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Hensley Meulens
Hensley Filemon Acasio Meulens (MEW-lens, Papiamento pronunciation: [ˈhɛnsli ˈmʏiləns]; born June 23, 1967), nicknamed "Bam Bam", is a Curaçaoan professional baseball coach and former player. He most recently was the hitting coach for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). Meulens was also the longtime manager of the Netherlands national baseball team, from 2013 to 2023.
A native of Curaçao, he played from 1989 to 2000 in MLB, Nippon Professional Baseball, and the KBO League. He was the first Curaçaoan to play in MLB and the Dominican winter league.
Hitting home runs left-handed while playing softball as a teenager earned Meulens the nickname "Bam Bam", when his friends compared his power to the Flintstones cartoon character.
Hensley Meulens was signed by the New York Yankees as an undrafted free agent in 1985. After struggling in his first professional season in 1986 with the Gulf Coast Yankees, Meulens made a splash in 1987 with Single-A Prince William, hitting .300 with 28 home runs and 103 RBI, also being named to the Carolina League All-Star team. His hitting cooled somewhat in 1988 and 1989 as he split time between the Double-A Albany-Colonie Yankees of the Eastern League and the Triple-A Columbus Clippers of the International League.
His bat rebounded in 1990 for Columbus, as he helped lead the team to the 1990 International League championships (where they ultimately lost to Rochester), hitting .285 with 26 HR and 96 RBI, and was named the 1990 International League MVP. Meulens' impressive 1990 season earned him a spot on the Yankees roster in 1991, but he was back in Columbus in 1992, when he led the International League in home runs in 1992.
Meulens made his major league debut with the New York Yankees on August 23, 1989. Meulens never attained a permanent spot on the New York lineup, despite spending the entire 1991 season on the Yankees roster. Meulens struck out in 31 percent of plate appearances that season and platooned in left field with Mel Hall. He saw limited action with the Yankees a September call-up in 1992 and in 30 games in 1993.
In November 1993, the Yankees sold Meulens' contract to the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball, where he spent the 1994 season, hitting 23 home runs, driving in 69 runs, while accumulating 135 strikeouts to go with a .248 AVG. The following season, Meulens signed with the Yakult Swallows, helping lead them to the 1995 Japan Series championship after hitting 29 home runs and totaling 80 RBI. He was back again in 1996, hitting 25 homers to go with 67 RBI.
He returned to North America in 1997, and after an unsuccessful tryout with the Atlanta Braves, he reached the majors again briefly playing with the Montreal Expos (while having a good season for the Expos' Triple-A affiliate Ottawa Lynx) in 1997 and Arizona Diamondbacks in 1998.
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Hensley Meulens
Hensley Filemon Acasio Meulens (MEW-lens, Papiamento pronunciation: [ˈhɛnsli ˈmʏiləns]; born June 23, 1967), nicknamed "Bam Bam", is a Curaçaoan professional baseball coach and former player. He most recently was the hitting coach for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). Meulens was also the longtime manager of the Netherlands national baseball team, from 2013 to 2023.
A native of Curaçao, he played from 1989 to 2000 in MLB, Nippon Professional Baseball, and the KBO League. He was the first Curaçaoan to play in MLB and the Dominican winter league.
Hitting home runs left-handed while playing softball as a teenager earned Meulens the nickname "Bam Bam", when his friends compared his power to the Flintstones cartoon character.
Hensley Meulens was signed by the New York Yankees as an undrafted free agent in 1985. After struggling in his first professional season in 1986 with the Gulf Coast Yankees, Meulens made a splash in 1987 with Single-A Prince William, hitting .300 with 28 home runs and 103 RBI, also being named to the Carolina League All-Star team. His hitting cooled somewhat in 1988 and 1989 as he split time between the Double-A Albany-Colonie Yankees of the Eastern League and the Triple-A Columbus Clippers of the International League.
His bat rebounded in 1990 for Columbus, as he helped lead the team to the 1990 International League championships (where they ultimately lost to Rochester), hitting .285 with 26 HR and 96 RBI, and was named the 1990 International League MVP. Meulens' impressive 1990 season earned him a spot on the Yankees roster in 1991, but he was back in Columbus in 1992, when he led the International League in home runs in 1992.
Meulens made his major league debut with the New York Yankees on August 23, 1989. Meulens never attained a permanent spot on the New York lineup, despite spending the entire 1991 season on the Yankees roster. Meulens struck out in 31 percent of plate appearances that season and platooned in left field with Mel Hall. He saw limited action with the Yankees a September call-up in 1992 and in 30 games in 1993.
In November 1993, the Yankees sold Meulens' contract to the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball, where he spent the 1994 season, hitting 23 home runs, driving in 69 runs, while accumulating 135 strikeouts to go with a .248 AVG. The following season, Meulens signed with the Yakult Swallows, helping lead them to the 1995 Japan Series championship after hitting 29 home runs and totaling 80 RBI. He was back again in 1996, hitting 25 homers to go with 67 RBI.
He returned to North America in 1997, and after an unsuccessful tryout with the Atlanta Braves, he reached the majors again briefly playing with the Montreal Expos (while having a good season for the Expos' Triple-A affiliate Ottawa Lynx) in 1997 and Arizona Diamondbacks in 1998.