 ADO Lakers' Dave Daniels resigns, but leaves door open
Nederlands
 THE HAGUE (Neth.) -
Dave Daniels has resigned as Head Coach of ADO Lakers, but he is leaving the door open with the club from The Hague.
...Dave Daniels (right) during introductions on Opening Day...
...of the 2013 season in Amsterdam...
(© Photo: Henk Seppen) |
Daniels confirmed that he has informed the board of his intention to resign after leading the team in the last two seasons.
There are some more meetings scheduled within the board and another talk coming weekend.
,,So, I still leave the door open, but as of right now, I'm gonna resign'', said Daniels, who was one of the most experienced coaches this season in the Dutch big league.
This season was a difficult one for Daniels and the club, which has a long history in the Dutch big league.
Initially, the season started well.
After losing the opening game against L&D Amsterdam Pirates 12-1 on April 11, the team came back to win two days later 3-1.
But in the remainder of the season only one more victory was added.
That was recorded on May 23 vs. Corendon Kinheim with a 5-3 score.
With the wins, ADO Lakers defeated the national champions of 2011 (Pirates) and 2012 (Kinheim), but it was to be the team's only highlight in the season.
ADO Lakers closed the season with a 23-game losing streak and ended with a 2-40 record to finish in last place.
With that, it became one of the four teams to play in the Play-Downs, which would decide who would have to play for relegation.
After having used 37 different players in the regular season, ADO Lakers added veteran Eugene Henson to its roster for the Play-Downs.
However, due to an administrative omission, Henson played in four games while not being eligible to play.
One of the games was won, which was declared invalid and the team got eight points subtracted from its total.'
This meant, that whatever the results in the remainder of the Play-Downs, ADO Lakers would end up in last place and therefore would have to play in the Promotion/Relegation Play-Off.
During the Play-Down series, ADO Lakers won three games, which would have save their season.
The team would then have finished in second to last place, with Mr. Cocker HCAW having to play in the deciding play-off to secure their big league-spot.
In the best-of-five Promotion/Relegation Play-Off, ADO Lakers met Twins, the champion of the second highest league ('Overgangsklasse').
This time, Henson was eligible to play for ADO Lakers, which lost big twice, but also won twice, meaning a fifth game was needed.
That was a suspenseful event, as ADO Lakers trailed 1-0 in the eighth inning, but managed to come back and win 2-1 in the ninth at bat.
With that, it secured its spot for next years big league.
When the regular season and postseason are combined, ADO Lakers set a record by using 40 different players.
Dave Daniels, who is known for his baseball-knowledge, was appointed Head Coach of ADO Lakers in October 2010.
And so, in 2011 he returned to the big league as a coach for the first time since coaching Kinheim in 2005.
Before coming to the Netherlands in 1985, Daniels played professionally in the minor league-teams of Washington Senators and Texas Rangers (1971-1975).
He then played for Hanshin Tigers in the Japanese Major League (1977), followed by six seasons in the Italian Baseball League (1978-1982, 1984).
Daniels then made his debut in the Dutch big league in 1985, playing for Haarlem Nicols.
In 1987 and 1988, he played and was the Assistant Coach for Amsterdam Pirates, with whom he won the Dutch championship in 1987.
Some years later, Daniels played in a few more games at the big league-level while coaching Kinheim and RCH.
In 1989, Daniels made his big league-debut as a Head Coach when he led HCAW-Tijgers.
Since then, he was either Head Coach or held another coaching job with nine different big league-clubs.
As the Hitting Coach of Neptunus in 1995, the team won the Dutch title.
And when he was an Assistant Coach with Kinheim in 1996, the team reached the Holland Series.
As Head Coach, he led Kinheim to the Play-Offs in 2004 in a second stint with the Haarlem-club.
Daniels also was a member of a National Team's coaching staff.
In 1989 with France and in 1997 with the Dutch National Team.
Before taking over ADO Lakers in October 2010, Daniels coached Solingen Alligators in Germany and before that worked for the Chicago White Sox, being active in the minor leagues.
(October 10)
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