{"id":112934,"date":"2026-03-06T04:25:21","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T09:25:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/?p=112934"},"modified":"2026-03-06T04:25:21","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T09:25:21","slug":"andruw-jones-netherlands-coaching-role-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/andruw-jones-netherlands-coaching-role-explained\/112934\/","title":{"rendered":"Andruw Jones\u2019 Netherlands coaching role explained"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Former Atlanta Braves<\/span><\/span> superstar Andruw Jones<\/span><\/span> is stepping into a new leadership role at the 2026 World Baseball Classic<\/span><\/span>, taking charge as manager of the Netherlands national team.<\/p>\n

For a country that has repeatedly surprised the baseball world with deep tournament runs, Jones\u2019 appointment represents both continuity and evolution. The Curacao-born icon helped establish the Netherlands as a competitive force during his playing days, and now he\u2019s guiding the next generation from the dugout.<\/p>\n

Jones succeeds longtime Netherlands manager Hensley Meulens<\/h2>\n

Jones\u2019 promotion to manager comes after years of involvement with the Dutch national program.<\/p>\n

The former All-Star represented the Netherlands as a player in both the 2006 and 2013 World Baseball Classics, playing a key role in the team\u2019s historic semifinal run in 2013. After his playing career ended, Jones remained closely connected to the program.<\/p>\n

He served as bench coach during the 2017 and 2023 tournaments, working alongside longtime manager Hensley Meulens<\/span><\/span>, often nicknamed \u201cBam Bam.\u201d When Meulens stepped down in late 2023, the Royal Netherlands Baseball and Softball Federation turned to Jones as the natural successor.<\/p>\n

His familiarity with the team\u2019s structure and playing style made him the logical choice to preserve the identity that has helped the Netherlands compete with global baseball powerhouses.<\/p>\n

Father-son milestone makes 2026 tournament historic<\/h2>\n

One of the most unique storylines surrounding the Netherlands team in 2026 involves Jones and his son, Druw Jones<\/span><\/span>.<\/p>\n

The younger Jones, a highly regarded prospect in the Arizona Diamondbacks<\/span><\/span> organization and the No. 2 overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, committed to representing the Netherlands in the tournament to honor his father\u2019s heritage.<\/p>\n

Their partnership will mark the first time in World Baseball Classic history that a father and son will share a dugout as manager and player.<\/p>\n

For Andruw Jones, the opportunity adds a deeply personal layer to the tournament, blending national pride with a rare family milestone on baseball\u2019s international stage.<\/p>\n

Netherlands roster features several MLB stars<\/h2>\n

The Dutch roster entering the 2026 World Baseball Classic includes a blend of established MLB veterans and emerging talent.<\/p>\n

Among the most notable names are Kenley Jansen<\/span><\/span>, Xander Bogaerts<\/span><\/span>, Ozzie Albies<\/span><\/span>, Jurickson Profar<\/span><\/span>, Ceddanne Rafaela<\/span><\/span> and veteran infielder Didi Gregorius<\/span><\/span>.<\/p>\n

Pitcher Shairon Martis<\/span><\/span> is also part of the roster, while former MLB All-Star pitcher Jair Jurrjens<\/span><\/span> will serve as the team\u2019s pitching coach.<\/p>\n

With Jones now leading the program and a roster filled with both experience and youth, the Netherlands hopes to once again challenge baseball\u2019s traditional powers when the 2026 World Baseball Classic begins.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former Atlanta Braves superstar Andruw Jones is stepping into a new leadership role at the 2026 World Baseball Classic, taking\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":294,"featured_media":112935,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[34946],"class_list":["post-112934","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-andruw-jones"],"reading_time":"3 min read","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112934","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/294"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112934"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112934\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":112936,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112934\/revisions\/112936"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/112935"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112934"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}