Judsel Baranco

Judsel Baranco

• Bats Right, Throws Right

• Born August 9, 1943 in Willemstad Netherlands
• Died August 8, 2006 in Curacao

Judsel Baranco was a MVP in the Hoofdklasse. He played every position except catcher.

Baranco made his debut in the Hoofdklasse with Quick Amersfoort in 1981, hitting only .191. He moved to UVV in 1982 and improved to .279. He would top .300 in his next eight campaigns. He was with the Dutch national team for the 1984 Haarlem Baseball Week, Golden Cup Tournament and 1984 Amateur World Series. He was named the best hitter of the 1985 European Championship, won by the Netherlands, but MVP honors went to teammate Marcel Joost.

Judsel played for Neptunus in 1986, hitting .347 with 58 runs in 35 games. He played for the Netherlands in the 1986 Amateur World Series and 1987 European Championship, won by the Dutch. He was with the Giants Diemen in 1987. In 1988, the club became Almere and he had his career year, hitting .441 with 78 hits and 53 RBI to take Hoofdklasse MVP honors.

Baranco batted .424 in 1989. Health problems sidelined him in 1990. He came back to hit .346 with De Spartaan in 1991, then retired from the Netherlands. Back in Curacao, his homeland, he played baseball on occasion while having more health issues.

Overall, Baranco had hit .349 in the Hoofdklasse with 304 runs, 243 RBI and 58 homers in 345 games. He was 40-35 as a pitcher.

He battled drug problems for many years before dying a day before he turned 43. A 1998 documentary detailed his off-field issues that led to his decline.

Sources: Marco Stoovelaar's obit of Baranco, Dutch Wikipedia entry