Maikel Benner

Maikel Benner
Catcher / Outfielder
Born: (1980-03-24) 24 March 1980
Schiedam, Netherlands
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing  Netherlands
European Baseball Championship
Gold medal – first place2001 GermanyNational team
Gold medal – first place2003 NetherlandsNational team
Gold medal – first place2005 Czech RepublicNational team

Maikel Benner (born 24 March 1980) is a Dutch former baseball player. He was a catcher for the Netherlands national team at the 2004 Summer Olympics, 2006 World Baseball Classic, and other international tournaments. He also played in the Honkbal Hoofdklasse, the top Dutch league.

International career

Benner debuted for the Netherlands youth national team in 1996, playing in youth European and World championships.[1] He was first called up to the senior national team in February 2000.[2] He was on the Dutch team that won the 2001 and 2003 European Baseball Championships,[3] serving as one of the catchers for Eelco Jansen's no-hitter against Croatia in 2003.[4] Benner also played in the 2002 Intercontinental Cup.[5]

In the 2002 Haarlem Baseball Week, Benner had a .368 batting average, playing in all six games. Prior to the tournament, he mostly served as a backup to Johnny Balentina and Chairon Isenia.[6][1][7] He was with the national team for the 2003 Baseball World Cup, but did not play behind Isenia and Sidney de Jong.[8]

In the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, the Dutch team finished sixth.[9] Benner batted 0-for-4 with two walks, playing in parts of four games.[10][11] Just before the Olympics, he was on the Dutch team that won the 2004 Haarlem Baseball Week.[12] He also was on the Dutch team that won the 2005 European championship, again going 0-for-4 with two walks.[13]

In the 2006 World Baseball Classic, Benner had one pinch-hit at bat, striking out in a win over Panama. He retired from the national team the next month. He played in 42 games for the national team.[7][14]

Honkbal Hoofdklasse

Benner made his debut at the age of 16 in the Hoofdklasse with Sparta-Feyenoord in 1996. In 2000, he moved to the more storied Rotterdam club, Neptunus.[7] He won the Holland Series every season he played for Neptunus.[15] In a 2002 playoff series win over Pioniers, he had three hits then five hits in back-to-back games.[16] Benner was named the best catcher in the Hoofdklasse in 2003 and 2004.[17] He had 22 runs scored, 21 runs batted in, and 7 stolen bases in 2005.[7]

After the 2005 season, Benner and fellow national team players Percy Isenia, Robin van Doornspeek, Rob Cordemans, and Harvey Monte left for ADO.[18][19] After two seasons in The Hague, he joined Amsterdam Pirates,[14] winning the 2008 Holland Series under manager Rikkert Faneyte.[20] He batted over .300 in two seasons with Amsterdam, his final two seasons in the top Dutch league.[14] He was third in the league in runs.[21] He moved to lower-level Vlaardingen Holy for the 2010 season.[22]

References

  1. 1 2 "Maikel Benner". Honkbalsite archief (in Dutch). Retrieved 2026-08-20.
  2. ↑ "Voorselectie Nederlands honkbalteam bekend". Honkbalsite archief (in Dutch). 2000-02-08. Retrieved 2026-08-20.
  3. ↑ "Baseball - Europameisterschaften". sport-komplett.de (in German). Retrieved 2026-08-20.
  4. ↑ Visser, Seb (2024-03-28). "Terug in de tijd: De no-hitter van de 'Dutch Psycho'". HonkbalSoftbal.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 2026-08-20.
  5. ↑ "Nederlands team verliest opnieuw". Honkbalsite archief (in Dutch). 2002-11-10. Retrieved 2026-08-20.
  6. ↑ "Statistieken Nederland". Honkbalsite archief. 2002. Retrieved 2026-08-20.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Benner beëindigt interlandloopbaan". Honkbalsite archief (in Dutch). 2006-04-14. Retrieved 2026-08-20.
  8. ↑ "Statistieken Nederland". Honkbalsite archief. 2003. Retrieved 2026-08-20.
  9. ↑ "Maikel Benner". Olympedia. Retrieved 2026-08-20.
  10. ↑ "Official Results 2004 page 90". LA84 Foundation. Retrieved 2026-08-20.
  11. ↑ "BENNER Maikel". World Baseball Softball Confederation. Retrieved 2026-08-20.
  12. ↑ "Nederland wint 22e Haarlemse Honkbalweek". Honkbalsite archief (in Dutch). 2004-08-01. Retrieved 2026-08-20.
  13. ↑ "Statistieken Nederland". Honkbalsite archief. 2005. Retrieved 2026-08-20.
  14. 1 2 3 "Maikel Benner WBC Leagues Statistics". Baseball Reference. Retrieved 2026-08-20.
  15. ↑ "Nederlandse landskampioenen". Honkbalsite archief (in Dutch). Retrieved 2026-08-20.
  16. ↑ "Play-Offs 2002". Honkbalsite archief (in Dutch). Retrieved 2026-08-20.
  17. ↑ "Gregory Halman gekozen tot MVP". Honkbalsite archief (in Dutch). 2004-11-08. Retrieved 2026-08-20.
  18. ↑ "Drie internationals weg bij Neptunus". Honkbalsite archief (in Dutch). 2005-10-08. Retrieved 2026-08-20.
  19. ↑ "Ook Cordemans en Monte naar ADO". Honkbalsite archief (in Dutch). 2005-10-20. Retrieved 2026-08-20.
  20. ↑ "Hoofdklasse seizoen 2008". Honkbalsite archief (in Dutch). Retrieved 2026-08-20.
  21. ↑ "2009 in Review – Dutch Hoofdklasse – L&D Amsterdam Pirates". mister-baseball.com. 2009-11-03. Retrieved 2026-08-20.
  22. ↑ "L&D Amsterdam heeft selectie rond". Honkbalsite archief (in Dutch). 2009-10-23. Retrieved 2026-08-20.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.