| Loek van Mil | |
|---|---|
| Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – No. 59 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: September 15, 1984 Oss, Netherlands |
|
| Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
Ludovicus Jacobus Maria van Mil (born September 15, 1984 in Oss, Netherlands) is a minor league pitcher in the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim organization. At 7'1", Van Mil is the tallest player in the minor leagues.[1]
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In 2005, at age 20, Van Mil debuted with HCAW (Honkbalclub Allen Weerbaar), a Dutch professional baseball team from Bussum. He went 2-3 with a 5.26 earned run average and 34 strike outs, allowing 59 hits and 24 walks in 51 1/3 innings pitched.
He signed a seven year deal as a non-drafted free agent on July 7, 2005 with the Twins, though the Seattle Mariners had also shown interest. Van Mil threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings for HCAW in 2006, spending most of the year with the GCL Twins. He was 1-2 with a 3.30 ERA in 10 games, 8 of them starts.
In 2007, the right-hander had a 2-2, 2.63 record in 13 relief stints for the Elizabethton Twins and held opponents to a .171 average, though he walked 17 in 24 innings. He struck out 23 batters.
Van Mil began 2008 with the Beloit Snappers. He was 2-2 with 3 saves and a 3.22 ERA and 42 strikeouts in his first 44 2/3 IP, making the Midwest League All-Star game. Van Mil suffered a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right arm [2] while preparing for participation in the 2008 Summer Olympics, and missed the first seven weeks of the 2009 season while in rehab.
Van Mil began his 2009 season in late May with the Fort Myers Miracle, playing in the Advanced A Florida State League. Later that year, he was promoted to the New Britain Rock Cats in the AA Eastern League. He finished the year 1-1 with a 2.79 ERA in 42 games between the two clubs, 25 games out of the bullpen with Fort Myers with a 2.86 ERA and another 8 games with New Britain for a 2.45 ERA.[2]
On November 20, 2009, he was added to the Twins' 40 man roster.[3] He was designated for assignment to make room on the roster for Brian Fuentes on August 27, 2010.[4] and announced as the player to be named later going to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the trade for Fuentes on September 1, 2010.[5][6]
Van Mil joined the Netherlands national baseball team for the first time for the 2007 Baseball World Cup. He pitched 2 1/3 perfect innings in a save against the Venezuelan national team and threw three shutout frames for a save against the South Korean national team to keep the Dutch hopes alive for the quarterfinals; they would advance after they upset Cuba the next game. Van Mil threw 3 2/3 scoreless frames against the host Chinese Taipei national team in the quarterfinals to help the Netherlands win again. Van Mil pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings in the Bronze Medal game against the Japanese national team but was yanked after a walk to open the 8th and the runner came around to score.[7] van Mil still finished the Cup with a 0.71 ERA, second to Kenny Berkenbosch on the 4th-place Dutch team. He led the Netherlands with two saves. Van Mil throws a mid 90's fastball (clocked up to 99 mph), a slider and a change-up.[8]
Van Mil was selected by coach Robert Eenhoorn for the Dutch team in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.[9] However, he returned home before the games started due to injury and was replaced by veteran Dave Draijer.[10] This injury also prevented him from representing his country in the 2009 World Baseball Classic.