WILLEMSTAD — Although spring begins officially this year on March 20^th, the Spring Training 2012 of the Major League Baseball (MLB) started in Arizona and Florida, the United States. Pitchers and catchers were to report to the training camps of their teams last weekend. The position players will follow in the next days – including baseball players born on Curaçao or players affiliated with the island.

Six players with a Curaçao background can be found at the various training camps. For instance, Andruw Jones will play for the New York Yankees again. The 34-year old Curaçao man is active in the MLB since 1996 and will be frequently seen as substitute player for the Yankees in the coming season as fourth outfielder and as right-handed appointed batter. Last season, his first with the Yankees, he had a batting average of .257; 13 homeruns and hit 33 points. After the season, he reached a new one-year agreement – worth 2 million dollars – with the Yankees.

Pitcher Jair Jurrjens (26) will play with the Atlanta Braves again this season. He will attempt to match his good half of the season of last year when he was one of the best pitchers in the National League. He had won twelve games and only lost three with an era (average number of allowed points in nine innings) of 1.87. His achievements yielded him an election in the All Star Game where he excelled in keeping the batters from the American League at nil points in 1 2/3 inning. However, his achievements were disappointing in the second half of the season due to injuries. His era amounted to 5.88; he won one game and lost three. He ended his season prematurely due to these injuries.

Andrelton Simmons is also new with the Atlanta Braves this season. The short stop to play in the AA-division of the Braves as from the next season was invited by the team from Atlanta for the spring training. Simmons is known as an excellent defender but is yet to gain some experience. Expectations are that he too will soon play in the MLB. The 22-year old Curaçao man had played for the Lunchburg Hillcats, a minor league team from the Braves in the Carolina League last year. He finished the season with a batting average of .311; with only one homerun, but had gained 52 points and stole 26 bases.

Kenley Jansen had a super season as relief pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers last season. The 24-year old Curaçao man, who had once started his career as catcher but is now a professional pitcher for the Dodgers, had won two games in 2011, lost one and booked five ‘saves’. In 53 2/3 innings, he had an era of 2.85. He threw a triple 96 times, and with that a record in the MLB by throwing triples 16.10 times for every nine innings he had come into action. Jansen is active in the MLB since 2010.

Rogearvin Argelo ‘Roger’ Bernadina, outfielder of the Washington Nationals, is 27 years and plays in the MLB for the Nationals since 2006 with a few intervals. In 2011, Bernadina played for the AAA-team as the Major League Baseball team of the Nationals. Bernadina, nicknamed ‘The Shark’, is known as a fine defense outfielder. As batter, there were times he could not find his niche for the Nationals. He played 46 games for the Syracuse Chiefs last season, yielding him a batting average of .250; 6 homeruns and 14 gained points as well as 14 stolen bases. He played for the Nationals in 91 games, with a batting average of .243; 7 homeruns, 27 gained points and 17 stolen bases.

Pitcher Shairon ‘Shai’ Martis is invited by the Pittsburg Pirates to attend their training camp and subsequently force a contract for the MLB-team. In his professional career, the 24-year old Martis has played in the organizations of the San Francisco Giants, the Washington Nationals, and the Pirates starting next season. For the Harrisburg Senators (AA) last season, he won eight games and lost seven with an era of 3.05. The last time Martis had been active in the ML was in 2009, when he won five games and lost three but with an era of 5.25.