Rikkert Faneyte

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Rikkert Faneyte
Outfielder
Born: (1969-05-31) May 31, 1969 (age 56)
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
August 29, 1993, for the San Francisco Giants
Last MLB appearance
May 29, 1996, for the Texas Rangers
Men's baseball
Representing Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands
European Baseball Championship
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1987 Spain Team
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1999 Italy Team

Rikkert Faneyte (born May 31, 1969) is a Dutch former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball from 1993 to 1996 for the San Francisco Giants and Texas Rangers. He was a member of the Netherlands national team that finished in fifth place at 1988 and 2000 Summer Olympics.

Contents

Professional career

Faneyte grew up playing baseball starting at the age of four in the Netherlands and played college baseball at Miami-Dade South Junior College. [1] He was teammates with future MLB pitcher Alex Fernandez. [2]

The San Francisco Giants drafted Faneyte in the 16th round of the 1990 MLB draft. He was a California League All-Star in 1992. He made his major league debut with the Giants in late August 1993, becoming the third player from the Netherlands to play in the majors, after pitchers Bert Blyleven and Win Remmerswaal. [2] [3] He was named a Pacific Coast League All-Star after that season. [2] The Giants traded Faneyte to the Texas Rangers after the 1995 season. He never topped a .200 batting average in parts of four seasons in the majors. [4] Faneyte was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in December 1996 [5] but never played in an official game for the organization. [6]

Faneyte also played for the Amsterdam Pirates of Honkbal Hoofdklasse after finishing his American career. [6] The team retired his number 19 in 2001. [7] [8] Faneyte managed Amsterdam in 2008, winning the Holland Series and the national coach of the year award, and 2009. [9] [10]

International career

Faneyte played on the Netherlands national team in two Summer Olympics and other international tournaments. He was on Dutch teams that finished fifth in both 1988, when baseball was a demonstration sport, and 2000. [11] He earned a save in the Netherlands' 2000 Olympics 4–2 win against Cuba, which was Cuba's first-ever loss in the Olympics. [12] [13]

Faneyte won two European championships with the Netherlands [14] and was the most valuable player of the 1987 European championship. [15] He scored the most runs in the 1999 championship, which qualified the team for the 2000 Olympics. [16]

Early in his career, Faneyte won the Ron Fraser Award, as the best Dutch youth player, and the Guus van der Heijden Memorial Trophy, given to the best national team player younger than 23. [17]

References

  1. ↑ Weber, Rick (March 17, 1996). "Long Road to the Majors". The Daily Oklahoman.
  2. 1 2 3 San Francisco Giants 1994 Media Guide. 1994. pp. 76, 77.
  3. ↑ Bentley, Mac (April 9, 1996). "89ers Outfielder a Dutch Treat". p. 19.
  4. ↑ "Rikkert Faneyte Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 19, 2026.
  5. ↑ "Becker Says He Won't Play Against Spain". The Daily Oklahoman. December 24, 1996. p. 22.
  6. 1 2 "Rikkert Faneyte Minor Leagues Statistics". Baseball Reference . Retrieved January 19, 2026.
  7. ↑ "L&D Amsterdam Pirates retired #19 for Rikkert Faneyte". mister-baseball.com. April 30, 2018.
  8. ↑ Stoovelaar, Marco (April 28, 2018). "Rookie wins game for Amsterdam Pirates; Retired Numbers unveiled". Grand Slam * Stats & News Netherlands. Retrieved January 20, 2026.
  9. ↑ "Mark Duursma door KNBSB uitgeroepen tot MVP". Honkbalsite archief (in Dutch). December 20, 2008. Retrieved January 20, 2026.
  10. ↑ "Rikkert Fanyete no longer Head Coach in Amsterdam". mister-baseball.com. September 29, 2009. Retrieved January 20, 2026.
  11. ↑ "Rikkert Faneyte". Olympedia . Retrieved January 20, 2026.
  12. ↑ Stoovelaar, Marco (September 20, 2000). "Box Score The Netherlands-Cuba 4-2". stoovstats.com. Archived from the original on March 23, 2005. Retrieved January 20, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Meulens' Double Leads Netherlands to Upset of Cuba". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. September 20, 2000. Retrieved January 20, 2026.
  14. ↑ "Rosters of top three teams at the European Championship". www.sport-komplett.de (in German). Retrieved January 20, 2026.
  15. ↑ Chetwynd, Josh (2008). Baseball in Europe : a country by country history . Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co. p. 247. ISBN   978-0-7864-3724-5 . Retrieved January 20, 2026.
  16. ↑ Stoovelaar, Marco. "European Baseball Championships 1999". Grand Slam Stats & News. Archived from the original on December 20, 2012.
  17. ↑ "Over ons | Onderscheidingen | Awards". KNBSB (in Dutch). Retrieved January 20, 2026.
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