By Matthew Tallarini
World Baseball Network
Jan. 12, 2023
The Netherlands Baseball webpage announced Roger Bernadina would play for the Kingdom’s team at the 2023 World Baseball Classic in March.
“Journeyman major leaguer and international star outfielder Roger Bernadina is the 15th name for their World Baseball Classic 50-man preliminary roster,” said Press Officer KNBSB Seb Visser.
A Curacao native, Bernadina, 38, will play in his second World Baseball Classic for the Kingdom. He played in the 2013 World Baseball Classic for the Kingdom, leading the team to the semifinals, starting five games. In 17 total at bats for the Kingdom of Netherlands, he had three hits, two RBI, and batted .136. Bernadina grew up in The Hague playing for the SV ADO Baseball Club out of the Honkbal Hoofdklasse Junior Circuit before being signed as a non-drafted free agent in 2001 with the Montreal Expos.
During Bernadina’s Major League career, he played in 548 games with the Washington Nationals, Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, and the Los Angeles Dodgers before heading to South Korea in 2017 to play with the Kia Tigers in the Korea Baseball Organization. Bernadina did not play in the 2017 World Baseball Classic as he was declined to play with permission from the Kia Tigers.
Bernadina has a lot of experience playing in international tournaments throughout the span of his career. He made his international debut during the 2007 European Championships in Barcelona the year before being called up to the Washington Nationals, and also appeared for the Kingdom during the 2019 European Baseball Championship, WBSC Africa/Europe 2020 Olympic Qualifier, 2019 Premier 12 and the 2021 European Baseball Championship.
Bernadina has played in four countries’ pro leagues after his Major League career. The last three seasons, he has played in the Netherlands with Quick Amersfoort in 2020 and Curacao Neptunus for the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
Bernadina is currently playing in Liga de Beisbol Profesional Nacional (LBPN) Nicaragua with Leones de Leon for the 2022-23 winter league season.