Wesley Connor

Wesley Joseph William Connor

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 200 lb.

• School Raayland College

• Born April 11, 1985 in Venray, Venray The Netherlands

Biographical Information

Outfielder Wesley Connor played three years in the Minnesota Twins system before returning to his native Netherlands for the 2008 season. He was MVP of the 2011 Holland Series.

Connor hit .246/.285/.385 for the 2005 GCL Twins as a rookie in the US. In 2006, he was 4 for 9 for the GCL Twins and hit .188/.248/.218 in 32 games for the Elizabethton Twins. In his last US season, he batted .293/.367/.450 for Elizabethon.

He joined the Amsterdam Pirates for 2008, working under former MLB player Rikkert Faneyte in his debut as head coach. Connor batted .314/.359/.442 with 33 runs in 36 games and was a controversial omission from the Dutch roster for the 2008 Olympics. He tied Bas de Jong for 6th in the league in home runs (4), was 8th in runs (33), tied defending MVP Fausto Álvarez for 6th in total bases (69) and Sidney de Jong for 7th in hits (49). Connor then hit .348 in the playoffs, followed by .375 in the 2008 Holland Series to help Amsterdam win its first title in 21 years.

In the 2009 European Cup's Nettuno phase, Connor hit a meek .167/.167/.250 but scored five runs in five games. In the Cup's Final Four, he was 1 for 5 with a double and a run (Amsterdam's only run in the two games). In the 2009 Hoofdklasse season, Connor hit .353/.373/.434. He finished among the league leaders in runs (31, tied for fourth with Sidney de Jong and Mike Duursma), average (tied for 6th with Jeffrey Arends), steals (10, tied for 8th with Rubi Koko), doubles (11, tied for 6th), total bases (75, 6th) and hits (a league-high 61).

At age 25 in 2010, Connor slumped to .279/.340/.341 and did not finish among the league leaders in any department. Resurgent in 2011, the Venray native batted .284/.329/.405. He tied for fourth with four home runs. He picked it up a notch in the 2011 Holland Series, hitting .455 with 9 runs and 5 RBI in five games to lead Amsterdam to its second title since he joined them. In the clincher, he went 3 for 5 with 3 runs and 3 RBI. He was named Series MVP. Amazingly, his sister Debby Connor was MVP of the softball Holland Series in 2011 as well, a first for a sibling duo in Dutch annals.