Royal Dutch Baseball and Softball Association has confirmed the death of Dutch pitcher Loek Van Mil on Sunday at age 34. The player’s sudden death came less than a year after he was involved in a serious hiking accident in Australia.
Netherlands baseball and softball association extended their condolences to Van Mil’s grieving family. “The KNBSB is very grateful to Mil for what he has done in his career for Dutch baseball and wishes the surviving relatives strength to cope with this major loss,” a statement from the organization said.
However, the said organization did not give any further details regarding his death.
Van Mil, a 7-foot-1 inch Dutch pitcher who spent most of his career in minor leagues, started playing with the Minnesota Twins in 2006, and he made it up to Double-A in 2010. In the same year, he was traded to the Los Angeles Angels and spent time with the Cleveland Indians in 2012 and the Cincinnati Reds in 2013.
He also played for Japan Pacific League, Dutch Major League and Australian Baseball League. He became the representative of Netherlands where he competed at World Baseball Classic in 2013 and 2017.
Van Mil is the tallest man to have ever played professional baseball and was tied with former Arizona Diamondbacks prospect Ryan Doherty.
Last December, the former MLB pitcher was admitted to an Australian hospital after he hit his head on the rocks and suffered a number of injuries, including fractures and bleeding on the brain, during a hike in the outskirts of Brisbane.
He was admitted to the hospital and received treatment for multiple fractures, hemorrhages, and bleeding of the brain.
Van Mil announced his retirement from baseball just a week ago as he continued to recover from the head injury he sustained in the hiking accident.
