Percy Isenia

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Percy Isenia
Percy Insenia.jpg
Percy Isenia
First baseman / Designated hitter
Born: (1976-12-25) 25 December 1976 (age 49)
Zwijndrecht, Netherlands
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Men's baseball
Representing Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands
Intercontinental Cup
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2006 Taiwan National team
European Baseball Championship
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1999 Italy National team
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2001 Germany National team
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2003 Netherlands National team
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2005 Czech Republic National team

Percy Paul Isenia (born 25 December 1976) is a Dutch former baseball first baseman who played for the Netherlands national team and several Honkbal Hoofdklasse teams. He played in the 2000 and 2008 Summer Olympics and 2006 World Baseball Classic. He also managed the Netherlands women's national team at the 2010 Women's Baseball World Cup.

Contents

Playing career

Isenia debuted with the Netherlands national team in the 1999 World Port Tournament, [1] batting .304/.385/.478 and helping the Netherlands to the title. He was 3-for-9 with a double, triple, and 5 walks in the 1999 European Championship, also won by the Dutch. In the 1999 Intercontinental Cup, he hit .320/.370/.360 as the best Dutch hitter in a disappointing tournament for the team.[ citation needed ] He won the nation Guus van de Heijden Award as the best national player under 23. [1]

In 2000, the Neptunus player tied for 4th in Hoofdklasse with 35 runs, tied for 8th with 3 home runs, and tied for fifth with 29 RBI. In the 2000 Haarlem Baseball Week, Isenia was 4-for-15 with a double, two walks, two RBI and a run.[ citation needed ] He then hit .250/.280/.333 as the Dutch first baseman in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney in which the Netherlands finished fifth. [2] [3]

In 2001, Isenia helped the Netherlands win the European Championship, [1] batting fifth and playing first base in the gold medal game. He batted .250/.324/.375 but led the team with 9 RBI.[ citation needed ] His 39 RBI for Neptunus in 2001 were second in Hoofdklasse to Mike Crouwel  [ nl ]. [1] He helped Neptunus to the title. [4] In the 2001 World Port Tournament, he hit .231/.302/.436[ citation needed ] with two home runs for the silver medalists. [5] In the 2001 Baseball World Cup, Isenia batted .250/.308/.417,[ citation needed ] playing all 10 games for the Orange. [6]

In the 2002 Intercontinental Cup, Isenia produced at a .182/.308/.455 clip; he hit one of only two homers for the Netherlands, with Hensley Meulens providing the other.[ citation needed ] In the Dutch league that year, Isenia excelled. He hit .340 (4th in Hoofdklasse), [7] had 67 hits (second to Dirk van 't Klooster), scored 29 runs (10th), smacked 16 doubles (leading the league, one ahead of Raily Legito), hit 3 homers (tied for 8th) and drove in 43 (second-best, one behind leader Sidney de Jong.[ citation needed ] During 2002 Haarlem Baseball Week, he went 2-for-16 with one walk, run, and RBI. [8]

Neptunus won another title in 2003 thanks to Isenia. He tied Norbert Lokhorst for the lead with 11 doubles and his 4 homers were one behind leader Evert-Jan 't Hoen. He tied van 't Klooster for 5th in RBI (26).[ citation needed ] In the 2003 Baseball World Cup, Isenia played DH so that Sharnol Adriana could be used at first. Isenia batted .333 with 1 home run and 5 RBI in six games. [9] During the 2003 European Championship, playing alongside his brother Chairon, Isenia was 3-for-6 in two games for the Dutch champions. [10] In the 2003 World Port Tournament, he hit .243/~.282/.378, with his 7 RBI tied with Fausto Álvarez for third-most in the event. He hit one of the two homers in the tournament that year; Tjerk Smeets had the other.[ citation needed ]

In 2004, the 27-year-old did not finish among the Hoofdklasse leaders in anything for the first time in five years. Isenia did not make the Dutch team for the 2004 Summer Olympics, as Yurendell de Caster was chosen at first base instead with de Jong as the backup.[ citation needed ] During 2004 Haarlem Baseball Week, Isenia went 2-for-11 with one double, walk, run, and 3 RBI. [11]

Isenia hit .271/.347/.349 for Neptunus in 2005 as they won their sixth straight title.[ citation needed ] In the 2005 Baseball World Cup, he batted .289 to help the Dutch finish 4th, their best finish to that point. He had 7 doubles, 11 runs and 8 RBI in 10 games. [12] [13] He made the All-Tournament team at first base. [14] Isenia also did well in the 2005 European Championship, tying Ivanon Coffie for third in hits (14), finishing 4th in slugging (.710) and tying for third in RBI (10); Jairo Ramos Gizzi beat him out for All-Star honors at first base.[ citation needed ]

In the 2006 World Baseball Classic, Isenia struck out against J.C. Romero as a pinch-hitter for Adriana in the 8th inning of the team's first game. In game three, he was 2-for-4 with a walk as the #5 hitter and DH in a rout of Panama.[ citation needed ] Overall, his .400/.500/.400 line produced a better OPS than the team's other 1B/DH options, major leaguer Randall Simon and minor-league veteran Adriana. [15] Isenia hit .273/.385/.273 in the 2006 Haarlem Baseball Week and scored the tying run in the finale against Cuba.[ citation needed ] In 2006, he moved to SV ADO and produced at a .240/.308/.331 clip, a shadow of his former self. He tied Harvey Monte for fifth in doubles. He hit .226 with 2 home runs, 7 runs, and 8 RBI in 8 games in the 2006 Intercontinental Cup to help the Dutch to a silver medal. [16]

Isenia batted .282/.331/.444 in his final season with ADO in 2007. [17] He was 4-for-19 with a double and 3 RBIin 6 games in the 2007 World Port Tournament. [18]

Isenia was selected by coach Robert Eenhoorn for the Netherlands national team at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. [19] [3]

Isenia moved to Sparta-Feyenoord in 2008, then Amsterdam Pirates in 2011, ending his Hoofdklasse career after 2014. [17]

Coaching career

Isenia was an early promoter of women's baseball in the Netherlands. He was the manager of the Netherlands national team in the 2010 Women's World Cup, the team's first appearance in the tournament. [20] [21] The Dutch women lost all their games in the tournament. [22]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Percy Isenia". Honkbalsitearchief.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  2. "Official Results 2000 page 35". digital.la84.org. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  3. 1 2 "Percy Isenia". Olympedia. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  4. "Hoofdklasse seizoen 2001". Honkbalsite archief (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  5. "Geslaagde negende editie WPT". honkbalsite archief (in Dutch). 8 July 2001. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  6. "Tournament records". baseball.ch. Archived from the original on 16 February 2005.
  7. Baseball America almanac 2003. Baseball America. 2003. p. 379. ISBN   978-0-684-01929-1.
  8. "Statistieken Nederland". honkbalsite archief. 2002. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  9. "Statistieken Nederland". Honkbalsite archief. 2003. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  10. "Statistieken Nederland". Honkbalsite archief. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  11. "Statistieken Nederland". Honkbalsite archief. 2004. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  12. "Statistieken Nederland". www.honkbalsitearchief.nl. 2005. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  13. "Prijs voor Dirk van 't Klooster". honkbalsitearchief.nl (in Dutch). 17 September 2005. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  14. Baseball America almanac, 2006 : a comprehensive review of the 2005 season, featuring statistics and commentary. Baseball America: Distributed by Simon & Schuster. 2006. p. 349. ISBN   978-1-932391-07-7.
  15. "WBC Stats | WBC Team Stats | WBC Leaders". MLB.com. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  16. "Statistieken Nederland". Honkbalsite archief. 2006. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  17. 1 2 "Percy Isenia Career Stats Leagues Statistics". Baseball Reference. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  18. "Statistieken Nederland". Honkbalsite archief. 2007. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  19. Dutch Olympic Baseball squad 2008 Archived 2008-08-04 at the Wayback Machine , knbsb.nl, ret: Aug 5, 2008
  20. van Zon, Rogier (11 May 2010). "Debuut Nederland op WK in Venezuela". Honkbalsite archief (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  21. van Zon, Rogier (25 August 2016). "Dix: 'we zijn fitter en sterker dan twee jaar geleden'". HonkbalSoftbal.nl (in Dutch).
  22. van Zon, Rogier (21 August 2010). "Nederland tiende op WK voor vrouwen". honkbalsite archief (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 February 2026.