Tallest MLB Pitcher Loek van Mil Dies After Fatal Accident

The MLB was rocked when former baseball pitcher Loek van Mil died as a result of an incident. Mil was previously known as the tallest professional baseball player at a towering 7 foot 1.

The tragic news was confirmed by news outlet KNBSB who revealed that he died “as a result of a fatal incident”. However, many are still in the dark on the circumstances of his tragic passing.

“Van Mil had a long and successful baseball career in which he played in the Dutch big league for HCAW and Curacao Neptunus,” KNBSB wrote. “The pitcher played as a pro in America for the Minnesota Twins and the Los Angeles Angels and in Japan for Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles.”

“The KNBSB is very grateful to Mil for what he has done in his career for Dutch baseball and wishes the surviving relatives strength to cope with this major loss”.

The 7-foot-1 Dutch MLB pitcher’s death comes less than a year after barely surviving a hiking accident. For the uninitiated, in December 2018, Loek van Mil was hiking in Brisbane when he hit his head on some rocks.

The 34-year old was immediately rushed to an nearby hospital with a brain bleed and multiple fractures. According to reports, He was unconscious on the ground for 24 hours before being discovered by another hiker. The athlete announced his retirement following the hiking accident.

Van Mil’s death has come, mere weeks after Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs was found dead in his hotel room at age 27. Even earlier, Boston Red Sox legend David Ortiz was shot in the back during a Dominican Republic trip with friends.

On Twitter and Instagram, van Mil’s fans, friends, and loved ones, are continuing to mourn his death.

The pro career of the right-handed Loek van Mil kicked off with the Minnesota Twins in 2006. It wasn’t long before he he made it up to Double-A in the 2010 season. In the same year, he was traded to the Los Angeles Angels and later had stints with the Cleveland Indians in 2012 and the Cincinnati Reds in 2013.

Van Mil spent a year with Japan’s Rakuten Golden Eagles in 2014, and in 2015 played for Curaçao Neptunus Rotterdam, a team in the Dutch Honkbal Hoofdklasse — the highest level of pro baseball in the Netherlands.

He got one more try in American baseball, signing with the Twins in August 2015, but was released from the Twins’ Triple-A team the following April. Van Mil spent the next two years pitching in Australia’s pro baseball league, and also spent time pitching for the Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic in 2013 and 2017.

Van Mil played affiliated baseball in the USA until 2016. He appeared in 241 Minor League games, 24 at the AAA level and mostly as a relief pitcher. In addition to his pro league baseball duties, he even represented the Netherlands on an international level.

The Australian Baseball League said, “All of us at Baseball Australia and across the Australian Baseball League extend our thoughts to Loek’s family.”

“Loek had become a member of the Australian baseball family after spending the past four seasons in the ABL and we are truly shocked by this news,”