Tall athletes --
Netherlands
NetherlandsLoek van Mil -218 cm 2.18 m (7 ft 2 in) – Tallest baseball player. Ludovicus Jacobus Maria van Mil (born September 15, 1984 in Oss, Netherlands) is a minor league pitcher in the Minnesota Twins organization who currently plays for their AA Eastern League affiliate, the New Britain Rock Cats. At 7'1", Van Mil is the tallest player in the minor leagues. The 16th tall athlete in the world.
He signed a seven year deal as a non-drafted free agent on July 7, 2005 with the Twins, though the Seattle Mariners had also shown interest. Van Mil threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings for HCAW in 2006, spending most of the year with the GCL Twins. He was 1-2 with a 3.30 ERA in 10 games, 8 of them starts.
In 2007, the right-hander had a 2-2, 2.63 record in 13 relief stints for the Elizabethton Twins and held opponents to a .171 average, though he walked 17 in 24 innings. He struck out 23 batters.
Van Mil began 2008 with the Beloit Snappers. He was 2-2 with 3 saves and a 3.22 ERA and 42 strikeouts in his first 44 2/3 IP, making the Midwest League All-Star game. Van Mil suffered a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right arm while preparing for participation in the 2008 Summer Olympics, and missed the first seven weeks of the 2009 season while in rehab.
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Early career
In 2005, at age 20, Van Mil debuted with HCAW (Honkbalclub Allen Weerbaar), a Dutch professional baseball team from Bussum. He went 2-3 with a 5.26 earned run average and 34 strike outs, allowing 59 hits and 24 walks in 51 1/3 innings pitched.
In 2007, the right-hander had a 2-2, 2.63 record in 13 relief stints for the Elizabethton Twins and held opponents to a .171 average, though he walked 17 in 24 innings. He struck out 23 batters.
Van Mil began 2008 with the Beloit Snappers. He was 2-2 with 3 saves and a 3.22 ERA and 42 strikeouts in his first 44 2/3 IP, making the Midwest League All-Star game. Van Mil suffered a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right arm while preparing for participation in the 2008 Summer Olympics, and missed the first seven weeks of the 2009 season while in rehab.
Van Mil began his 2009 season in late May with the Fort Myers Miracle, playing in the Advanced A Florida State League. Later that year, he was promoted to the New Britain Rock Cats in the AA Eastern League. He finished the year 1-1 with a 2.79 ERA in 42 games between the two clubs, 25 games out of the bullpen with Fort Myers with a 2.86 ERA and another 8 games with New Britain for a 2.45 ERA. On November 20, 2009, he was added to the Twins' 40 man roster.
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- List of Tall athlete in the world.
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