Curacao’s Wladimir Balentien Breaks Japan’s Home Run Record

By: - September 15th, 2013

Above: Wladimir Balentien after his record-breaking 56th blast

By the Caribbean Journal staff

A record that had stood in Japan for 49 years was broken on Sunday by an outfielder from Curacao.

Wladimir Balentien, a native of Willemstad, Curacao, hit his 56th and 57th home runs of the season on Sunday to break the single-season record for home runs in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball league.

Balentien, who played parts of three seasons in the Major Leagues for the Seattle Mariners and the Cincinnati Reds, broke the record first set by Japanese legend Sadaharu Oh in 1964.

Balentien, who plays for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, was hitting .338 with 57 home runs and 120 RBI through Sunday.

Japan’s league is widely considered the second-best professional league in the world, after Major League Baseball.

The record, which was tied by American Tuffy Rhodes in 2001 and Mexico’s Alex Cabrera in 2002.

Balentien’s performance should draw some renewed Major League interest. At age 29, he should have a number of productive years left.

Curacao

Caribbean Home: High Above the Rooftops in San Juan

Turning a week-long vacation into a far longer stay. That’s the dream for many – a private home in the Caribbean. Our Caribbean Home feature gives you a chance to look at some of the most beautiful properties on the market today in the Caribbean — whether you’re looking to buy or simply seeking a photographic […]

Curacao

Rum Journal: A Special Lemonade From Haiti's Barbancourt

Barbancourt. Five Star. Or perhaps the Estate Reserve. The famous rhum of Haiti is a classic sipping rum, whether neat or on the rocks. But what you might not realize is that Haiti’s signature spirit is also right at home in a number of cocktails – particularly its Rhum Blanc. So as summer winds down, […]

Curacao

Caribbean/Mexico Hotel Development Pipeline Up to 22,240 Rooms

Above: the Baha Mar project in Nassau By the Caribbean Journal staff There are 129 hotels and 22,240 hotel rooms in the Caribbean/Mexico hotel development pipeline, according to new data from STR. The total active pipeline includes properties at all stages of development except for those in the pre-planning stages. For the year, 13 hotels […]

US Virgin Islands Signs Agreement to Reopen Fort Christian in St Thomas

 Above: Fort Christian By the Caribbean Journal staff The government of the United States Virgin Islands has signed a Memorandum of Agreement to facilitate the reopening of Fort Christian on St Thomas. The Danish fort, which was attacked by French forces in 1678, just a few years after construction had begun, is in the process […]

A New Outlet For Caribbean Film

Above: “The Insatiable Season” By the Caribbean Journal staff There isn’t a Caribbean equivalent of Cannes — yet. But that doesn’t mean the region is bereft of film festivals — and the latest one can be accessed anywhere in the world. The CaribbeanTales film festival, a partnership between Canada-based multimedia company CaribbeanTales and Onlinefilm, has […]

A New Caribbean Integration Paradigm?

Above: Fort Christian By the Caribbean Journal staff The government of the United States Virgin Islands has signed a Memorandum of Agreement to facilitate the reopening of Fort Christian on St Thomas. The Danish fort, which was attacked by French forces in 1678, just a few years after construction had begun, is in the process […]

Bahamas to Host Caribbean Economic Policy Forum

 Above: the Atlantis Resort By the Caribbean Journal staff The second annual Caribbean Economic Policy Forum will be hosted at the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island in the Bahamas next week. The conference, which takes place Sept. 19-20, is being organized by the Bahamian Ministry of Finance and the Inter-American Development Bank, in conjunction with […]