David Bergman
From BR Bullpen
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David Bergman
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 2", Weight 220 lb.
- Born August 16, 1981 in Haarlem The Netherlands
[edit] Biographical Information
David Bergman was on the Netherlands youth national team from 1997 through 1999, during which they won three European titles. Bergman made his Hoofdklasse debut with the 2003 Pioniers, going 8-4 with a 2.22 ERA. He was fifth in the league in ERA, tied Dave Draijer for fourth in wins and was fourth with 71 strikeouts. In the 2003 European Championship, he won his only game, pitching five scoreless innings. He pitched four scoreless innings and got a save in the 2003 World Port Tournament. He pitched for the Netherlands in the qualifying tournament for the 2004 Olympics, though he did not make the Dutch squad for the Olympics themselves.
In 2004, he was 7-5 with a 1.98 ERA, again fifth, and 79 strikeouts, the third-most. The next year, Bergman was 1-0 with a 1.00 ERA in two games in the 2005 Baseball World Cup as the Netherlands made the semifinals for the first time ever. In the regular season, he had a 6-4, 1.44 line and improved to third in ERA. His 63 strikeouts placed him sixth.
At age 24, he represented the Netherlands in the 2006 World Baseball Classic, allowing 4 hits and one run in 1 1/3 relief innings against Puerto Rico. Moving on to Kinheim and getting more support, David was 12-1 with a 1.94 ERA in 2006. He was 5th in Hoofdklasse in ERA, tied Patrick Beljaards and Diegomar Markwell for the win lead and led in winning percentage. His 72 strikeouts ranked fifth in the circuit.
David was 2-0 in the 2006 Intercontinental Cup, allowing no runs in 11 innings. He tied for the tournament lead in wins and ERA.
Bergman beat USA's college national team when the Dutch national team made a visit to the US in 2007. It was just the 4th time in 25 games in the past five years that the Netherlands had beaten the US. He allowed no runs in 6 in a 9-3 win.
In the 2007 Hoofdklasse season, Bergman went 12-2 with a 2.06 ERA. He led the league in wins, was second in innings (96), tied for 4th in complete games (2), second in strikeouts (85, trailing Jos de Jong) and 7th in ERA. He was 1-1 with a 1.98 ERA in the playoffs then 1-0 with a 5.14 ERA in the 2007 Holland Series, which Kinheim won. He won Pitcher of the Year honors, beating out finalists Leon Boyd and Jos de Jong.
In the 2007 European Cup, Bergman was the top pitcher in the tournament, allowing no earned runs in 10 innings to help Kinheim win its first European Cup ever. Bergman was 1-0 and allowed only 5 hits and a walk in the event. He was 1-0 with a 2.53 ERA in the 2007 World Port Tournament.
Bergman got the start in the Gold Medal game of the 2007 European Championship. He carried a no-hitter into the 7th against Great Britain as the Dutch won, 6-1. He went 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA on the tournament - it was the second-highest ERA on the Dutch staff. He made the All-Star team for the tourney. The victory helped the Dutch clinch a spot in the 2008 Olympics.
Bergman got a historic win in the 2007 Baseball World Cup, when he pitched 2 1/3 perfect innings in relief of Diegomar Markwell as the Dutch beat the Cuban national team 2-1. Bergman got the heart of the Cuban order - Yulieski Gourriel, Alexander Mayeta and Frederich Cepeda - in order in the 9th. It was the first time the Netherlands or any European team had ever beaten Cuba in the Baseball World Cup. He held Team USA to one run in first 7 innings in the semifinals only to lose to Matt Wright. He was 1-1 with a 5.68 ERA overall in the event despite the two fine outings.
Bergman had a 0.00 ERA in 9 innings in the 2008 European Cup in Grosseto and was 1-0, working well against the Marlins Puerto Cruz and Rouen Huskies to help Kinheim win the Cup. He tied Jason Kosow for the Cup lead in ERA.
Bergman's 13.52 ERA was the highest on the Dutch squad in the 2008 Olympics; he was 0-1 with a save and allowed 9 hits and 4 walks in 4 2/3 IP. He failed to last 4 innings in his start against Tawain, a team the Netherlands had outperformed in the last two World Cups and most recent Intercontinental Cup. He pitched poorly in relief against both Cuba and China, though he did get the save in the latter game, locking up the only Dutch win in Beijing.
In the 2008 Hoofdklasse, Bergman was 8-1 with a 1.42 ERA. He was second to Rob Cordemans in ERA, tied Mihai Burlea for second in opponent average (.199, behind Cordemans), was second in opponent OBP (.276, behind Cordemans) and tied Roger Kops for 6th in wins. He was less effective in the postseason, splitting two playoff decisions. In the 2008 Holland Series, the Amsterdam Pirates lit him up for 16 hits and 8 runs in 7 2/3 IP as he pitched in game one then lost game 3 on short rest.
David was with the Orange in the 2009 World Baseball Classic, giving up 8 hits and 3 runs in 5 innings of work. He had a scoreless relief stint against Puerto Rico but gave up 2 runs the next time he faced them, both related to a Alex Rios triple; against the USA, he allowed one run.
In the 2009 European Cup's Matino phase, Bergman allowed two runs in six innings to pick up a crucial win over T&A San Marino. In the Cup's Final Four, Bergman battled Carlos Richetti evenly with five shutout innings before fading, giving up 3 runs in the 6th and 7th (retiring no one in the 7th before leaving). He was 0-1 with a 3.29 ERA in the 2009 World Port Tournament. He tossed two innings in the finale and surrendered a 2-run homer to Eriel Sánchez.
After going 32-4 from 2006-2008, Bergman started the 2009 season 1-4.
Sources: Honkbalsite.com, Worldbaseballclassic.com, Marco Stoolvar's page on Dutch baseball, Mister Baseball, Harry Wedemeijer's international competitions statistics site, 2008 European Cup in Grosseto, 2008 Olympics, 2009 European Cup in Matino, 2009 European Cup Final Four
