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The Royal Dutch Baseball Softball Federation (KNBSB) announced that former Major League Baseball (MLB) All-Star Andruw Jones will manage the Kingdom of the Netherlands at the World Baseball Classic 2026.
“I’ve worn the uniform as a player and coach,” commented Jones, who represented the Netherlands at the World Baseball Classic 2006 and 2013 and the WBSC Premier12 2015 as a player and served as a coach under manager Hensley Meulens at the World Baseball Classic 2017. “I can’t wait to put a great team together.”
Born in 1977 in Curaçao, Jones played the core of his MLB career (1996-2007) for the Atlanta Braves. The club retired his No. 25 jersey in 2023.
Jones is a five-time All-Star, 10-time Gold Glove outfielder and led the National League in home runs (51) and RBIs (128) in 2005. After leaving the Braves, he played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox and finished his career in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), leading the Rakuten Golden Eagles to the 2013 Japan Series title with an All-Star season. He hit 434 MLB home runs and added 50 at the NPB level.
World No. 7 Netherlands will compete in the Miami, Florida (USA) group from March 6 to 11, 2026, and face No. 11 Dominican Republic, No. 19 Israel, No. 3 Venezuela, and No. 16 Nicaragua.
