Robert Eenhoorn

From BR Bullpen

Robert Franciscus Eenhoorn

Bats Right, Throws Right
Height 6' 3", Weight 170 lb.
School Davidson College
Debut April 27, 1994
Final Game September 28, 1997
Born February 9, 1968 in Rotterdam, Netherlands

[edit] Biographical Information

Robert Eenhoorn had a brief major league career spread out over 4 seasons, but was a productive player in the minors and has been a big factor in Dutch baseball for many years.

Eenhoorn's father played baseball during World War II as an act of Dutch rebellion against the German occupation. Robert played soccer and baseball growing up and credited his soccer play with helping his footwork on the diamond.

A second-round draft pick by the Yankees in 1990, Eenhoorn began his professional career with the pennant-winning Oneonta Yankees and hit .268/~.304/.355. He was voted to the New York-Penn League All-Star team as a utility infielder and was labeled a "defensive genius" by Baseball America. He led the league's shortstops in fielding percentage (.960). According to Baseball America, he was the top prospect in a league that produced Carlos Delgado, Jeromy Burnitz and Brian Giles.

In 1991 he hit .350/~.395/.575 for the GCL Yankees and .241/~.327/.343 for the Prince William Cannons. The next season, he batted .305/~.365/.409 with the Fort Lauderdale Yankees and .235/~.272/.327 for the Albany Yankees after entering the season as the #6 prospect in the Yankees system according to Baseball America. He was downgraded to #7 after the year, behind Derek Jeter and ahead of Dave Silvestri among pinstriped shortstops.

In 1993, he was the All-Star shortstop in the Eastern League. He batted .280/~.325/.433 that season, doing a good job at AA at age 25. He was removed from the top Yankee prospect list after that year.

In 1994, Robert batted .239/.270/.324 for the Columbus Clippers. He went 2 for 4 in his first cup of coffee with the Yankees in 1994. With Jeter moving up to Columbus in '95, Eernhorn was moved to second base and batted .252/~.296/.352. He was 2 for 14 in the majors. In 1996, he hit .337/~.409/.448 for a title-winning Columbus contingent but was only 1 for 14 in the major leagues.

Placed on waivers, he was snatched in September 1996 by the Anaheim Angels. In 1997, he hit .308/~.344/.473 for the Vancouver Canadians and tied for the Pacific Coast League lead with 12 sacrifice hits. He was 7 for 20 with the Angels, playing his last major league contest that season.

He closed out his career in 1998 with the Norfolk Tides (.233/~.307/.352).

Altogether, his major league career comprised appearances in 4 seasons, of which 20 games were with the Yankees and 17 games with the Angels. He played at 2nd base, shortstop, and 3rd base.

He played for the Netherlands in many international competitions. He was in the 1988 Seoul Olympics and in the 1988 Baseball World Cup (hitting .256/.283/.395, fielding .887 with 8 errors in 11 games at SS). He was on the Netherlands’ Gold Medal teams in the 1987 and 1999 European Championships. In the latter European Championship, he batted .200/.304/.200 only and made three errors in five games at shortstop; the Dutch won Gold despite his struggles. He hit .316/~.333/.368 in the 1999 World Port Tournament. He had four errors in nine games but split WPT MVP honors with double play mate Ken Brauckmiller as they turned 10 double plays during the tournament. In the 1999 Intercontinental Cup, Eenhoorn hit a miserable .087/.125/.087 for the Netherlands.

He won the Hoofdklasse MVP award in 2000. As a coach, he was Coach of the Year honoree by the Royal Dutch Baseball and Softball Association twice in a row. He managed the Netherlands to a Gold Medal at the 2001 European Championships, a seventh place finish in the 2001 Baseball World Cup, 2003 Baseball World Cup and 4th-place finishes in the 2005 Baseball World Cup and 2007 Baseball World Cup, the highest Dutch finishes ever to that point. In 2007, he piloted the team to a win over Cuba, the first Cuban loss to a European team in a World Cup.

Eenhoorn played for The Netherlands at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. He was the manager of the 2004 Dutch Olympic team that finished sixth at the Athens Games. His coaches included Davey Johnson and Hensley Meulens. He also managed the Dutch team at the 2006 World Baseball Classic.

Eenhoorn said he would stop managing the Dutch team after the 2009 World Baseball Classic. Through the 2007 World Cup, he led all Dutch national team managers in games (169) and wins (111, 39 more than Jan Dick Leurs).

Eenoorhn won the CEB Coach of the Year Award for 2007, the first time it was awarded.

Through 2006, is the most recent major league player to come out of Davidson College in North Carolina.