The Amsterdam baseball player Didi Gregorius has been chosen to participate in the European Baseball Championship. That will take place in the Czech Republic next month. He plays for the so-called Kingdom team.
The 33-year-old baseball player is seen as an important player for the Dutch team. Since June, Didi is under contract with the Seattle Mariners.
In 2011 he became world champion with the Orange. The following year he made his debut on the highest level with the Cincinnati Reds. In 2018, he played a leading role in the American Major League. Gregorius, born in Amsterdam then hit a great home run for the New York Yankees against the Tampa Bay Rays.
He also played for the Philadelphia Phillies and Arizona Diamondbacks. He hit more than 130 homeruns during major international games in all those years.
Injuries
But injuries have not always spared him. In 2017 he dropped out of matches for Orange, due to shoulder pain. He also struggled with an elbow injury. As a result, he missed the start of the following season with the New York Yankees in 2018.
The European Baseball Championship will take place from September 24 to October 1 in various Czech cities, including Prague and Brno. So Gregorius is definitely part of that. The full roster of the Dutch baseball team will be announced later.
In November, the Netherlands was placed in Group C as group head in the draw. There, the Orange will meet Ukraine, Croatia and France.