International Baseball mourns the sudden passing of Sidney de Jong
The Royal Dutch Baseball Softball Federation (KNBSB) reported the sudden passing of Sidney de Jong.
Born in 1979, De Jong was a superstar catcher going on to represent the Netherlands on the international stage.
He developed at the College of Southern Idaho in the United States and became a perennial .300 hitter and an All-Star catcher and DH in the Dutch Hoofdklasse for Kinheim, HCAW and Amsterdam Pirates.
De Jong appeared in 178 international games for the Netherlands, including the 2004 and 2008 Olympics and the 2006 and 2009 World Baseball Classic. He helped them win the 2011 Baseball World Cup, the 2001, 2003, 2005, and 2007 European Championships and silver at the 2006 and 2010 Intercontinental Cup.
De Jong was Marco Mazzieri's Bench Coach when Team Europe faced Samurai Japan in Osaka in the second edition of the Global Baseball Games in March 2024.
In September the same year, he managed the Netherlands to seventh place in the WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup.
He ended the 2024 season serving as the Bench Coach under manager Evert-Jan 'T Hoen at the III WBSC Premier12.
The WBSC wishes to extend its deepest condolences to Sidney's loved ones