# Tom de Blok

Tom Robin de Blok (born 8 May 1996) is a Dutch professional baseball pitcher for the Neptunus of the Honkbal Hoofdklasse. He played for Team Netherlands in the 2019 European Baseball Championship, and at the Africa/Europe 2020 Olympic Qualification tournament in Italy in September 2019.

## Career
### Seattle Mariners

On 26 August 2013, de Blok signed a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners after participating in the MLB European Academy in Germany. However, on 17 April 2014, de Blok formally retired from professional baseball, saying he was not happy with his experience in America.

### Mr. Cocker HCAW

Back in the Netherlands, de Blok joined Mr. Cocker HCAW in the Honkbal Hoofdklasse for the 2014 season. As a reliever, he had an 0–3 record with 2 saves and a 3.20 ERA in 17 games.

### Amsterdam Pirates

In 2015, de Blok joined the Amsterdam Pirates, where he posted a 4–0 record with 3 saves and a 1.54 ERA in 20 games. He had his best season in the Netherlands in 2016, going 5–0 with 5 saves and a 0.88 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 41 innings. After the season, de Blok had a two-day tryout with the Rakuten Golden Eagles of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). However, de Blok decided to return to the Pirates.

### Detroit Tigers

After his performance in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, de Blok signed a four-year minor league deal with the Detroit Tigers organization on 10 April 2017. He made his affiliated debut with the Single-A West Michigan Whitecaps, pitching once for the Low-A Connecticut Tigers in June. Working as both a starter and reliever, he had a combined 4–2 record and 2.74 ERA in 82 innings. He spent the first two months of 2018 with the High-A Lakeland Flying Tigers before being demoted back to West Michigan. He had a combined 5–6 record and 4.71 ERA in 19 starts. de Blok spent the all of the 2019 season with Lakeland, recording a 2–13 record and 4.04 ERA in 21 games. de Blok did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. On 2 November 2020, he elected free agency.

### Amsterdam Pirates (second stint)

de Blok returned to the Amsterdam Pirates following his stint with the Tigers, logging a 2.00 ERA in 5 games with the team in 2020. In 2021, de Blok posted a 3–2 record and 1.64 ERA in 6 games with the team. On 14 May 2021, de Blok threw the fourth perfect game in the history of the Dutch Major Leagues, defeating Kinheim 12–0 and striking out seven batters.

### Pericos de Puebla

On 27 June 2021, de Blok signed with the Pericos de Puebla of the Mexican League. He made just one start before he was released on 8 July. He suffered an arm injury after his one game with Puebla. He did not pitch in 2022 due to his injury.

### Neptunus

On 1 October 2022, de Blok signed with Hoofdklasse club Neptunus in Rotterdam. In 2023, he resumed his effectiveness in the Dutch league, with a 7–0 record and 1.59 ERA in 14 starts. He threw a two-hit shutout on April 25. He equalled his performance in 2024, going 7–1 with a 1.33 ERA in 13 starts. He won two games in the Holland Series as Neptunus swept one of his former teams, HCAW.

## International career

de Blok was a member of the Netherlands national baseball team in the 2017 World Baseball Classic and the 2023 World Baseball Classic. His performance in the 2017 tournament led him to signing with the Detroit Tigers after the tournament.
He played for the Netherlands in other tournaments, including the 2016 European Baseball Championship, the Africa/Europe 2020 Olympic Qualification tournament, and the 2024 WBSC Premier12.

## Personal life

de Blok has two sons.