Former MiLB pitcher Loek van Mil died Sunday following injuries from a “fatal accident,” according to the Royal Dutch Baseball and Softball Association KNBSB.
Van Mil was tied for the tallest baseball player ever at 7-foot-1, matching the height of former Arizona Diamondbacks prospect Ryan Doherty. But van Mil was the more successful of the two towering record holders.
The Dutch righty pitched 10 seasons in the minor leagues, first signing as an undrafted free agent with the Minnesota Twins in 2005. He also competed for the Los Angeles Angels, Cleveland Indians, and Cincinnati Reds organizations before going to play professionally in both Japan and Australia.
Van Mil also competed for the Netherlands national team throughout his career. In the minors, he played 241 games and topped out at the AAA level. Over the entire span of his career, the pitcher threw 516 1/3 innings in 338 appearances, finishing with a 3.12 ERA.
Van Mil announced his retirement from professional baseball earlier this July, he was recovering from head injuries sustained last December. The athlete hit his head on rocks while hiking and was knocked unconscious. He was admitted to an Australian hospital in “stable but critical condition,” according to MLB.com after he was left unconscious for more than 24 hours and had suffered multiple fractures, hemorrhages, and bleeding of the brain.
