Orlando Stewart

Orlando Stewart

• Bats Right, Throws Right

• Born March 17, 1968 in Curacao

Orlando Stewart was one of the most successful pitchers in Hoofdklasse history, winning 120 games over 16 seasons. He was active in international events as well, appearing in tournaments in three different decades, most notably a game in the 2000 Olympics.

Stewart pitched for the Saint Rosa Indians in his native Curacao from 1981-1985. In the 1984 Amateur World Series, he pitched for the Netherlands Antilles team, going 0-2 with a 8.03 ERA, second-highest on their staff. He allowed 20 hits in 12 1/3 IP. In 1986, he came to Hoofdklasse with the Giants of Diemen. In 1990, he moved to Sparta and spent 11 seasons with them.

In 1999, Stewart joined the Dutch national team for the first time. He was 2-0 in the 1999 European Championship, allowing 7 hits and no runs in 14 innings of work; he saved his best for last, 3-hitting the Italian national team in the finals. He was 1-0 with a 1.04 ERA in the 1999 World Port Tournament, winning the World Port Tournament Best Pitcher Award despite the presence of future big-leaguers Chien-Ming Wang, Hong-Chih Kuo and Chin-Hui Tsao. He struggled in the 1999 Intercontinental Cup, going 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA and allowing 21 hits and 15 runs (9 earned) in only 12 innings.

Stewart had a 2.39 ERA for Sparta/Feyenoord in 2000, placing him 7th in Hoofdklasse. His 105 1/3 innings pitched were second to former minor leaguer Derrick Isenia. He was 8th with 91 strikeouts. He tied for the league lead with 6 complete games, even with former major leaguer Rikkert Faneyte and former Japanese Central League hurler Tetsuhiro Monna.

Orlando was with the Dutch national team for the 2000 Olympics, getting the start against the Japanese national team. He allowed a first-inning run on a double by Norihiro Nakamura but the Netherlands tied it in the second. In the bottom of the second, Stewart allowed 3 runs without retiring a soul. He finished 0-1 with a 27.00 ERA, easily the worst on the Dutch staff in the Summer Games. He was 1-0 with a 1.13 ERA in the 2000 Haarlem Baseball Week.

In the 2001 European Championship, Stewart concluded his national team tenure by going 1-0 with a 1.54 ERA for the titlists.

Orlando moved to the Tornado's in 2001. In 2002, his 2.56 ERA was 9th in Hoofdklasse; he also was 6th in innings (105 2/3) and tied for the lead in complete games (6). The next year, the 35-year-old was 10th in innings pitched (83 2/3). In 2004, he was just 1-7 and retired after the year.

In 16 years in Hoofdklasse, the right-hander pitched in 273 games, including 142 complete games. He had a 3.81 career ERA. He was 7th all-time in strikeouts and 4th with 120 wins, trailing only Bart Volkerijk, Herman Beidschat and Haitze de Vries.

In 2007, Stewart became pitching coach for Sparta/Feyenoord.

Sources

• Defunct IBAF site
• Harry Wedemeijer's international tourney stats
• Honkbalsite.com
• Marco Stoovelaar's Dutch baseball site