From Little League to Caribbean Series, Cura?ao's roster has chemistry

MIAMI -- At the 2023 Caribbean Series in Venezuela, Cura?ao made its debut in the event, going 2-5 with its representative, Wildcats KJ74. For the 2024 edition of the tournament at Miami’s loanDepot park, the Major League pedigree on the Cura?ao Suns club jumps off the page, with Jurickson Profar, Didi Gregorius, Jonathan Schoop, Andrelton Simmons and Roger Bernadina all at manager Hainley Statia’s disposal.

Playing against the winter league champions of the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and Panama, Cura?ao is banking on its best-known names to make a splash this year.

On Thursday, they wasted no time in doing so. A three-run triple by Gregorius and solo home runs from Schoop and Wladimir Balentien accounted for five of Cura?ao’s six runs in their 6-5 victory over Naranjeros de Hermosillo (Mexico) on the first day of the tournament.

• Caribbean Series preview: Big names hit Miami for historic tournament

“It’s really important for us to be together and represent Cura?ao. We come from a small island and we’ve known each other since Little League,” Schoop said about the tight-knit group that has played together in the last several World Baseball Classics for the Netherlands. “We like to be around each other, we like to play with each other. So, it’s really an honor for us to play together and represent Cura?ao.”

• Meet the most stacked championship roster in LLWS history

The Caribbean Series, a tournament of club champions, means a chance to represent their island specifically, as opposed to the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Classic.

“We played in a lot of Classics together, but we never played for Cura?ao,” Schoop said. “So it’s big for us to represent our country, Cura?ao. We’re really excited about it.”

Another one of Cura?ao’s big bats is Balentien, who played in parts of three seasons for the Mariners and Reds from 2007-09. But his biggest claim to fame is his historic year in Japan in 2013, when he broke the single-season home run record of 55 shared by Sadaharu Oh, Tuffy Rhodes and Alex Cabrera. Balentien finished the year at 60, a mark that still stands today in Nippon Professional Baseball.

“This year we came better prepared, and I hope we do a better job this year,” Balentien said. “It’s very important, because at this point we’re playing for Cura?ao, and we want to do something special for our country. We’re going to go out there, play hard.”

A special guest accompanying the Cura?ao club in Miami is none other than Andruw Jones, the all-time leader among MLB players born on the island in almost every statistical category, including games played (2,196), home runs (434) and RBIs (1,289).

“I think last year was a good experience for them to be part of a Caribbean Series, playing against big countries like the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Mexico,” said Jones, a five-time All-Star who last month received 61.6% of the BBWAA’s Hall of Fame votes in his seventh year on the ballot. “They’ve been there for so many years that a lot of these guys probably grew up watching the Venezuelan League on TV, and some even played in that league later.

“They know how hard those leagues are, so to put a team together to be part of it is special. I think they’re a little better prepared now.”

In Jones’ heyday from the late '90s to the mid-2000s, Cura?ao was not part of the Caribbean Series – something the former outfielder regrets.

“I wish we would have had this opportunity when I was playing, because I probably would have been playing, just to show how baseball in Cura?ao was growing,” he said. “Amateur baseball is getting better and better in Cura?ao.”