Vince Rooi

Rooi began playing baseball at the age of 9 and trained in the Amsterdam Pirates program.^[1] He signed with the Montreal Expos in August 1998 and played in Minor League Baseball in the Expos/Washington Nationals and Pittsburgh Pirates organizations from 1999 to 2006.^[2][3] He played much of his minor league career alongside fellow Dutch player Danny Rombley.^[2][4][5] Rooi was named to the Florida State League All-Star Game in 2003. He began playing with Kinheim in the Honkbal Hoofdklasse in 2005, winning the Holland Series after the minor league season ended.^[6]

After his American career ended, Rooi played for Kinheim in 2007 and 2008. In 2009, Rooi moved to the Amsterdam Pirates.^[3] He was named the most valuable player of the Hoofdklasse in 2011.^[7] He then re-teamd with Rombley by playing for Pioniers beginning in 2013,^[5] and ended his playing career withHCAW from 2016 to 2018.^[3][8]

Rooi joined the Netherlands national team for the 2001 Baseball World Cup. He was named the best defensive player, home run king, and best third baseman at the 2003 European Baseball Championship, which the Dutch won.^[6][9] He was not selected for the team for the 2006 World Baseball Classic (WBC), returning to the national team in 2007.^[6] He batted 0-for-7 coming off the bench at the 2007 European championship.^[10] He batted 2-for-14 in four games in the 2009 WBC.^[3] He hit 3-for-14 in the 2010 European championship, where the Netherlands finished second.^[11] He was again a part-time player for the Dutch team that won the 2011 World Cup, batting 4-for-7 with 5 RBI in three games.^[12][13] He dealt with a shoulder injury in 2012, which prevented him from playing for the national team.^[6] He returned to the national team for the 2013 World Port Tournament.^[14]