Benjamin Dille
From BR Bullpen
Benjamin Dille
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 1", Weight 175 lb.
- Born September 13, 1986 in Antwerp Belgium
Benjamin Dille has been one of the best baseball players to come out of Belgium.
Dille was playing regularly for the Belgian national team when he was only 16 years old. In the 2003 European Championship, he hit .214/.267/.214 for Belgium. He played in the Eerste Klasse in the Netherlands from 2002 to 2004, helping DOOR Tridents to three titles.
Moving up to Sparta/Feyenoord in Hoofdklasse in 2005, Dille hit .295/.349/.396 to finish 15th in the league in average and 14th in slugging as one of his team's top threats. In 2006, Dille batted .358/.427/.444 with 32 runs in 40 games for DOOR Neptunus. He was second in the league in average, .008 behind leader Raily Legito. He was 7th in slugging and 9th in OBP. He was 8th in runs, tied Denny Beljaards for 6th in RBI (28), tied for 4th in triples (3), tied for 5th in total bases (72) and was third with 58 hits, trailing Johnny Balentina and Legito. He was just 2 for 16 in the playoffs as Neptunus's run of 7 straight titles came to an end. He also played for the Belgian national team in the European Championship qualifiers.
Dille hit .279/.349/.320 in a rough 2007. He edged René Cremer for the best fielding percentage among league second baseman with a .980 mark. He tied Tjerk Smeets for fifth with 36 runs, tied for 8th with 8 steals and was 9th with 48 hits.
Dille produced at a .348/.400/.522 clip with 8 runs in 5 games in the 2008 European Cup in Regensburg. He was one run shy of the tournament lead. Dille dominated the qualifier for the 2009 European Championship held in Antwerp, hitting .526/.609/.579 with 11 runs in 5 games, though he made five errors at shortstop. He won the MVP award and helped Belgium make it back to the "A" Pool of the European Championship.
Dille hit .326/.380/.424 for Neptunus in 2009. He did not finish in the top 10 in any department but was in the top 15 in a few. In the 2009 Holland Series, he went 7 for 15 with 2 walks, 6 runs, 2 doubles, a triple and 2 RBI in four games to power Neptunus to the title. He was named Series MVP for his efforts.
