikeouts in his first innings, making the Midwest League All-Star game. He suffered a partially torn

ulnar collateral ligament Ulnar collateral ligament (or UCL) may refer to: * Ulnar carpal collateral ligament * Ulnar collateral ligament of elbow joint The ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) or internal lateral ligament is a thick triangular ligament at the medial aspec ...

in his right arm while preparing for participation in the

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 The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Fort Myers, Florida, and play their home games at the Lee County Sports Complex at ...

, playing in the

Class A-Advanced High-A, officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing, is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A and D ...

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

. In August, he was promoted to the Double-A

New Britain Rock Cats The New Britain Rock Cats were a minor league baseball team that competed in the Eastern League (1938–2020), Eastern League. They were the Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox for 12 years, the Minnesota Twins for 20 years and the Colorado ...

. 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 A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

. van Mil began the 2010 season with Fort Myers. He was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

by the Twins to open a roster spot for newly acquired

Brian Fuentes Brian Christopher Fuentes (; born August 9, 1975) is an American former professional baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Seattle Mariners, Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Minnesota Twins, Oakland A ...

on 27 August 2010.

Los Angeles Angels

van Mil was announced as the

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

going to the

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

in the Brian Fuentes trade on 1 September 2010. van Mil was on the Angels' 40-man roster for one day before being optioned down to the Double-A

Arkansas Travelers The Arkansas Travelers, known informally as The Travs, are a Minor League Baseball team based in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The Travelers are the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners and play in the Texas League. Hi ...

. He pitched just one inning the remainder of the season. With the

Travelers Traveler(s), traveller(s), The Traveler, or The Traveller may refer to: People *Anyone engaged in travel Groups * Romani people, or Roma, or Gypsies, and their subgroups in various countries * Indigenous Norwegian Travellers * Irish Travellers ...

in 2011, van Mil had a 3–5 record and 2.04 ERA in innings across 30 games. He began the 2012 season with the Triple-A

Salt Lake Bees The Salt Lake Bees are a Minor League Baseball (MiLB) team that plays in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. Based in South Jordan, Utah, the team plays its home games at The Ballpark at Am ...

, 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 The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

for future considerations. The Indians assigned him to the

Akron Aeros The Akron RubberDucks are a Minor League Baseball team based in Akron, Ohio. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They play in Canal Park, located in downtown Akron, which seats 7,63 ...

of the Double-A Eastern League. In August, he was promoted to the Triple-A

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, merch ...

. With three teams in 2012, van Mil pitched in 41 games, with a 2–1 record, 3.20 ERA, 49 strikeouts, and 23 walks in innings. He elected free agency on 2 November.

Cincinnati Reds

van Mil signed a minor league contract with the

on 14 December 2012. He pitched in 48 games for the Double-A

Pensacola Blue Wahoos The Pensacola Blue Wahoos are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League (1964–present), Southern League and the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are based in Pensacola, Florida, and play their home ga ...

, posting an 0–9 record, 3.38 ERA, and 8 saves. He finished the season pitching three times for the Triple-A

Louisville Bats The Louisville Bats are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Louisville, Kentucky, and are named in dual reference to the bat, wi ...

Rakuten Golden Eagles

van Mil signed a one-year deal with the

Rakuten Golden Eagles The , often shortened as the , are a baseball team based in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. It has played in Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League since the team's formation in November 2004. The team is owned by the Internet shopping c ...

in early 2014. He spent most of the year with Rakuten's farm team. He pitched innings over seven games for the Golden Eagles, with a 4.15 ERA.

Neptunus

In March 2015, van Mil agreed to a one-year contract with

Neptunus Neptunus is a professional baseball and softball club in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Following its 2014 championship season, the club signed a sponsorship contract for the 2015 through 2017 seasons with Curaçao and competes under the name Cura ...

in the Dutch Honkbal Hoofdklasse. van Mil was also named to Team Europe's roster for the 2015 Global Baseball Matchup against

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Minnesota Twins (second stint)

On 29 July 2015, he re-signed with the Minnesota Twins. van Mil pitched for the Twins' Triple-A affiliate, the

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Fie ...

, 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 innings with a strikeout against Pawtucket. On 25 April 2016, he was released by the Twins. van Mil had allowed 15 runs (14 earned) in innings over his five appearances, including one start, with Rochester.

Dutch and Australian leagues

After the 2015 minor league season, van Mil pitched for Neptunus in the Hoofdklasse playoffs He then played

winter league baseball Winter league baseball is baseball contested in sports leagues during what is generally considered the baseball off-season. Background Annually, the highest level of professional baseball competition, Major League Baseball (MLB), begins with spri ...

in the

Australian Baseball League The Australian Baseball League (ABL) is a professional baseball league in Australia. The league is governed by the Australian Baseball Federation (ABF). It uses the same name as a now-defunct competition held during the 1990s, and though it s ...

with the

Adelaide Bite The Adelaide Giants are a professional baseball team that plays in the Australian Baseball League. They are one of the six foundation franchises of the league, in its first incarnation from 1989 to 1999. The team adopted the name Bite or Adelaid ...

, losing in the

Claxton Shield The Claxton Shield was the name of the premier baseball competition in Australia held between state-based teams, as well as the name of the trophy awarded to the champion team. From the summer of 1989–90 until 2001–02, and again since 2010� ...

championship series in early 2016. After he was released by Minnesota in April 2016, van Mil returned to Neptunus. He again played winter baseball with Adelaide. van Mil's 2017 Hoofdklasse season started late due to a back injury he suffered during the 2017 World Baseball Classic. Serving as the closer for Neptunus, he won the European Championship Cup and

Holland Series The Holland Series is the annual championship series of the highest level of professional baseball in the Netherlands. It is the conclusion of the postseason of Honkbal Hoofdklasse, played between the two winners of the league's playoffs. The serie ...

, being named the MVP of the Holland Series. van Mil played with the

Brisbane Bandits The Brisbane Bandits are a professional baseball team in Brisbane, Queensland that plays in the Australian Baseball League and is one of the six founding teams of the league. From the 2010/11 season till the 2012/13 season their home ballpark ...

for the 2018–19 Australian season, winning the Claxton Shield but also suffering a head injury while hiking.

International career

van Mil pitched the Netherlands national team in 48 games, beginning with the

. He earned 1 win and 2 saves with a 0.71 ERA as the Dutch finished fourth in the World Cup. van Mil was selected for in the

. However, he partially tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow during training in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

and did not pitch in the tournament. van Mil pitched in the

and

. In 2013, he pitched four scoreless innings over four games, earning one win and one save. In what may be the tallest batter-pitcher matchup in baseball history, the van Mil walked Nate Freiman of

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

in a game on 9 March 2017. van Mil suffered a back injury during the 2017 tournament. He again allowed no earned runs in the tournament, though he took the loss in the semifinal against

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

after giving up a sacrifice bunt and walk-off sacrifice fly to score an

inherited runner This is an alphabetical list of selected unofficial and specialized terms, phrases, and other jargon used in baseball, along with their definitions, including illustrative examples for many entries. 0–9 0 :"Oh and ..." See count. 1 ...

Scouting report

van Mil threw a

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch (baseball), pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. Its distinctive feature is its high speed. "Power pitchers," such as former major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, relied on the ...

that averaged , which had been recorded as fast as . He also threw a slider and a

changeup A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball, but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced spee ...

. van Mil was and weighed . He was one of the tallest players in the history of professional baseball, along with former

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 The Canberra Cavalry (nicknamed Cavs) were a professional baseball team from Canberra, Canberra, ACT, Australia. Established in 2010, the team was a founding member of the Australian Baseball League (ABL). The Cavs home ground was Narrabundah B ...

, van Mil went

bushwalking A hike is a long, vigorous walking, walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer tim ...

without his teammates near Canberra. During his hike, he slipped and hit his head on rocks. He was unconscious for approximately 24 hours before

kangaroo Kangaroos are marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use, the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...

s woke him up. He attracted the attention of another hiker, who drove him to a hospital. van Mil was diagnosed with 14 fractures, a

ruptured eardrum A perforated eardrum (tympanic membrane perforation) is a prick in the eardrum. It can be caused by infection (otitis media), trauma, overpressure (loud noise), inappropriate ear clearing, and changes in middle ear pressure. An otoscope can be ...

, and bleeding on the brain. He was cleared to return to baseball in January 2019, in time to help Brisbane 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 incident One week earlier, he had announced his retirement from baseball to focus on his recovery.

References

External links

Van Mil's profile at honkbalsite.com

Loek van Mil, one of tallest baseball players ever at 7-foot-1, dies from 'fatal accident'
(Loek van Mil Obituary at USA Today) {{DEFAULTSORT:Mil, Loek van 1984 births 2019 deaths 2013 World Baseball Classic players 2015 WBSC Premier12 players 2016 European Baseball Championship players 2017 World Baseball Classic players Adelaide Bite players Akron Aeros players Arkansas Travelers players Baseball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Baseball players from North Brabant Beloit Snappers players Brisbane Bandits players Columbus Clippers players Curacao Neptunus players Deaths from head injury Dutch expatriate baseball players in Japan Dutch expatriate baseball players in the United States Elizabethton Twins players Fort Myers Miracle players Gulf Coast Twins players Louisville Bats players Mr. Cocker HCAW players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers New Britain Rock Cats players Olympic baseball players for the Netherlands Pensacola Blue Wahoos players Sportspeople from Oss Rochester Red Wings players Salt Lake Bees players Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles players Dutch expatriate baseball players in Australia Neurological disease deaths in the Australian Capital Territory Accidental deaths from falls