View source for Roel Koolen

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

Koolen made his [[Hoofdklasse]] debut at the [[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 [[Neptunus|DOOR Neptunus]] and helped the team win the [[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 spent time in College in the [[United States]].{{cn|date=October 2022}} He was 3 for 17 with 3 walks in 16 games for the 2003 [[VCU Rams]]. In 2004, he hit .210/.300/.290 in 26 games.{{cn|date=October 2022}}

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]].{{cn|date=October 2022}} After his move to [[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]], [[Tjerk Smeets]] and [[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]]'s backup at 2B in the [[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]], was second to [[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]] 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]].{{cn|date=October 2022}} For the [[2007 Baseball World Cup]], Koolen replaced [[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]] 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]] to help them win the Cup. In the 9th inning of the gold medal game, he tripled against [[Linc Mikkelsen]] and scored on a [[René Cremer]] sacrifice fly to force extra innings against [[Montepaschi Grosseto]] and give Kinheim their chance to win.{{cn|date=October 2022}}

Koolen was selected by coach [[Robert Eenhoorn]] in the team that represented the Netherlands at the [[2008 Summer Olympics]] in [[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]]