Former New Britain Rock Cat Player Dies At 34

NEW BRITAIN, CT — Loek Van Mil, a former member of the New Britain Rock Cats who is believed to be the tallest player ever in American professional baseball history, has passed away due to an accident at age 34, according to a report from the Dutch national team.

The 7-foot-1, 240 lb. right-handed pitcher, whose actual first name was Ludovicus, was a native of the Netherlands who signed with the Minnesota Twins' organization in time for the 2006 season. He was promoted to Double-A New Britain in 2009, posting a 1-1 record with a 2.45 earned run average in eight appearances. He struggled with the Rock Cats in 2010, going 1-2 with a 6.37 ERA in 29 games before being traded to the Los Angeles Angels in the latter part of that year.

Van Mil progressed as high as the Triple-A level with four different organizations: the Angels, Cleveland Indians, Cincinnati Reds and the Twins upon being reacquired in 2015. He never played in the major leagues, and ended his minor league career with a 12-27 record and 3.48 ERA in 241 games. He also pitched in professional leagues in Japan, the Netherlands and Australia.

During the dismal Rock Cats 2010 season, during which the club posted a 44-98 record, Van Mil could often be seen posing with shortstop Chris Cates, believed to be the shortest player in pro baseball at that time at 5-foot-3 and weighing 145 lbs.

In Dec. 2018, Van Mil was seriously injured in an accident while hiking in Australia. According to mlb.com, he slipped on a rock and banged his head on another, laying unconscious for 24 hours before being discovered. He had bleeding of the brain, 14 head fractures, a ruptured ear drum and four hemorrhages, but was released from a hospital after just six days.

It is not yet known whether those injuries played any role in his death.

Former Rock Cats bat boy Gary Jarossy posted on Facebook, "Thanks for everything big man! Rest easy!"

(RedsMinorLeagues via YouTube)