Dave Draijer

Dorotheus Draijer

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 5", Weight 207 lb.

• Born September 30, 1973 in Heemstede, Noord-Holland Netherlands

Biographical Information

Dave Draijer has appeared on the Dutch national team several times.

In 1996, Draijer debuted in Hoofdklasse with RCH, for whom he once was the batboy. There, he was coached by Brian Farley and Jeffrey Calderone. During the 1998 Baseball World Cup, Dave was 0-1 with a 16.88 ERA as one of the worst Dutch hurlers. In 1999, Dave moved to HCAW. In 2000, Draijer was 8-3 with two saves, tying for fifth in Hoofdklasse in wins and sixth in saves. In the 2001 Baseball World Cup, Draijer had a 2.84 ERA and no decisions in four relief appearances. He pitched 11 1/3 scoreless innings in the 2001 World Port Tournament, going 1-0. In the 2001 European Championship, the right-handed reliever had a 1.23 ERA in 5 games and saved one for the Gold Medalists. He had a 8-4 record in 2002, with a 2.32 ERA. He was sixth in Hoofdklasse in ERA, third in innings pitched (112 2/3), tied for 5th in wins and 8th in strikeouts (74). He was 0-1 with a 9.82 ERA in the 2002 Intercontinental Cup.

In 2003, Draijer was 8-2, tied for fourth in Hoofdklasse in wins with David Bergman. During the 2003 European Championship, Draijer pitched four scoreless innings for the winning Dutch team, saving two games. In the 2003 Baseball World Cup, Draijer allowed 7 hits and two runs in 1 2/3 IP, getting one save and a loss against Panama after blowing a lead left him by Eelco Jansen. He was 1-0 with 8 scoreless innings of work in the 2003 World Port Tournament. He had a 8-2 record in 2004 as well to tie for fourth in victories with Jeroen Deken and Nick Stuifbergen. He also tied for seventh with three saves. He pitched for The Netherlands in the 2004 Olympics, helping finish off a two-hitter of Greece in one contest.

At age 31, he moved to the Pioniers and the bullpen. He led Hoofdklasse with 14 saves (5 more than Cliff Foster) and was 2-2 with a 0.96 ERA. He saved one game and threw 1 2/3 shutout innings in the 2005 European Championship. He also pitched well for the Netherlands in the 2005 Baseball World Cup; he pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing 3 hits and 3 walks while striking out three in four games. He had one save.

In the 2006 World Baseball Classic, he entered for the Netherlands down 6-3 in the 7th and promptly surrendered a homer to Carlos Beltran on his second pitch. He then plunked Javy Lopez, drawing a warning from umpire Kevin Causey and resulting in a commotion. He struck out Ricky Ledee and retired Alex Cintron. After a walk to Luis Matos, he whiffed Jose Valentin to escape further damage.

Draijer was 5-4 with 8 saves and a 4.00 ERA for the Pioniers in 2006. He was second to Michiel van Kampen in saves in Hoofdklasse and tied for 10th in wins.

In the 2006 Haarlem Baseball Week, Draijer saved three games and allowed no runs in 5 2/3 IP. He was named the best pitcher in the tournament, an award previously won by Jose Contreras and Mark Prior.

Draijer had a 8.31 ERA in the 2006 Intercontinental Cup, but tied for second in the tournament with two saves.

Draijer went 3-3 with 8 saves and a 1.29 ERA in the 2007 Hoofdklasse season. He tied Michiel van Kampen for the league lead in saves. He allowed a .250 OBP, lowest in the league, and was second to Leon Boyd in WHIP. He was 4th in ERA and tied van Kampen for second in appearances, one behind Stephen Spragg. In the playoffs, he threw 3 2/3 scoreless innings and a got one win. He lost game one of the 2007 Holland Series as the Pioniers fell to Kinheim.

In the 2007 European Championship, Draijer was the only Dutch pitcher with an ERA over 1.38 as they won the Gold and qualified for the 2008 Olympics. He allowed two runs in 1 1/3 IP, giving up three hits and a walk. He allowed 6 hits and one unearned run in 3 innings in the 2007 World Port Tournament. Draijer had a rough international competition yet again in the 2007 Baseball World Cup, with a 10.13 ERA in 3 games.

Draijer was initially left off the Dutch team for the 2008 Olympics but was a late addition after Loek van Mil got hurt. Dave allowed 3 hits and one run in 1 2/3 IP in Beijing. Draijer signed with RCH for 2009.

Sources: Marco Stoovelaar's page on Dutch baseball, Worldbaseballclassic.com, 2005 Baseball World Cup site, Haarlem Baseball Week site, 2005-2006 Dutch baseball stats, Honkbalsite.com, IBAF site, Mister Baseball, Harry Wedemeijer's international competitions statistics site, 2008 Olympics, Wayback Archive of the 2005 European Championship site