Rogier van Zon of Honkbalsite.com reports that the Dutch Hoofdklasse club MR COCKER HCAW is going to retire jersey number 12, which was worn by Jurjan Koenen during 22 seasons. The 38-year-old former third baseman resigned as head coach following the 2009 season to get more time with his family. He will be succeeded by Bill Froberg. Before taking over at the helm at the beginning of this season he was an assistant coach since 2006.
The number of Koenen will be retired on September 8th in a ceremony before the exhibition game between the national teams of Netherlands and Italy in Bussum. After making his debut in 1988 he played in a total of 691 games for HCAW, collecting 687 hits, including 40 homeruns. 1996 and 1998 he won the national championship and in 2000 the European Cupwinners Cup. He was named league MVP in 1993. He also played in 65 games for the national team, including two Baseball World Cups and three European Championships.