Sherten Apostel, Netherlands star who shined at WBSC U-18, U-23 World Cups, makes MLB debut

Sherten Apostel, Netherlands star who shined at WBSC U-18, U-23 World Cups, makes MLB debut
14/09/2020
The 21-year-old third baseman was called up for the second game of a double header against the Oakland Athletics on Sunday. He was the top Netherlands hitter in the 2017 WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup and the 2018 WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup.

Sherten Apostel made his MLB debut on Sunday, playing for the Texas Rangers the second game of a double header against the Oakland Athletics. He also got his first hit in the majors in the seventh inning.

Apostel previously shined at two WBSC Baseball World Cups. He participated in the 2017 WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup with the Netherlands National Team. He was the top hitter on his team, batting .304 with four doubles and three RBI.

A year later, Apostel made the Netherlands U-23 roster and played in the 2018 WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup, where he was again the leading hitter on his team, posting a .375 average, with two doubles, two home runs, two triples and nine RBI.

The infielder, born in Curaçao on 3 March 1999, received the big call just 20 minutes before the start of the game. He was in his apartment after a training day at the Rangers' alternate training site, and the big league team had just finished the first of a doubleheader against the Oakland A’s.

“I mean, it was nice. It was a good experience, like about every player's dream,” Apostel told MLB.com. “I was trying to enjoy it as much as I can. Don't put a lot of stress on myself, try to be as much chill as I can be...give me the courage to be calm and enjoy the game. Don't stress yourself, there's a lot of pressure already, just go enjoy it, and that's what I did.”

Apostel is the 16th player from Curaçao to break into the big leagues and the first since Ozzie Albies in 2017.