Johnny Balentina
| Johnny Balentina | |
|---|---|
 Balentina in 2005 | |
| Catcher | |
| Born: August 8, 1971 Willemstad, Curaçao | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
| Stats at Baseball Reference | |
Randolph Benito "Johnny" Balentina (born August 8, 1971) is a Curaçaoan former baseball player. He was a catcher in three consecutive Summer Olympics for the Netherlands, starting in 1996 in Atlanta. Twice, the Dutch team finished in sixth place (1996 and 2004) and once in fifth place (2000).[1][2]
Balentina won the Dutch baseball federation's Guus van der Heijden Memorial Trophy, given to the country's best under-23 player, in 1992.[3] He was the most valuable player at the 1995 and 1997 European Baseball Championships.[4] He was also the MVP of the 2004 Haarlem Baseball Week tournament. He appeared in more than 100 games for the Dutch team, including in the 2006 World Baseball Classic.[2]
Balentina played in the Honkbal Hoofklasse, the top Dutch league, primarily for Neptunus. He also played for Sparta, ADO (where he was a player–manager for two seasons), and Kinheim.[2][1][5] He also played for Royal Scorpions in Curaçao's league in 2008 and Cariparma Parma in the Italian Baseball League in 2009.[6][7] After retiring as a player, he returned to Curaçao and coached Wildcats KJ74 in the domestic league.[8]
References
[edit]- 1 2 "Johnny Balentina". Olympedia. Retrieved 2025-11-28.
- 1 2 3 "Johnny Balentina". Honkbalsite archief (in Dutch). Retrieved 2025-11-28.
- ↑ "Over ons | Onderscheidingen | Awards". KNBSB (in Dutch). Retrieved 2025-11-28.
- ↑ Chetwynd, Josh (2008). Baseball in Europe : a country by country history. McFarland & Co. pp. 250–252. ISBN 978-0-7864-3724-5.
- ↑ "Johnny Balentina nieuwe coach ADO". Honkbalsite archief (in Dutch). 17 September 2001. Retrieved 2026-01-19.
- ↑ "Johnny Balentina Career Stats Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2025-11-28.
- ↑ "Johnny Balentina next Dutch player to join Italian Baseball League". mister-baseball.com. 2008-11-26. Retrieved 2025-11-28.
- ↑ "Hoe is het nu met... Johnny Balentina". Honkbalweek Haarlem (in Dutch). 2018-03-27. Retrieved 2025-11-28.
External links
[edit]- (in Dutch) Dutch Olympic Committee
- Career statistics from Baseball Reference (Minors)
- 1971 births
- Living people
- Dutch people of Curaçaoan descent
- Olympic baseball players for the Netherlands
- Baseball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics
- Baseball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics
- Baseball players from Willemstad
- Baseball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics
- 2005 European Baseball Championship players
- 2005 Baseball World Cup players
- 2006 World Baseball Classic players
- 2013 World Baseball Classic players
- DOOR Neptunus players
- Parma Baseball Club players
- Curaçaoan expatriate baseball players in Italy
- World Baseball Classic players of the Netherlands
