Spring Training with the Baltimore Orioles has started for Dutch right-hander Rick van den Hurk. Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com published a featured article the hurler from Eindhoven on Friday.
When Netherlands native Rick VandenHurk was first signed as an unrestricted free agent in 2002, the 6-foot-5 teenager had dreams of reaching the Major Leagues as a catcher.
But it didn’t take long for the Florida Marlins to put the big backstop on the mound and have VandenHurk throw a few baseballs, an experiment that impressed the organization enough to convert him to a pitcher.
“I was also a terrible hitter,” VandenHurk recalled of his position player days.