Sidney De Jong was on the coaching staff of the 2015 Global Baseball Games and has good memories of the event.
"We had a great series. We could have won both games. We did an awesome job. We came together as a team, and as a coaching staff, we battled against a solid Japanese team."
Born in 1979, De Jong has been a superstar catcher. He developed at the College of Southern Idaho in the United States and became a perennial .300 hitter and an All-Star catcher and DH in the Dutch Hoofdklasse for Kinheim, HCAW and Amsterdam Pirates,
He appeared in 178 international games for the Netherlands, including the 2004 and 2008 Olympics and the 2006 and 2009 World Baseball Classic. He helped them win the 2011 Baseball World Cup, the 2001, 2003, 2005, and 2007 European Championships and silver at the 2006 and 2010 Intercontinental Cup.
De Jong is the U-23 Dutch Baseball National Team manager and will serve as the bench coach under manager Evert Jan ‘t Hoen for the Dutch National Team. He will be Marco Mazzieri's bench coach on Team Europe's coaching staff at the second Global Baseball Games, the CARNEXT SAMURAI JAPAN SERIES, on 6 and 7 March in Osaka, Japan.
"I've known Marco since 2015. Of course, I had played against him when he was Italy's manager. He is a great guy with a lot of baseball knowledge. He did a great job assembling the coaching staff. I am positive there will be good chemistry in the staff. We will be able to optimize the preparation for the games. If I look at myself as Marco's bench coach, I think I can provide him with the information he seeks, and we can work together successfully."
De Jong has no concern about many players being far from the start of their seasons.
"We've been working for a while now to get information about how everybody is doing. We rely on coaches around Europe. Marco [Mazzieri] started the process, and we all gave our input on which players we had to bring to have the best chance to beat the Japanese team.
There's no friendlies when you play Japanese teams.
"I agree with their mentality. Every game you play, you are supposed to play to win"
How do you rate European baseball before the 2024 season?
"Some teams are growing and getting stronger. Czechia is getting stronger, and Germany is doing a great job. Italy, to my regret, is dropping down a bit. In my days, it was always the Netherlands against Italy; now you have Spain, it's Great Britain…countries are getting closer to each other, and the battles on the field are more interesting."
European baseball has had consistent contributions from players developed in the Americas. Do you think the best European talent has a chance to develop to the next level?
"I think they do. The standards are a little higher than they used to be. The players developed outside Europe that you mentioned have improved the level. But if I look at the Netherlands, several players are committing to Colleges in the United States. The same happens in Spain, Italy and other European countries. If these players compete at that level, they will have much knowledge to bring back to Europe. The players will grow individually, European baseball will grow along, and the National programmes will benefit."
Do you see the next Sidney De Jong?
"We've got a couple of guys that will succeed,if they keep developing the way I preview."
Like Keegan Pieternella, a 16-year-old who impressed scouts at the XXXI WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup?
"Keegan is a young player with awesome tools. But we have others. You will hear their names. And it's not only the Netherlands. Good things are happening in European baseball."
Pieternella and the U-18 Netherlands finished sixth at the U-18 World Cup.
"That was a great accomplishment. A couple of steps more and they can compete for a medal."
The two Global Baseball Games games are scheduled for Wednesday, 6, and Thursday, 7 March, in Osaka, Japan. International media wanting to apply for accreditation to the Global Baseball Games series between Samurai Japan and Team Europe, please email media@wbsc.org to receive access to the application platform.
