Netherlands National Team coach Steve Janssen joins Chicago Cubs organisation
The manager for Team WBSC at the Asia Winter Baseball League has signed a contract for the MLB Chicago Cubs organization. He will be a Minor League pitching coach. Janssen had served as the skipper of the Dutch National Team since 2014
Steve Janssen, the manager for Team WBSC at the Asia Winter Baseball League, has signed a contract for the Chicago Cubs organization of Major League Baseball. He will be a Minor League pitching coach.
Janssen made the announcement through his Facebook profile.
Born in 1972 in Wilrijk, Belgium, Steve Janssen was a catcher in his playing days. He made his debut at age 15 in his home country’s top league and made it to the National Team.
As a manager, he won the 1999 Belgian title with the Braschaat Braves and moved to The Netherlands. He became the pitching coach for the Dutch National Team and held the position till 2005. He briefly returned to Belgium as the Technical Director of the Federation, before going back to The Netherlands.
After winning back to back titles (2009, 2010) with Neptunus Rotterdam, he was given another chance as the National Team pitching coach. He won the 2011 IBAF World Cup and was the bull pen coach for the team that made it to the Final Four of the World Baseball Classic 2013.
Steve Janssen was appointed the manager of the Dutch National Team in 2014 and has won back to back European Championship (2014, 2016). He managed the All Star Europe team that competed against Samurai Japan at the Tokyo Dome in March 2015.
Steve Janssen, second from left, before the series against Samurai Japan in 2015 (Photo by Koji Watanabe – SAMURAI JAPAN via Getty Images)
