| Yurendell DeCaster | |
|---|---|
| Third baseman | |
| Born: (1979-09-26)September 26, 1979 (age 45) Brievengat, Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| May 21, 2006, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| June 7, 2006, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .000 |
| Home runs | 0 |
| Runs batted in | 0 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
Medals | |
Yurendell Eithel DeCaster (born September 26, 1979) is a Dutch-Curaçaoan former professionalbaseballthird baseman. He played 3 games inMajor League Baseball with thePittsburgh Pirates in 2006. He played forTeam Netherlands in many tournaments, including the2004 Summer Olympics.
Originally signed by theTampa Bay Devil Rays as a free agent in 1996, DeCaster was selected by thePittsburgh Pirates from Tampa Bay in theminor league phase of the2000 Rule 5 draft.
He spent the entire 2005 season withTriple-AIndianapolis Indians, where he hit .280 with 11home runs and 61runs batted in, and also led his club in games played (122) anddoubles (31). He primarily played in the outfield, but also played first, second, and third base.
He had a productive 2005–2006 winter league season playing for theCaribes de Anzoátegui of theVenezuelan Winter League, where he batted .325 with 17 home runs and 47 RBI in 60 games. His 17 home runs tied him withTom Evans for the league lead.[1]
In 2006, DeCaster returned to Indianapolis, where he spent most of the season. In 119 games with the Indians, he batted .273 with 11 home runs and 51 RBI. He was called up to the Pirates twice, from May 21–24 and June 5–13, and appeared in three games. He struck out in both of his major league at-bats. He pinch hit twice and pinch ran once for the Pirates, thus never playing defense in the major leagues.[2]
He was released on December 7, 2006[1] but came back to the Pirates in 2007, spending the season in Indianapolis. DeCaster became a free agent on October 29, 2007.[3]
On November 27, 2007, DeCaster signed a minor league contract with theWashington Nationals with an invitation tospring training. He was assigned to theDouble-AHarrisburg Senators to begin the season, but was promoted to theTriple-AColumbus Clippers in April 19. He hit a combined .262 with 14 home runs and 104 strikeouts in 104 games in the Nationals' system. He again became a free agent at the end of the season.[4]
In December 2008, DeCaster signed a minor league contract with theDetroit Tigers but was released on April 1, 2009.
He began the 2009 season with theFargo-Moorhead RedHawks of the independentNorthern League. On June 29, DeCaster's contract was purchased by theNew York Yankees, who assigned him to theTriple-AScranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees.[5][6] He was released on September 2.[7]
He played with theReynosa Broncos of theMexican League in 2010 and 2011, batting .339 in 101 games in his Mexican debut. He spent most of 2012 with the independentWinnipeg Goldeyes of theAmerican Association, playing for one week in June with theOlmecas de Tabasco in the Mexican League. His team won the American Association championship, as the Goldeyes swept the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks in the first round, 3 games to 0, and did the same with theWichita Wingnuts in the championship, 3 games to 0.
In the 2012-13 winter league season, he playedTigres de Chinandega inNicaragua and won theTriple Crown, hitting .417 with 13 home runs and 56RBI.[8]
DeCaster started 2013 with theAcereros de Monclova in Mexico before returning to Winnipeg in August.[4] He hit for a combined .315 average in 94 games for both teams, including 13 homers, 64 RBI, and a .461slugging percentage.
He briefly played forPirates de Campeche in the Mexican League in 2015. He hit .226 with 2 home runs in 14 games in June and July.
Like many baseball players born in Curaçao, DeCaster played forthe Netherlands in international baseball. He played in more than 100 games for the Netherlands, beginning in 2003.[9]
DeCaster hit three home runs in the2004 Summer Olympic Games, tying for the most home runs in the games. He hit .214 as the Dutch won only two of seven games and didn't qualify for the medal round.[1] He returned to theOlympics in 2008, batting .167 with two doubles in seven games.[10]
DeCaster also played for the Netherlands in theWorld Baseball Classic during the2006,2009,2013, and2017 tournaments. In 2009, he lined a ball hard off of first basemanWilly Aybar, who received an error on the play, to drive in the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning against theDominican Republic team, securing the Netherlands a second-round berth in Pool 2.[11] He hit .217 in 6 tournament games in 2009.[12] In 2017, he hit .353 in five games, including a home run against Cuba.[13][14]
DeCaster was on the preliminary roster for the2009 Baseball World Cup.[15] He also was named to the Dutch roster for the2014 France International Baseball Tournament [fr],[16]2014 European Baseball Championship,[17]2015 World Port Tournament,2015 WBSC Premier12,[18]2016 Haarlem Baseball Week,[19]2016 France International Baseball Tournament [fr],[20] the2016 European Baseball Championship,[21] the2019 European Baseball Championship, theAfrica/Europe 2020 Olympic Qualification tournament, and2019 WBSC Premier12.
DeCaster started playing baseball when he was five years old. His father played baseball and his mother playedsoftball.[22]
DeCaster's nephew Reangelo de Caster played for Curaçao in the2022 Little League World Series.[23]
After retiring from professional baseball, DeCaster became a coach at the Baseball Academy in Curacao[24] and helped develop young prospects who signed with MLB clubs.[25][26]
