In honor of the 2024 Paris Olympics, here are the seven greatest European-born players to ever play in the MLB.
The lone Hall of Famer on this list, Blyleven, was born in 1951 in Zeist, a town in the region of Utrecht. He moved to California as a young boy and was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in 1969. Blyleven pitched for 22 MLB seasons for five different ball clubs and racked up the 12th-most Wins Above Replacement of any pitcher ever. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011.
Valo is the oldest edition on this list, but it is still deserving. He immigrated from Rybník, Czechoslovakia, at six years old and started his career with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1940. He took time off to serve as a second lieutenant in World War Two and returned to enjoy a great stretch from 1946 to 1952 with the Athletics. He continued playing until 1961 and finished his career as a member of six teams with a career of .790 OPS.
Gregorious was born in Amsterdam in 1990 and moved to Curacao with his family in 1995. He was signed as an international free agent in 2006 by the Cincinnati Reds. He debuted in 2012 and played 11 years in the MLB, enjoying his most success from 2016 to 2020 with the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies. Gregorious has also represented the Netherlands in international tournaments, participating in multiple World Baseball Classics and winning the 2011 Baseball World Cup.
Kepler has carved out a nice career for himself, as the Berlin-born player is in his tenth season in the MLB and has played all of them with the Twins. He was raised and played baseball in Germany, reaching the highest level of German baseball in the Bundesliga. He was signed at 16 years old in 2009 by the Twins and after making his debut in 2015, has hit 160 home runs for the Twins. He finished twentieth in MVP voting in 2019 and has a career 104 OPS+.
A two-time World Series champion with the Baltimore Orioles, Drabowsky played 17 years in the MLB with eight organizations. His family emigrated from Ozanna, Poland, to Connecticut when he was just three, and he enjoyed a successful college career playing for Trinity College. He was signed by the Cubs for $75,000 and debuted in 1956. Drabowsky became a career reliever and enjoyed his best seasons at the tail end of his career. He was 6-0 with a 2.81 ERA for the 1966 World Series champion Baltimore Orioles in his best season. He retired with a 3.71 ERA in 1,641 innings and a 0.90 postseason ERA in 10 innings.
Cox was born in Northampton, England, where his father was stationed in the Air Force. Over 11 years in the big leagues, Cox had a 74-75 record, 3.64 ERA, and 104 ERA+. He played for the Phillies, Pirates, Blue Jays, and Cardinals. He enjoyed his greatest years with the Cardinals as a starter from 1983-1988 and won a World Series as an effective reliever with the 1993 Toronto Blue Jays.
Mike Blowers was born in Würzburg, West Germany in 1965. He did school in Oklahoma and West Germany until his family moved to the State of Washington. He was drafted by the Montreal Expos in 1986 and debuted with the New York Yankees in 1989. He struggled with the Yankees and was traded to the Seattle Mariners for a PTBNL and cash considerations. In Seattle, Blowers enjoyed his best years, accumulating 52 home runs and a .791 OPS from 1993-1996 and 1997.
Honorable Mentions: Jeff Baker, Edwin Jackson, Lance Painter
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WBN MLB: https://worldbaseball.com/league/mlb/
Photo Credit: Didi Gregorius #18 of Team Netherlands poses for a photo during the 2023 WBC Workout Day Taichung at University Field on Tuesday, March 7, 2023 in Taichung, Taiwan. (Photo by Mary DeCicco/WBCI/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
