The international sport of baseball mourns Jan Esselman. The long-time official of the European Baseball Association died on Monday at the age of 81.
“I would like to express my deepest condolences to the Esselman family. Jan was a long-time comrade in European baseball, first in the technical commission and later as president of the CEB,” says DBV President Jürgen Elsishans. “For Jan, the promotion of sport was always the top priority and not politics. With him on the executive board, we were able to lay the foundation for the merger of CEB and ESF to form WBSC Europe.”
Esselman began his career in baseball as vice president of the prestigious Dutch club Haarlem Nicols from 1985 to 1989. He then took on an important role with the Koninklijke Nederlandse Baseball en Softball Bond (KNBSB), the Dutch baseball and softball association. From 1989 to 1995 he served as Commissioner for Baseball and made a significant contribution to the development of the sport on both a broad and a performance level in the Netherlands.
Esselman’s influence reached far beyond the borders of the Netherlands. From 1993 he was a member of the Technical Commission of the European Baseball Association CEB, where he served for over two decades as a member, secretary and finally chairman until 2013. He was also a committed member of the Technical Commission of the International Baseball Association IBAF from 1994 to 2013.
In 2013, Esselman was elected CEB president, becoming the second Dutchman to hold this position. During his tenure until 2017, he was passionate about promoting baseball in Europe. His presidency was one of unity and progress, and he created valuable partnerships that increased the sport’s visibility.
We remember Jan Esselman as a person with an unwavering commitment to the sport of baseball and the lasting impact he had on the sport in Europe. He leaves a legacy that will live on in the hearts of the baseball community worldwide.
