Tom de Blok

Tom Robin de Blok (born 8 May 1996) is a Dutch former professional baseball player who pitched for the Netherlands national team in two World Baseball Classic tournaments. He pitched in Minor League Baseball from 2017 to 2019, one game in the Mexican Baseball League in 2001, and several stints the Honkbal Hoofdklasse from 2014 to 2025.

Playing career Seattle Mariners On 26 August 2013, de Blok signed a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners after participating in the MLB European Academy in Germany. However, on 17 April 2014, de Blok formally retired from professional baseball, saying he was not happy with his experience in America.

HCAW Back in the Netherlands, de Blok joined HCAW in the Honkbal Hoofdklasse for the 2014 season. As a reliever, he had an 0–3 record with two saves and a 3.20 earned run average (ERA) in 17 games pitched.

Amsterdam Pirates In 2015, de Blok joined the Amsterdam Pirates, where he had a 4–0 record with three saves and a 1.54 ERA in 20 games. He pitched well in 2016, going 5–0 with five saves and a 0.88 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 41 innings.

Detroit Tigers After his performance in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, de Blok signed a minor league contract with the Detroit Tigers on 10 April 2017. He spent the first two months of 2018 with the High-A Lakeland Flying Tigers before being demoted back to West Michigan. He had a combined 5–6 record and 4.71 ERA in 19 starts. de Blok spent the entire 2019 season with Lakeland, recording a 2–13 record and 4.04 ERA in 21 games. He elected free agency in November.

Amsterdam Pirates (second stint) de Blok returned to Amsterdam, with a 2.00 ERA in five games in 2020. In 2021, he posted a 3–2 record and 1.64 ERA in six games with the team.

Pericos de Puebla On 27 June 2021, de Blok signed with the Pericos de Puebla of the Mexican Baseball League. He made just one start before he was released on 8 July. He did not pitch in 2022 due to his injury.

Neptunus On 1 October 2022, de Blok signed Neptunus of the Hoofdklasse. He equalled his performance in 2024, going 7–1 with a 1.33 ERA and 74 strikeouts in 13 starts. as Neptunus swept one of his former teams, HCAW. He was one of the league's best pitchers again in 2025. After suffering another broken elbow in the 2025 European Baseball Championship, de Blok was unable to pitch but appeared as a batter for Neptunus in the 2026 regular season finale, striking out. He announced his retirement following the game.

International career de Blok was a member of the Netherlands national team in the 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC) and the 2023 WBC. He threw two scoreless innings in the 2017 tournament, In the 2023 WBC, he made one start, allowing one run in three innings against Cuba.

de Blok played for the Netherlands in other tournaments, including the 2016, 2019, and 2023 European Baseball Championships, Africa/Europe 2020 Olympic Qualification tournament, and 2024 WBSC Premier12. He suffered an arm injury in the first inning of the 2025 European championship semifinal game against Spain.