by Pim van Nes
Monne Reitsma was one of the Dutch journalists who attended MLB press conference,which was held yesterday in Pioniers stadium prior to the first MLB Elite Camp in Hoofddorp. Reitsma wrote an extensive article for his newspaper Haarlems Dagblad and quoted MLB coaches Barry Larkin and Steve Finley.
Barry Larkin: “Participants in our camp should become not only a better player, but also a better person. That is what our logo stands for. The camp is important for the development of the players. In Europe the knowledge of the game was not always very good, but our experience is they always make good progress during our camps. During these weeks in Hoofddorp, the best European players meet face to face. In their games at this level they cannot but improve!”
Steve Finley: “The quality of the players in Europe has grown every year. We have three boys from Belarus, who do not speak English at all, but they are real athletes. I am looking forward to see their developments these weeks. However, we do not play a role in who will get a pro contract from MLB clubs. Of course we can see which pitcher has a strong arm and which batter a good swing, but in order to earn a pro contract, those players also need to convince the scouts from MLB clubs. Those scouts have their own ways to observe and judge prospects.”
Signed European Elite Camp players by country: Netherlands 24, Italy 16, Czech Republic 10, Germany 10, France 4, Belgium 2 and 1 each from Belarus, Denmark, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Slovakia and Spain. Additionally 4 players from South-Africa were signed after MLB Elite Camps in Europe.
Photo by Pim van Nes in Hoofddorp: from left Jan Esselman, president of European Baseball Confederation, Chris Park, MLB Senior Vice President Growth, Strategy & International, Jason Holowaty, MLB Director of Development Europe.