Greg Halman

Gregory Anthony Halman (August 26, 1987 – November 21, 2011) was a Dutch professional baseball outfielder. He played with the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB) in and . He played for the Netherlands national team in the 2009 World Baseball Classic and other international tournaments. He died in Rotterdam in November 2011 after being stabbed at the home of his younger brother, , who was arrested in connection with the stabbing then acquitted on the grounds of temporary insanity.

Playing career

The Netherlands

Halman, like his father and younger brother Jason, played professional baseball in the Netherlands and on the Netherlands national team. Halman debuted when he was 16 years old with the Dutch Honkbal Hoofdklasse team Kinheim in Haarlem in 2003. That season, he led the league with six triples. The next year, Halman was one of the best players in the country, batting .358 with a league-leading 4 home runs, 4 triples, and 41 runs batted in (RBIs). He hit for the cycle in a May game against Sparta-Feyenoord. He won the league's most valuable player award and was named the most promising young Dutch player. He primarily played first base in 2004. His strong play drew the notice of American baseball scouts.

Halman was named to the Netherlands' provisional roster ahead of the 2006 World Baseball Classic (WBC) but was not selected for the final team. He also played in the 2007 Baseball World Cup, batting .214 with 3 RBI in seven games.

In the 2009 WBC, Halman hit .091 with one double and nine strikeouts in 11 at bats in four games.

Minor League Baseball Halman signed with the Minnesota Twins on November 21, 2003, but his contract was voided on April 1, 2004. He signed with the Seattle Mariners on June 26, 2004 for $130,000.

In 2006, he hit .259 with 5 home runs and 15 RBI in 28 games for the Class-A Short Season Everett AquaSox. He was third on the team with 10 stolen bases. He had a 12-game hitting streak from June 21 to July 4. He had season-high three hits on July 19. However, he suffered a season-ending injury, fracturing his right hand With the AquaSox, he hit .307 with 16 home runs and 16 stolen bases in 62 games. He was named to the Class-A Short Season and Northwest League All-Star teams and was also named the Class-A Short Season Player of the Year. With both Wisconsin and Everett, Halman was teammates with fellow Dutch player Kalian Sams. where he hit another 10 home runs. He ended the season with a combined 29 home runs and 31 stolen bases. He was named the Mariners' Minor League Player of the Year. After the regular season, he returned to the Netherlands to play four games with Kinheim, going 4-for-11 with three doubles and two sacrifice flies. He also played for the Peoria Javelinas in the Arizona Fall League, batting only .217 with three home runs in 21 games. Halman and the Rainiers won the 2010 Pacific Coast League championship.

Major League Baseball Halman with the Mariners in 2011On September 22, 2010, Halman and three teammates were called up to the Seattle Mariners after Tacoma's title run. He played in his first MLB game on September 23, starting in center field. After making outs in his first nine at bats, he hit a double off C.J. Wilson of the Texas Rangers, on September 27 for his first major league hit. He played in nine of the Mariners' final 11 games, batting .138 with 11 strikeouts and one walk in 30 plate appearances.

Halman started the 2011 season back in Tacoma. On June 3, he rejoined the Mariners, replacing struggling outfielder Michael Saunders, who was sent down to Triple-A. Halman had three hits in his first two games with the Mariners. Halman hit his first MLB home run on June 15 in a 3–1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels. His last MLB hit was his second home run, off Brett Cecil of the Toronto Blue Jays on July 19. He played his final game with the Mariners on August 3 against the Oakland Athletics, striking out a career-high three times. The next day, he was optioned back to Tacoma, after going hitless in 19 consecutive plate appearances. His final MLB season ended with a .230 batting average. He struck out in one third of his plate appearances. He hit better in Tacoma, batting .299 with a .358 on-base percentage, both career highs in the U.S., with 3 home runs in 40 games. In his final minor league game, Halman hit three singles and scored twice against the Fresno Grizzlies on September 5.

Personal life

Halman spoke Dutch, English, Spanish, and Papiamento. He grew up speaking Dutch and English and learned Spanish in 2005, his first year in the U.S. He graduated from high school at in Haarlem in June 2004. His younger sister played several seasons in the top . His mother also played softball.

Death

On November 21, 2011, Halman died of blood loss in Rotterdam from a laceration to his carotid artery. He was 24 years old. His brother, Jason Halman, was arrested for Greg's death. Reportedly, Greg approached Jason about loud music, which resulted in an argument and then a stabbing. Halman was the second former MLB player known to have died in the Netherlands.

Halman, wearing his Mariners uniform, was buried in in Driehuis on November 29. Thousands of people, including several former Mariners teammates, attended his funeral and burial. His family chose a burial plot in a small grove near the North Sea that reminded them of a baseball diamond. Kinheim also retired his number 26.

On August 16, 2012, Dutch authorities released Jason Halman from custody, after prosecutors agreed with his attorneys that Jason had been suffering from psychosis at the time of the stabbing, induced in part by his cannabis use. Jason agreed to supervision by a probation officer and to undergo mental health treatment. On August 30, 2012, a Dutch court formally acquitted Jason due to temporary insanity. The court freed him, stating that his psychiatric and psychological assessments found that there was only a small chance of reoccurrence.