Hensley Meulens

Hensley Filemon Acasio Meulens RON (Papiamento pronunciation: [ˈhɛnsli ˈmʏiləns]; born June 23, 1967), nicknamed "Bam Bam", is a Curaçaoan professional baseball player and current bench coach for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). A native of Curaçao, he played from 1989 to 2000 in MLB, Nippon Professional Baseball, and the Korea Baseball Organization. He was the first Curaçaoan to play in both MLB and the Dominican Professional Baseball League.[1]

Hensley Meulens
Meulens in 2011
New York Mets – No. 58
Outfielder / Coach
Born: (1967-06-23) June 23, 1967
Willemstad, Curaçao
Batted: Right Threw: Right
Professional debut
MLB: August 23, 1989, for the New York Yankees
NPB: April 9, 1994, for the Chiba Lotte Marines
KBO: 2000, for the SK Wyverns
Last appearance
MLB: May 14, 1998, for the Arizona Diamondbacks
NPB: October 2, 1996, for the Yakult Swallows
KBO: 2000, for the SK Wyverns
MLB statistics
Batting average.220
Home runs15
Runs batted in53
Teams
As player

As coach

Career highlights and awards

Hitting home runs left-handed while playing softball as a teenager earned Meulens the nickname "Bam Bam" when his friends compared his power to the Flintstones cartoon character.[2]

Over the course of his career, Meulens would become the first to play for all four of the major Caribbean winter leagues.[3]

Playing career

Early career (1985–1993)

Hensley Meulens was signed by the Yankees as an undrafted free agent in 1985. After struggling in his first professional season in 1986 with the Gulf Coast Yankees, Meulens made a splash in 1987 with Single-A Prince William, hitting .300 with 28 HR and 103 RBI, also being named to the Carolina League All-Star team. His hitting cooled somewhat in 1988 and 1989 as he split time between the Double-A Albany-Colonie Yankees of the Eastern League and the Triple-A Columbus Clippers of the International League.

His bat rebounded in 1990 for Columbus as he helped lead the team to the 1990 International League championships (where they ultimately lost to Rochester), hitting .285 with 26 HR and 96 RBI, and was named the 1990 International League MVP. Meulens' impressive 1990 season earned him a spot on the Yankees roster in 1991,[4] but he was back in Columbus in 1992 to help lead the Clippers to the Governors' Cup Championship.

New York Yankees (1989–1993)

Meulens made his major league debut with the New York Yankees on August 23, 1989. Meulens never attained a permanent spot on the New York lineup, despite spending the entire 1991 season on the Yankees roster. Averaging a strike-out every three at bats, Meulens platooned in left field with Mel Hall. He saw limited action with the Yankees in late-season call-ups in 1992 and 1993.

Japan (1994–1996)

In November 1993, the Yankees sold Meulens' contract to the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball,[5] where he spent the 1994 season, hitting 23 home runs and driving in 69 runs while accumulating 135 strikeouts. The following season, Meulens signed with the Yakult Swallows, helping lead the Swallows to the 1995 Japan Series championship.

Back to America (1997–2002)

He returned to North America in 1997, and after an unsuccessful tryout with the Atlanta Braves,[6][7] he reached the Majors again briefly playing with the Montreal Expos (while having a good season for the Expos' AAA affiliate Ottawa Lynx) and Arizona Diamondbacks. Unable to secure a contract with a major league team in 1999, Meulens signed with the Newark Bears of the independent Atlantic League.[8] He made one last stop in Asia, playing 14 games with the SK Wyverns of the Korea Baseball Organization and batting only .196, before heading his professional playing career to the Mexican League with the Saraperos de Saltillo in 2001 and finally retiring, in 2002, after a mid-season injury while playing with the Pericos de Puebla.

International competition

Meulens represented the Netherlands at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. His 4th-inning double gave the Cuban team their first Olympic loss in 21 games.[9] Ultimately, the Netherlands took fifth place in the final standings. He returned to the team as a coach for the 2004 Summer Olympics and the 2009 World Baseball Classic. Meulens was named to serve as manager for the team during the 2013 World Baseball Classic.[10]

Meulens also played for the Dutch team in the 2001 Baseball World Cup in Taichung, Taiwan and 2002 Intercontinental Cup in Havana, Cuba.

Coaching career

Meulens began his coaching career with the Bluefield Orioles for the 2003 and 2004 seasons. From 2005-2008, he was the hitting coach of the Indianapolis Indians, the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates,[11][12] also coaching in the Arizona Fall League for the Peoria Saguaros in 2005 and the Hawaii Winter Baseball league for the Honolulu Sharks in the 2006 off-season. In 2009, Meulens served as hitting coach for the Fresno Grizzlies, the AAA affiliate of the San Francisco Giants of the Pacific Coast League.[13] Meulens reached the Major League ranks as batting coach in 2010, serving as hitting coach for the San Francisco Giants following the firing of previous hitting coach Carney Lansford.[14] He helped the Giants win a World Series in three of his first five years. In November 2017, Meulens became one of six candidates interviewed by the New York Yankees for their vacant manager position, following the decision not to renew the contract of Joe Girardi. The other candidates were Carlos Beltran, Aaron Boone, Rob Thomson, Eric Wedge and Chris Woodward.

Hensley Meulens also runs the Dutch Antilles Baseball Academy in Curaçao.[15] He is reportedly interested in starting a baseball league in Curaçao in association with Major League Baseball's RBI Program.

Meuelens was named bench coach of the New York Mets on December 8, 2019.[16]

Personal life

Meulens is married to Gyselle Meulens Petronia and has four daughters, 2 from a previous marriage—Michelle MarIise Aimee Meulens-Ebecilio (1989), Danielle Marie Antonia Meulens-Ebecilio (1992), Mia Valentina Turya (Feb. 29, 2012), and Evangelina Cristina Vuri (Jan. 14, 2014). In addition to the two daughters he has with his wife, Gyselle, he also has a son, Elijah Gabriel Ludwig (April 14, 2010).

Meulens speaks five languages: English, Spanish, Dutch, Papiamento and Japanese.[17]

On April 27, 2012, Meulens was awarded the order of Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau by Queen Beatrix. A ceremony was held at AT&T Park on July 13, 2012, where he was introduced as 'Sir' Hensley Meulens. The award ceremony highlighted his role in victory by The Netherlands in the 2011 Baseball World Cup.

Notes
  1. "Licey gana importante partido al Escogido y sale del sotano". El Día (November 10, 2012). Archived from no the original Check |url= value (help) on 2014-12-15.
  2. ""BAM-BAM" Meulens is Grizzlies Hitting Coach". CBS47.tv (April 13, 2009). Retrieved 2014-08-16.
  3. "ENTREVISTA HENSLEY MEULENS: Mi vida es la pelota". eluniversal.com (December 12, 2010). Archived from the original on 2014-08-19. Retrieved 2010-12-24.
  4. Martinez, Michael (1991-02-28). "Hard-Working Meulens Gets a Shot". New York Times (February 28, 1991). Retrieved 2009-01-04.
  5. "Meulens to Play in Japan". New York Times (November 27, 1993). 1993-11-27. Retrieved 2008-08-23.
  6. Harper, John (1997-02-26). "BAM-BAM'S BRAVE WORLD EX-YANK PHENOM IS BACK". New York Daily News (February 26, 1997). Archived from the original on 2011-06-05. Retrieved 2008-08-23.
  7. Zack, Bill. "Braves Notebook". Augusta Chronicle (March 21, 1997). Archived from the original on 2007-08-11. Retrieved 2008-08-23.
  8. "NEWARK BEARS SIGN "BAM BAM"". NewarkBears.com (April 9, 1999). Archived from the original on 1999-10-02. Retrieved 2008-09-05.
  9. "Meulens' Double Leads Netherlands to Upset of Cuba". Los Angeles Times (September 20, 2000). 2000-09-20. Retrieved 2008-08-23.
  10. "Meulens will manage in WBC". San Francisco Chronicle (October 10, 2012). 2012-10-10. Retrieved 2013-02-06.
  11. "Indianapolis Indians Roster - 2008 Field Staff". Minor League Baseball. Retrieved 2008-08-23.
  12. Bosma, Brian. "Jewett and Meulens will not return in 2009". Minor League Baseball. Retrieved 2008-09-08.
  13. "Rohn Returns To Lead Grizzlies 2009 Field Staff". OurSportsCentral.com. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
  14. "Giants hire Meulens as hitting coach". Yahoo.com. Retrieved 2009-11-02.
  15. "Dutch Antilles Baseball Academy Curaçao". Archived from the original on 2011-10-04. Retrieved 2008-08-23.
  16. New York Mets (December 8, 2019). "Mets Announce 2020 Coaching Staff". MLB.com. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
  17. Segal, Matt. "Catching up w/ Hitting Coach Hensley Meulens". IndyIndians.com (March 12, 2008). Retrieved 2008-09-02.
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