THE HAGUE – Former Antillean baseball professional Kalian Sams is heading to the theater. Starting in January, he will perform in the Netherlands with the show The Devil’s Homerun, which delves into the world behind the glamorous exterior of baseball. Sams, the child of parents from Sint Eustatius, hopes to bring his production to the islands as well.

Emotionless

In the tough world of elite sports and baseball, Sams (38) believes there is little room for vulnerability. He describes how he became “emotionless” while living in the United States. “I come from a background where men aren’t allowed to express emotions easily, especially Black men. I’m now at an age where I want to break that taboo.”

Through the Dutch elite sports platform TeamNL, Sams took a public speaking course after retiring from baseball in 2022, which led to frequent speaking engagements. He then decided to write his stories down for a book. In the meantime, a friend suggested turning his stories into a theater production.

Initially, there will be a try-out and a premiere, both in The Hague. After that, five more performances are planned across the Netherlands. Sams is eager to share his story on the Caribbean Dutch islands as well as in the United States and Canada, where he played during his career. According to Sams, his show contains elements that will resonate on both sides of the ocean.

World Champion

Kalian Sams was born in The Hague to parents from Sint Eustatius. In 2006, at the age of 18, he debuted for the Dutch national baseball team, later known as the Kingdom Team. He played over 100 games for the team, highlighted by winning the Baseball World Cup in 2011. At 19, he signed his first professional contract with the MLB team Seattle Mariners, though he never made his Major League debut. He played in the U.S. for various Triple-A Minor League teams, just one level below the Major League, before competing at the highest levels in Canada, Mexico, and Taiwan.