Marcel Kruyt

From BR Bullpen

Marcel Kruyt
also spelled Kruijt

  • Bats Right, Throws Right
  • Height 6' 3", Weight 198 lb.

Olympics-Reference page

Biographical Information[edit]

Marcel Kruyt was a longtime star in the Hoofdklasse and for the Dutch national team.

Kruyt won the 1977 Roel de Mon Award. He debuted in 1979 at age 16, going 6 for 47 for Sparta. He was back in Eerste Klasse for a couple years, returning to Sparta's Hoofdklasse squad in 1982 and hitting .354 while slugging .493. He hit .310/?/.513 in 1983 and .352/?/.484 in 1984, making the national team for the first time.

Kruyt played in the 1984 Haarlem Baseball Week and 1984 Amateur World Series. He hit .344/?/.496 in 1985 and .354/?/.481 in 1986. He was in the 1986 Amateur World Series. He batted over .300 and slugged over .500 for his new club Neptunus in 1987, then went 4 for 12 in the 1987 Holland Series, which Neptunus lost; it was the first Holland Series ever. He led the 1987 European Championship in average to help the Netherlands win Gold then appeared in the 1987 World Port Tournament.

Marcel hit over .300 and slugged over .500 again in 1988. He played in the 1988 Haarlem Baseball Week, 1988 Baseball World Cup and 1988 Olympics. He hit .268/.295/.317 as the Dutch center fielder in that year's World Cup; he was flanked in the outfield by two fellow Dutch legends and longtime national team teammates, Eric de Bruin and Marcel Joost.

Kruyt hit .408 and slugged .552 for Neptunus in 1989 with 39 RBI in 31 games. He hit .222 in the Holland Series that year, which Sparta won. He helped the Netherlands take the Silver Medal at the 1989 European Championship and was in the 1989 World Port Tournament.

In 1990, Kruyt hit .355 and slugged .554 with 54 runs, 43 RBI and 15 doubles in 43 games. He went 2 for 10 in the 1990 Holland Series. He was in the 1990 Haarlem Baseball Week. As the starting Dutch right fielder in the 1990 Baseball World Cup, he was only 1 for 22 with 3 walks and had one assist. His outfield mates were two more stars of Dutch ball, future major leaguer Rikkert Faneyte in center and Mike Crouwel in left.

The Rotterdam native hit .447 to take the batting title in 1991. He clubbed 8 homers in 31 games and drove home 40 while slugging .764. Frans Groot beat him out for the MVP award. He appeared in the 1991 World Port Tournament and 1991 European Championship, when the Netherlands again got the Silver Medal. He was 5 for 12 with 4 RBI in that year's Holland Series.

Kruyt hit .319 and slugged .538 in 1992 for a drop-off from '91. He was with the Orange for the 1992 Haarlem Baseball Week. He slumped to .278 with a .444 slugging percentage in '93, then was 4 for 19 in the 1993 Holland Series, which Neptunus won. On July 8, he played his 100th game for the Dutch national team, during the 1993 European Championship, won by the Netherlands. He hit .344/.462/.469 with 7 runs and 7 RBI in 9 games for the event, stealing 3 bases in 3 tries. He also played in the 1993 World Port Tournament.

Marcel hit .292 and slugged .444 for Neptunus in 1994 and was 4 for 18 in the Holland Series. He played in the 1994 Haarlem Baseball Week. In the 1994 Baseball World Cup, he was 3 for 16 with a double, triple and 3 walks while alternating between left field and DH. In '95, Kruyt hit .290 and slugged .370; he was 2 for 11 in the 1995 Holland Series, which Neptunus won. He played in the 1995 European Championship (.280/.308/.320 for the Gold Medal winners) and 1995 World Port Tournament (6 for 19, 2 BB, 3 2B, HR).

In 1996, Kruyt batted .374 and slugged .697 with 9 homers and 47 runs in 35 games. He capped his international career by playing in the 1996 Haarlem Baseball Week (9 for 19, 3 BB, 2B, 6 R, 6 RBI in G; only Carlos Tabares had a better average in the event and Michel Abreu a better OBP) and 1996 Olympics (.353/.476/.588, one assist while splitting left with Adonis Kemp and DH with Edsel Martis). Overall, he had played 128 games for the Dutch national team.

Marcel hit .470 and slugged .765 in 1997, at age 34. He won his second batting title. In '98, he hit .366 and slugged .758 with a career-high 17 home runs as well as 55 RBI. He would have led in homers many other years, but finished six shy of Elston Hansen this time. He was 3 for 12 in the 1998 Holland Series. In '99, the veteran hit .336 and then went 6 for 16 with with two doubles, a homer and five runs in the Holland Series.

Through 1999, Kruyt had a career average of .345 and slugging percentage of .550 with 592 RBI in 668 games. He contemplated retiring at the end of '99 but decided to remain active for another year.

In 2000, the 37-year-old was still strong, finishing among the Hoofdklasse leaders in doubles (9, tied with Adonis Kemp for 8th place), homers (6, 3rd and one behind co-leaders Remy Maduro and Mike Crouwel), slugging (.544, 3rd behind Maduro and Crouwel and ahead of two former major leaguers in Robert Eenhoorn [who was 4th] and Rikkert Faneyte [10th]) and RBI (28, tied for 8th with Kemp, Faneyte and Dirk van 't Klooster). That year, him and Marcel Joost became the 2nd and 3rd Hoofdklasse players to appear in four different decades, following Han Urbanus (1940s-1970s). He helped Neptunus win the 2000 Holland Series, then called it a career.

Sources[edit]

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