After playing eleven seasons at a high level in the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), Wladimir Balentien announced his retirement from Japanese baseball. It is the Dutch star herself, born in 1984, who communicates this through her profile Twitter, without however specifying if this is also a goodbye to baseball or if it will continue to tread the playing diamonds.
After the initial experience in Major League con i Seattle Mariners e i Cincinnati Reds, Balentien became a Japanese baseball star starting in the 2011 season, his first in the NPB. For 8 seasons he wore the uniform of Tokyo Yakult Swallows, realizing the record from overs in a championship in 2013, when he hit the beauty of 60 home run. For the past 2 years he has played with the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks.
Balentien closes his adventure in the land of the rising sun with these impressive numbers: batting average from .266, 1001 valid e 301 overs.
by Daniele Mattioli
In the photo, the swing of Wladimir Balentien (from newscontinue.com).
