Michael Steven Duursma (born 26 February 1978) is a Dutch former

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 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 ...

player who has played for

Pioniers Pioniers is a baseball and softball team based in Hoofddorp, the Netherlands. The club is currently sponsored by ''Worldwide Pharma Logistics,'' and the team is officially called Worldwide Pharma Logistics Hoofddorp Pioniers. Under previous spons ...

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 NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

Career

Duursma hit .343/.414 in 1999 as a

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of Post-secondary school, post-secondary educatio ...

for Cypress Community College; he had started at shortstop and as a freshman as well. Also in 1999, Duursma played for the Dutch team in the European Championship and was rated the best defensive player. He also was with

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 the

Hoofdklasse The Vierde Divisie (; "Fourth Division"), formerly known as Hoofdklasse () is the second-highest league of amateur football in the Netherlands, and the fifth tier in general. Background The league was divided into two sections: Saturday and Sunda ...

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 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 ...

. In 2000, he transferred to

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

. 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.He played for the Dutch team in the preliminary games for the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

, but was not selected for the final squad that represented the nation in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. 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. 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. Undrafted in the 2001 amateur draft, Duursma returned to the Netherlands with the Minolta Pioniers. 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. Duursma replaced

Ralph Milliard Ralph Gregory Milliard (born 30 December 1973) is a former Netherlands, Dutch baseball player and current baseball coach. Milliard represented the Netherlands national baseball team, Netherlands at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney where he and ...

on the Dutch national team for the 2003

World Port Tournament The World Port Tournament was an international baseball tournament held at the ''Neptunus Familiestadion'' in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The tournament was held every other year ( excluded) in odd-numbered years since , alternating with the Haarl ...

but saw limited action, going 0 for 2 with 3 runs, presumably used as a pinch-runner. He also was on the European Cup winners with Pioniers. In the Hoofdklasse he led in runs (43, 6 more than runner-up Milliard) and tied for 9th with 10 steals. Duursma hit .328 in 2004, fifth in Hoofdklasse. He again led in runs (39, four more than

René Cremer René (''born again'' or ''reborn'' in French) is a common first name in French-speaking, Spanish-speaking, and German-speaking countries. It derives from the Latin name Renatus. René is the masculine form of the name (Renée being the feminine ...

) and tied Johnny Balentina for sixth in hits (45) and led in steals (20 in 21 tries, two more SB than Milliard). He also went 0 for 4 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 ...

in the 2004

Haarlem Baseball Week The Haarlem Baseball Week (, before 2016 known as ) is an international invitation baseball tournament at the in Haarlem, Netherlands. It was first held in and has been held every other year in even-numbered years since . In December 2016, a ...

. He failed to make the final cut for the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

as the Dutch team went with

Evert-Jan 't Hoen Evert-Jan Axel Charles 't Hoen (born 8 November 1975 in Alphen aan den Rijn) is a Dutch baseball coach and former player who is the current manager of the Netherlands national baseball team. Playing career Minor League Baseball 't Hoen played ...

, Milliard and Reily Legito on the middle infield. 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. He led the 2005 European Championship with 14 walks in 10 contests; no one else had more than 9. 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. During the

2006 World Baseball Classic The 2006 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was the inaugural tournament between national baseball teams that included players from Major League Baseball. It was held from March 3 to 20 in stadiums in or around Tokyo, Japan, and the American cities o ...

, 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 Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

. 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. 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.In the 2006

, he hit .278/.409/.333 in a losing cause, leading the Series with two steals. He was 4 for 15 with 4 walks and 3 runs in the 2006 Haarlem Baseball Week as the Netherlands took the title. In the

2006 Intercontinental Cup The 2006 IBAF Intercontinental Cup was held in Taichung, Taiwan from November 9 through the 19th. Eight countries contested the tournament, which was played at Taichung Baseball Field and the newly built Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium ...

, 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 Dirk Gijsbertus van 't Klooster (born 23 April 1976) is a Dutch former baseball player. He is currently a coach for the Amsterdam Pirates of the Honkbal Hoofdklasse. Van 't Klooster represented the Netherlands at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydne ...

. The Dutch team got no closer but still won the silver medal. 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. 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 Kinheim is a baseball and softball club based in Haarlem, the Netherlands. Kinheim's top baseball team plays in the Honkbal Hoofdklasse, the top level of professional baseball in the Netherlands. The club's most successful period was in the ...

. 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 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 ...

. He was 3 for 16 with 4 walks in the

2007 World Port Tournament The 2007 World Port Tournament was an international baseball competition held at the DOOR Neptunus Familiestadion in Rotterdam, the Netherlands from August 2–12, 2007. It was the 11th edition of the tournament and featured teams from Chinese Ta ...

. Duursma struggled again 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 ...

, going 1 for 7 with a run and an error in three games as

Roel Koolen Roel Koolen (born April 20, 1982 in Mierlo) was a Dutch baseball player who used to play for Kinheim and the Dutch national team. Koolen made his Hoofdklasse debut at the Twins Sporting Club in 1998. He played for the Dutch junior team in ...

took over as the main second baseman. Duursma played for Dutch national team at the

2008 Haarlem Baseball Week The 2008 Haarlem Baseball Week was an international baseball competition held at the Pim Mulier Stadium in Haarlem, the Netherlands from July 4–13, 2008. It was the 24th edition of the tournament and featured teams from Chinese Taipei, Cuba, J ...

and batted .200 and led the team with 5 walks. Duursma was selected by coach

Robert Eenhoorn Robert Franciscus Eenhoorn (born February 9, 1968) is a Dutch former professional baseball player and manager. He played four seasons of Major League Baseball as a utility infielder for the New York Yankees and California/Anaheim Angels. On S ...

in the team that represents the Netherlands at the

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 ...

.Dutch Olympic Baseball squad 2008
, knbsb.nl, ret: August 5, 2008 During the 2008 season he batted .279 in Hoofdklasse and scored 34 runs in 38 games for Pioniers. In 2009, Duursma played for the Dutch national team which went on to upset the Dominican Republic at the

2009 World Baseball Classic The 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an International Baseball Federation, international baseball competition. It began on March 5 and finished March 23. Unlike in 2006 World Baseball Classic, 2006, when the Round-robin tournament, round- ...

. Duursma batted .260 in Hoofdklasse and scored 31 runs in 33 games while playing shortstop for Pioniers. At the

2009 World Port Tournament The 2009 World Port Tournament is an international baseball competition held at the DOOR Neptunus Familiestadion in Rotterdam, The Netherlands from July 2–12, 2009. It was the 12th edition of the tournament and featured teams from Chinese Taipei, ...

he played shortstop and second base and led the tournament with 10 walks in 8 games. Duursma struggled in 2010 when he batted .203/.309/.258 but had a .957 fielding percentage for Pioniers in de Hoofdklasse. Playing at the

2010 Haarlem Baseball Week The 2010 Haarlem Baseball Week was an international baseball competition held at the Pim Mulier Stadium in Haarlem, the Netherlands from July 9–18, 2010. It was the 25th edition of the tournament. On July 17, the Netherlands won the tournamen ...

he batted .294 as the Dutch national team took the title. In Germany, At the

2010 European Baseball Championship The 2010 European Baseball Championship was an international baseball competition held in Germany from July 23 to August 1, 2010. The tournament was originally set to be held in 2009 with Russia as host. In March 2008, the Confederation of Europ ...

he batted .273 with a home run while playing shortstop and second base. The Dutch lost the final against Italy. In 2011, Duursma batted .301/.451/.368 in the Hoofdklasse. His .451 OBP was 3rd in the league and his 32 walks was tied for 3rd in the league. He ended up scoring 33 runs in 39 games for Pioniers. Shortstop, Duursma, had a .963 fielding percentage. Pioniers went on to win the play-offs as Duursma went 12 for 29 for a .414 average and had a .528 OBP before struggling in the Holland Series as Pioniers lost to Amsterdam. Duursma was selected by coach Brian Farley for the

2011 World Port Tournament The 2011 World Port Tournament was an international baseball competition held at the Neptunus Family Stadium in Rotterdam, the Netherlands from June 23 to July 3, 2011. It was the 13th edition of the tournament. In the end, Chinese Taipei won it ...

and started at shortstop all 8 games while batting .261 for the Dutch. In 2012, Duursma batted .333/.465/.389 in 2012 while playing for Pioniers in Hoofdklasse. His .333 average was tied for 9th in the league, while his .465 on-base percentage was 3rd highest. He scored 30 runs and had 28 runs batted in and had a .963 fielding percentage at shortstop. His 10 sac bunts led Hoofdklasse. During the

2012 Haarlem Baseball Week The 2012 Haarlem Baseball Week was an international baseball competition held at the Pim Mulier Stadium in Haarlem, the Netherlands from July 13–22, 2012. It was the 26th edition of the tournament. In the final Cuba won over Puerto Rico, bec ...

he started all 7 games at shortstop for the Dutch national team. He led the tournament with a .429 average, going 9 for 21 and a tournament high .600 OBP. At the

2012 European Baseball Championship The 2012 European Baseball Championship was an international baseball tournament being held from September 7 to September 16, 2012. The Confederation of European Baseball selected the Netherlands to host the tournament. Qualification The follo ...

Duursma played third base as Italy went on to beat the Netherlands in the final.

References

External links

Duursma's profile at honkbalsite.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duursma, Michael 1978 births Living people 2005 European Baseball Championship players 2005 Baseball World Cup players 2006 World Baseball Classic players 2007 European Baseball Championship players 2009 World Baseball Classic players 2010 European Baseball Championship players 2014 European Baseball Championship players Baseball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Baseball players from North Holland Cypress Chargers baseball players Dutch expatriate baseball players in the United States Olympic baseball players for the Netherlands Purdue Boilermakers baseball players Sportspeople from Heiloo Konica Minolta Pioniers players Vaessen Pioniers players L&D Amsterdam Pirates players