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MLB: Top Five Players Currently Playing Overseas

By Gavin Lee

Sep 13, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; Colorado Rockies catcher Wilin Rosario (20) throws out St. Louis Cardinals left fielder Matt Holliday (not pictured) during the eighth inning at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the Rockies 5-4. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 13, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; Colorado Rockies catcher Wilin Rosario (20) throws out St. Louis Cardinals left fielder Matt Holliday (not pictured) during the eighth inning at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the Rockies 5-4. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /
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5. Rick VandenHurk

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Rick VandenHurk is an example of a player who just couldn’t find consistent playing time in the MLB, and decided to take his talents elsewhere.

In 2002, VandenHurk was a 16-year old catcher in the Netherlands being scouted by many MLB teams. He ended up signing with the Florida Marlins and entered their minor league system in 2003, immediately transitioning him to the mound. He performed well in his first few years as a pro, but didn’t get above A-ball.

Then, in April of 2007 Ricky Nolasco‘s elbow was acting up early in the season and the Marlins called on VandenHurk to make a spot start. He performed very well in his debut, allowing just 1 run in a rain shortened game. He would make 16 more starts that season, not going as smoothly, but was still a young arm with a lot of potential.

VandenHurk would bounce up and down between the minors and the big leagues for the next few years until in 2013 he decided to head to Korea to play in the KBO.  VandenHurk would pitch two solid seasons for the Samsung Lions, winning back-to-back Korean Series on a powerhouse club.

After the 2014 season, VandenHurk jumped leagues again, this time going to the SoftBank Hawks of the NPB.  At 30, the jump to a more pitching-minded league did VandenHurk good, going 9-0 with a 2.52 ERA and 120 K in just 93 innings. The Hawks would go on to win the Japan Series, making VandenHurk 3 for 3 in Asian leagues.

This season VandenHurk is off to an even better start, going 5-0 on the back of 1.98 ERA. His 14-0 record is the best start of all-time to an NPB career. With the Hawks off to a 22-8 start, VandenHurk looks like he’ll get another chance at a championship – with that kind of success why would he ever consider coming back to a league that released him three times.

Next: Not-So-Little Laird

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