Martijn Meeuwis
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Martijn Meeuwis | ||
| Date of birth | July 14, 1982 | ||
| Place of birth | Moergestel, Netherlands | ||
| Playing position | catcher, right handed | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Neptunus | ||
| National team‡ | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2007- | Netherlands | ||
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| |||
Martijn Meeuwis (born July 14, 1982 in Moergestel) is a Dutch baseball player who currently plays for Neptunus and the Dutch national team.[1]
Meeuwis debuted with the Twins Sport Club in 1999 as a teenager but did not return to the Hoofdklasse again until 2004, when he became a full-time player.[1] When the Twins were relegated, Meeuwis moved to HCAW. In 2005, he hit .184/.266/.233 as a regular outfielder. In 2006, he was the club's regular center fielder, though he also filled in at second base. He hit .304/.377/.402 and led the league in triples (5).[1] In 2007, Meeuwis really blossomed after joining DOOR Neptunus. He hit .301/.394/.500 with 37 RBI in 39 games while returning to catcher, his original position.[1] He threw out 19 of 35 would-be base-stealers. He was 7th in 2007 Hoofdklasse in batting average, third in home runs (6) and second in RBI (six behind leader Tjerk Smeets).[1] He was named as one of the three finalists for the league MVP award alongside Fausto Álvarez and Danny Rombley; Álvarez won.[1]
Meeuwis joined the Dutch national team when Johnny Balentina, another C-OF, was injured.[1] He was part of the team's historic first visit to the United States, which included a win over the college edition of Team USA.[1] He played also in the 2007 World Port Tournament, going 1 for 6. Balentina was back with the team for the 2007 European Championship but Meeuwis replaced him once more for the 2007 Baseball World Cup.[1] He was 3 for 10 with 2 walks and a double in the World Cup that year, helping fill in for CF Roger Bernadina.[1] He had a key role in the Dutch win over host Chinese Taipei in the quarterfinals. En-Yu Lin had retired 13 batters in a row and held a 2-0 lead when Meeuwis walked and came around to score on a hit by Reily Legito.[1] Gregory Halman later replaced Meeuwis in center in that game. Meeuwis hit .231/.375/.231 in the 2008 European Cup in Regensburg.[1]
Meeuwis was selected by coach Robert Eenhoorn in the team that represents the Netherlands at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.[2]