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Wladimir Balentien, NPB’s single-season home run king, calls it quits

By Kevin Henry

Wladimir Balentien of the Netherlands acknowledges cheering fans after winning the World Baseball Classic Pool E second round match between Cuba and the Netherlands at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo on March 15, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / - (Photo credit should read -/AFP via Getty Images)
Wladimir Balentien of the Netherlands acknowledges cheering fans after winning the World Baseball Classic Pool E second round match between Cuba and the Netherlands at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo on March 15, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / - (Photo credit should read -/AFP via Getty Images) /
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Wladimir Balentien, who established a new single-season Nippon Professional Baseball home run record by bashing 60 home runs in 2013, has announced his retirement on Twitter.

Playing for Tokyo’s Yakult Swallows, Balentien made a name for himself as one of the premier power hitters in Japan during his 11 seasons in the NPB, including nine with the Swallows. Balentien has played the last two seasons for the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks.

Wladimir Balentien will finish his career in Nippon Professional Baseball with 1,001 hits and 301 home runs

Making the retirement announcement on Twitter, Balentien called himself the “hr king,” a title earned when he bypassed Sadaharu Oh’s single-season record of 55 home runs in 2013.

Balentien played in 170 Major League Baseball games for the Seattle Mariners and Cincinnati Reds between 2007 and 2009, racking up 559 plate appearances. He hit seven of his 15 career MLB home runs during the 2008 season with the Mariners, but he also slashed just .202/.250/.342 that year.

On July 29, 2009, he was traded by the Mariners to Cincinnati for pitcher Robert Manuel. He would play in just 40 games for the Reds before being granted free agency on November 6, 2010 after suiting up for Cincinnati’s Triple-A affiliate.

Of Dutch descent, Balentien made his mark for his home country during the World Baseball Classic. He played for The Netherlands in the 2004 Olympics as well as the 2013 and 2017 WBC, gathering a cult-like following after posting some stunning overall numbers and power in the 2017 version.

He was named one of the outfielders on the 2017 All-World Baseball Classic team after leading all WBC batters with four home runs, 12 RBI, 16 total hits, and tying with Carlos Correa (playing for Puerto Rico) for the WBC lead with 10 runs scored.

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In a 14-1 win over Cuba in Tokyo during 2017 WBC pool play, Balentien went 3-for-4 with five RBI in the victory. Among his hits that day were two home runs.

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