March 26, 1961
Netherlands Win The WBC On Roosmalen Walk-Off
Olivier Roosmalen could have stopped at second base.
All eyes were on Shawn Wijkhuize rounding third and heading for home, which was where the throw was headed.
Dong-Hwan Kim had been shifted over toward right center against Roosmalen, playing for the pull. But the expert Dutch hitter laced a line drive into the
left field gap, rolling all the way to the wall. Daniel van Overbeek easily scored the tying run, and Wijkhuize was headed home as the winning run. The throw was cut off by Moon Thak who quickly fired home, but not before Wijkhuize crossed the plate standing up, raising his arms in triumph.
Olivier Roosmalen hadn't stopped running and so it will go down in history as a walk-off triple, propelling The Netherlands to glory in the most dramatic fashion.
"It's been a long time since everything came together," he said after the game, his voice and body language drained from the intense finish. "And then... boom, it did, just like that."
He paused a few beats, trying to come up with a way to summarize the
past year: A broken kneecap just as he had gotten his batting average above .400, and then months of watching his team languish and eventually be relegated to the Silver League. Now he's on the other end of the spectrum, the toast of his nation and the sport itself, delivering in the ultimate clutch moment.
"You just keep chopping and find a way to make it work," he finally said, then shook his head in seeming disbelief. "Keep chopping."
For most of the game it seemed as though it would be the South Koreans' turn to celebrate, having been denied a year ago as the host country. They were primed to turn the tables and celebrate on Dutch soil as they defeated the host country. Soo-Keun Bae dominated for the first six innings before coughing up a run in the 7th. Wijkhuize doubled and eventually scored on a passed ball, but the Korean team held a tight grip with a 3-1 lead headed to the 9th inning.
Jung-Hyun Au remained in after tossing a scoreless 8th, but was removed after issuing a walk to the first batter he faced in the 9th. Hyeon Kwak entered and van Overbeek worked him for a nine-pitch walk, spoiling pitch after pitch by fouling it off. Then Kwak lost the strike zone completely, missing four in a row to Wijkhuize.
Dilano Salij followed by hitting a sac fly to left to cut the lead to 3-2, setting the stage for Roosmalen. He got ahead 3-1 before taking a called strike and fouling one off. Kwak tried to beat him with a fastball away but it ran back toward the plate, and Roosmalen roped into the vacant left-center gap and beginning his run for glory.
He arrived at third base just as the late throw made its way home. Half of the dugout raced toward Wijkhuize at home and half toward Roosmalen at third, the two parties eventually meeting midway for a dogpile.
Soo-Keun Bae looked on in horror. One year later, one game short. Again.
The South Korean team could not have come closer. They had two runners thrown out at home plate and another at third base, short-circuiting rallies and stopping them from growing an insurmountable lead.
"It was supposed to be us," Bae said after the game. "It's like my heart has been ripped out twice now."