AMSTERDAM - In March of 2026 Team Kingdom of the Netherlands will play the sixth edition of the World Baseball Classic and it will have a familiar face at the helm: former Major League All-Star and national team player Andruw Jones will debut as a manager next year. 

Jones, who broke through in the Majors at age 18 and has since garnered the nickname 'The Curaçao Kid', had a very successful career as a player. In seventeen big league seasons he hit 434 homeruns, won 10 Gold Gloves and was widely perceived as one of the best defensive players ever. He is still in the running for a plaque in Cooperstown in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. 
 
The former center fielder played two World Baseball Classics (2006 and 2013) and a Premier12 (2015) for Team Kingdom of the Netherlands and since his retirement he's been active as a special advisor for the Atlanta Braves and coach for the national team. He wore the orange jersey as a coach during the 2016 Euros, the 2017 and 2023 WBC and the 2019 Premier12. 
 
With his experience and reputation he is well positioned to lead Team Kingdom of the Netherlands during the World Baseball Classic: "We are very proud and happy that Andruw will lead the national team during the Classic in Miami next year. We expect to field a great team with him", says the federations' GM Peter Kwakernaak. 
 
Jones is looking forward to the job "It's a tremendous honor to manage the team kingdom of the Netherlands in the WBC.  I've worn the uniform as a player and coach, and now being trusted to manage the team is a great honor. Can't wait to put a great team together with my coaching staff." 
 
World Baseball Classic 
 
Team Kingdom of the Netherlands was seeded into Pool D for the WBC in which it will face baseball giants like the Dominican Republic and Venezuela as well as Nicaragua and Israel. This is the schedule for the Orange squad: 
  

Date,               Home,                                                          –, Away 

March 6,         Venezuela,                                                  –, Team Kingdom of the Netherlands 

March 7,       Team Kingdom of the Netherlands,      –, Nicaragua 

March 8,       Dominican Republic,                                 –, Team Kingdom of the Netherlands 

March 10,     Team Kingdom of the Netherlands,      –, Israel  

The top two teams from Pool D will move on to the Quarter Finals. Leading up to the World Baseball Classic, Team Kingdom of the Netherlands will look to recapture its European title during the European Championship in Rotterdam, the Netherlands from September 20th – 27th. 

Photo credits: Louie Jay Sienders/KNBSB