Rob "Robbie" Cordemans (born October 31, 1974) is a Dutch former

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. He batted and threw righthanded. Cordemans is best known for representing the Dutch national team at the Olympics and other international competitions. He pitched in 145 games in his career in the Dutch Major League and had a record of 87–14 with an ERA of 1.20. He attended

Indian River State College Indian River State College (IRSC) is a public college based in Fort Pierce, Florida, United States. Serving the Treasure Coast region, it is part of the Florida College System and offers associate and bachelor's degree programs as well as vocati ...

, where he was the 1997 Florida Junior College pitcher of the year, but he was not drafted out of college. He was a finesse pitcher, and he threw a mid- to upper-80s

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 ...

and an upper-70s

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 ...

. He played for Team Netherlands in the

2019 European Baseball Championship The 2019 European Baseball Championship was an international baseball tournament organized by the Confederation of European Baseball. The 2019 Championship was held September 7–15, 2019, in Bonn and Solingen, Germany. The tournament contribu ...

, and competed for it at the Africa/Europe 2020 Olympic Qualification tournament, in Italy in September 2019.

Career

Olympics

Cordemans was a fixture on Dutch baseball teams in international competitions over a decade. Most notably, he competed in four consecutive

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

for the Netherlands. He began his Olympic career as a 21-year-old pitcher for the Netherlands at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. Despite his lofty 6.94 ERA, Cordemans was the winning pitcher in both of the club's games during the preliminary round of the tournament. At the

2000 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

, Cordemans was 1–1 with a 2.51 ERA. Cordemans participated in his third Olympic competition during the 2004 Summer Games in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, Greece. His fourth appearance at the Olympic games would come during the 2008 Summer Games 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 ...

, China.

Hoofdklasse

During his debut season in the

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 ...

in , Cordemans won his first Pitcher of the Year award while playing for

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 ...

. His 14–2 win–loss record and 2.20 ERA led the league. Although Cordemans moved to perennial powerhouse

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 ...

for the season, he was not able to replicate his success from 1999 and his record declined to 8–4. However, his 94 strikeouts placed him fourth in the league, and an 11-strikeout complete game win over the Italians helped Neptunus to a European Cup title. In the season, Cordemans went 10–2 with a 0.47 ERA and earned his second Pitcher of the Year award.

2007: Taiwan

Cordemans had a trial for the

Uni-President Lions The Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions, stylized as Uni-President 7-ᴇʟᴇᴠᴇn Lions, also known as Uni-Lions (), are a professional baseball team playing in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). The Lions are based in Tainan City, Ta ...

Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 20 ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

for 2007. Cordemans was released on 28 May 2007 and went 3–4 with 4.50 ERA.

2009: World Baseball Classic

Cordemans was selected once again to represent the Dutch national team 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- ...

. During the first round of the tournament held at

Hiram Bithorn Stadium Hiram Bithorn Stadium (Spanish: Estadio Hiram Bithorn) is a baseball park in San Juan, Puerto Rico, built in 1962 and designed by Puerto Rican architect Pedro Miranda. The stadium is home to the Cangrejeros de Santurce of the Puerto Rican Baseb ...

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

, Puerto Rico, Cordemans entered two separate games against the Dominican Republic in middle relief. Cordemans pitched in three games, 6.2 innings pitched, 2 hits allowed, 4 walks, 3 strikeouts, 0.00 ERA. 2.2 IP, 2 H, 1BB, 1 SO in middle relief of 1st game vs. DR 2.0 IP, 0 H, 3BB, 0 SO in middle relief (6th, 6th) of 2nd game vs. DR 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0BB, 2 SO in middle relief (6th, 7th) of 1st game vs. Venezuela

Additional international career

Cordemans was also named to the Dutch roster for the 1995 European Baseball Championship,

1999 European Baseball Championship The 1999 European Baseball Championship was won by Netherlands national baseball team, the Netherlands. It was held in Italy. Standings

1999 in baseball, European Baseball Championship European Baseball Championship International baseball ...

, 2001 European Baseball Championship, 2003 European Baseball Championship, 2005 European Baseball Championship,

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 ...

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 ...

, 2007 European Baseball Championship,

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 ...

, 2010 Intercontinental Cup,

2011 Baseball World Cup The 2011 Baseball World Cup (BWC) was the 39th 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 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 ...

, ,

2014 European Baseball Championship The 2014 European Baseball Championship was an international baseball tournament held in the Czech Republic and Germany. The defending champion Italy lost in the final to the Netherlands, who became champion for the 21st time. Qualification T ...

2015 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 Haarle ...

2015 WBSC Premier12 The 2015 WBSC Premier12 was an international baseball championship sponsored by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), the inaugural event of the WBSC Premier12. It was held from November 8 to 21 in Taiwan and Japan. The South Korea ...

, , and the

2016 European Baseball Championship The 2016 European Baseball Championship was an international baseball tournament organized by Confederation of European Baseball. The 2016 European Championship was held from September 9 to 18, 2016 in Hoofddorp, Netherlands. It was organized by ...

.Bernadina voor EK terug in nationale ploeg
''Honkbalsite , Honkbalnieuws uit Nederland'' He played for Team Netherlands in the

, at the Africa/Europe 2020 Olympic Qualification tournament in Italy in September 2019, and at the

2019 WBSC Premier12 The 2019 WBSC Premier12 was an international baseball championship featuring the 12 highest-ranked national teams in the world, held by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). It was the second WBSC Premier12 event. The championship w ...

References

External links

*
Dutch Olympic Committee
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cordemans, Rob 1974 births 1998 Baseball World Cup players 2003 European Baseball Championship players 2003 Baseball World Cup players 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 2013 World Baseball Classic players 2014 European Baseball Championship players 2015 WBSC Premier12 players 2016 European Baseball Championship players 2017 World Baseball Classic players 2019 European Baseball Championship players Baseball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics Baseball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Baseball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Baseball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Baseball players from South Holland Dutch baseball players Dutch expatriate baseball players in Taiwan Indian River State Pioneers baseball players Living people Olympic baseball players for the Netherlands Sportspeople from Schiedam Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions players L&D Amsterdam Pirates players DOOR Neptunus players