| Tom de Blok | |||||||||||||||
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| Curaçao Neptunus | |||||||||||||||
| Pitcher | |||||||||||||||
| Born: 8 May 1996 Amstelveen, Netherlands | |||||||||||||||
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |||||||||||||||
Medals
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Tom Robin de Blok (born May 8, 1996) is a Dutch professional baseball pitcher for the Curaçao Neptunus of the Honkbal Hoofdklasse. He played for Team Netherlands in the 2019 European Baseball Championship, and at the Africa/Europe 2020 Olympic Qualification tournament in Italy in September 2019.
On August 26, 2013, de Blok signed a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners organization. However, on April 17, 2014, de Blok retired from professional baseball without playing in a game for the organization.[1]
de Blok came out of retirement to join Mr. Cocker HCAW for the 2014 season, a team in the Honkbal Hoofdklasse, the top baseball league in the Netherlands, where he posted a 3.20 ERA in 17 appearances.
The following season, de Blok joined the Amsterdam Pirates, where he posted a 4-0 record and 1.54 ERA in 20 games with the team.[2] After the season, de Blok was offered a tryout with the Rakuten Golden Eagles of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), the top baseball league in Japan. After the tryout de Blok decided to return to the Pirates.[3] That season, he recorded a 5-0 record and 0.88 ERA with 43 strikeouts in 41.0 innings of work.
After a good performance in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, de Blok signed a four-year minor league deal with the Detroit Tigers organization on April 10, 2017.[4] He made his affiliated debut for the Low-A Connecticut Tigers, and after pitching 3.2 scoreless innings, was promoted to the Single-A West Michigan Whitecaps, where he spent the rest of the season, posting a 4-2 record and 2.87 ERA with a 1.02 WHIP in 82 innings pitched.[5] de Blok spent the 2019 season with Lakeland, recording a 2-13 record and 4.04 ERA in 21 games. de Blok did not play in a game for the Tigers organization in 2020 after the minor league season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[6] On November 2, 2020, he elected free agency.
De Blok returned to the Amsterdam Pirates following his stint with the Tigers organization after logging a 2.00 ERA in 5 games with the team in 2020. In 2021, de Blok posted a 3-2 record and 1.64 ERA in 6 games with the team. On May 14, 2021, de Blok threw the fourth perfect game in the history of the Dutch Major Leagues, defeating Corendon Kinheim 12-0 while striking out seven.[7]
On June 27, 2021, de Blok signed with the Pericos de Puebla of the Mexican League.[5] He made just one start before he was released on July 8.[5]
On October 1, 2022, de Blok signed with the Curaçao Neptunus of the Honkbal Hoofdklasse.[8]
de Blok was a member of the Netherlands national baseball team in the 2017 World Baseball Classic.[9]
He played for Team Netherlands in the 2019 European Baseball Championship, at the Africa/Europe 2020 Olympic Qualification tournament in Italy in September 2019.
He represented the Netherlands national baseball team at the 2023 World Baseball Classic.[10]
