# Roel Koolen

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{{short description|Dutch baseball player (born 1982)}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
| name = Roel Koolen
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1982|4|20|df=y}}
| birth_place = [Mierlo](/source/Mierlo), [Netherlands](/source/Netherlands)
| position = [Second baseman](/source/Second_baseman)
| bats= Right
| throws= Right
| teams         = 
*[Netherlands](/source/Netherlands_national_baseball_team) (2000–present)
*[Twins Sport Club](/source/Twins_Sport_Club) (1998–1999)
*[Neptunus](/source/Neptunus) (2000–2005)
*[Kinheim](/source/Kinheim) (2006–2008)
}}
{{MedalTableTop}}
{{MedalSport | Men's [baseball](/source/baseball)}}
{{MedalCountry | {{NED}} }}
{{MedalCompetition|[Intercontinental Cup](/source/Intercontinental_Cup_(baseball))}}
{{MedalSilver| [2006 Taiwan](/source/2006_Intercontinental_Cup_(baseball)) | [National team](/source/Netherlands_national_baseball_team)}}
{{MedalBottom}}
'''Roel Koolen''' (born April 20, 1982 in [Mierlo](/source/Mierlo)) was a Dutch [baseball](/source/baseball) player who used to play for [Kinheim](/source/Kinheim) and the [Dutch national team](/source/Netherlands_national_baseball_team).{{cn|date=October 2022}}

==Career==
Koolen made his [Hoofdklasse](/source/Hoofdklasse) debut at the [Twins Sporting Club](/source/Twins_Sporting_Club) in 1998.{{cn|date=October 2022}} He played for the Dutch junior team in the 1999 World Junior Championship and 2000 World Junior Championship.{{cn|date=October 2022}} In 2000, Koolen moved to [DOOR Neptunus](/source/Neptunus) and helped the team win the [Holland Series](/source/Holland_Series) in 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2005 (he was not on the team in 2003).{{cn|date=October 2022}} In the 2004 playoffs, he was named MVP. 

During 2003 and 2004, he played [college baseball](/source/college_baseball) in the [United States](/source/United_States). He was 3 for 17 with 3 walks in 16 games for the 2003 [VCU Rams](/source/VCU_Rams_baseball). In 2004, he hit .210/.300/.290 in 26 games.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Roel Koolen - College Baseball Statistics |url=https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/player/40605/ |access-date=2026-02-19 |website=The Baseball Cube}}</ref>

Returning to the Netherlands full-time in 2005, the 23-year-old hit .253/.345/.326 in 26 games for Neptunus and fielded .889. He was 6 for 16 with 3 doubles in the Holland Series as the team won the title.{{cn|date=October 2022}} Koolen was 4 for 9 in the 2006 [Haarlem Baseball Week](/source/Haarlem_Baseball_Week).{{cn|date=October 2022}} After his move to [Kinheim](/source/Kinheim) for the 2006 Hoofdklasse season, Koolen hit .324/.435/.426 with 27 walks in 42 games. He was 5th in the league in OBP and tied [Eugene Kingsale](/source/Eugene_Kingsale), [Tjerk Smeets](/source/Tjerk_Smeets) and [Evert-Jan 't Hoen](/source/Evert-Jan_'t_Hoen) for fifth in walks.{{cn|date=October 2022}} He only hit .190/.292/.190 in the Holland Series but Kinheim won the title, breaking the long run by Koolen's old Neptunus mates.{{cn|date=October 2022}} He was one for two with a run and RBI as [Michael Duursma](/source/Michael_Duursma)'s backup at 2B in the [2006 Intercontinental Cup](/source/2006_Intercontinental_Cup).{{cn|date=October 2022}}

In 2007, Koolen hit .386/.525/.534 with 22 walks and 21 runs in 26 games. He lost the batting title by six points to [Danny Rombley](/source/Danny_Rombley), was second to [Fausto Alvarez](/source/Fausto_Alvarez) in slugging and led the league in OBP.{{cn|date=October 2022}} He tied for second in the league in triples (3). He was just 2 for 12 with a double in the [2007 Holland Series](/source/2007_Holland_Series) but Kinheim still won.{{cn|date=October 2022}} In the 2007 European Cup, Koolen was 4 for 20 with a double and a triple as Kinheim won its first European Cup ever. He was 6 for 23 in the [2007 World Port Tournament](/source/2007_World_Port_Tournament).{{cn|date=October 2022}} For the [2007 Baseball World Cup](/source/2007_Baseball_World_Cup), Koolen replaced [Yurendell de Caster](/source/Yurendell_de_Caster) at second base for the Dutch national team. He started ahead of Michael Duursma, who had had a much better career in [NCAA Division I](/source/NCAA_Division_I) than Koolen.{{cn|date=October 2022}} Koolen hit .267/.267/.267 in 8 games but the Netherlands still finished 4th, tying their best finish ever.{{cn|date=October 2022}} Koolen hit .294/.409/.471 in the 2008 European Cup in [Grosseto](/source/Grosseto) to help them win the Cup. In the 9th inning of the gold medal game, he tripled against [Linc Mikkelsen](/source/Linc_Mikkelsen) and scored on a [René Cremer](/source/Ren%C3%A9_Cremer) sacrifice fly to force extra innings against [Montepaschi Grosseto](/source/Montepaschi_Grosseto) and give Kinheim their chance to win.{{cn|date=October 2022}}

Koolen was selected by coach [Robert Eenhoorn](/source/Robert_Eenhoorn) in the team that represented the Netherlands at the [2008 Summer Olympics](/source/2008_Summer_Olympics) in [Beijing](/source/Beijing).<ref>[http://www.knbsb.nl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1392&Itemid=174 Dutch Olympic Baseball squad 2008] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080804032141/http://www.knbsb.nl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1392&Itemid=174 |date=2008-08-04 }}, knbsb.nl, ret: Aug 5, 2008</ref>

==External links==
*[http://www.honkbalsite.com/nederlandsteam/roelkoolen.html Koolen's profile at honkbalsite.com] {{in lang|nl}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Koolen, Roel}}
Category:1982 births
Category:Living people
Category:Baseball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Category:Baseball players from North Brabant
Category:Dutch expatriate baseball players in the United States
Category:Olympic baseball players for the Netherlands
Category:People from Mierlo

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Roel Koolen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roel_Koolen) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roel_Koolen?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.