| Kalian Sams | |
| Position: | Outfielder |
| Birth Date: | 25 August 1986 |
| Birth Place: | The Hague, Netherlands |
| Bats: | Right |
| Throws: | Right |
Kalian Rivalino Sams (born 25 August 1986) is a Dutch former professional baseball outfielder who reached Triple-A in Minor League Baseball and played professionally in other countries. He also played for the Netherlands in many international baseball tournaments.
After playing two seasons in the Dutch professional Honkbal Hoofdklasse in The Hague, Sams signed a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners on 2 July 2006. In 2007, he was assigned to the Single-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers but was demoted to the Short-Season A Everett Aquasox. In Everett, he was teammates with fellow Dutch outfielder Greg Halman.[1] In 104 games with both teams that season, Sams hit .216 with 11 home runs and 30 RBI.
Sams played in 2008 with the Advanced Rookie Pulaski Mariners. In 32 games, Sams hit .204 with 10 home runs and 20 RBI. Sams opened 2009 with the Single-A Clinton LumberKings and played 4 games with Everett before his season ended in late June. In 20 total games, Sams hit .208 with 4 home runs and 12 RBI.
Sams played most of the 2010 season with Clinton, but he was demoted to Everett in August. In 105 total games, he .183 with 20 home runs and 58 RBI. Sams began 2011 with the High A High Desert Mavericks but was demoted to Clinton in May. In 113 total games, he hit .231 with a career high 24 home runs and 66 RBI. In 2012, Sams was promoted to the Double-A Jackson Generals, where in 72 games he hit .242 with 11 home runs and 35 RBI.
On 23 April 2013, Sams was released by the Mariners.[2]
On 5 May 2013, Sams signed a minor league contract with the San Diego Padres and began the year with the Double-A San Antonio Missions.[3] After hitting 10 home runs in 26 games, Sams was promoted in June to the Triple-A Tucson Padres, the highest level of affiliated baseball he would reach.[4] However, his hot hitting did not continue, and on 20 July, Sams was released by the Padres.[5] [6] In 50 games in the Padres organization, Sams hit .215 with 11 home runs and 30 RBI.
On 3 August 2013, Sams signed with the Camden Riversharks of the Atlantic League, where he played in five games, hitting .667 with 3 home runs and 9 RBI.
Sams signed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers on 10 August 2013. In 20 games with the Double-A Frisco RoughRiders, he hit .286 with 4 home runs and 10 RBI. That off-season, Sams re-signed a minor league contract with the Rangers.[7] However, he was released by Texas on 23 March 2014, before the start of the 2014 regular season. He would not play in affiliated American baseball again.
On 8 April 2014, Sams re-signed with the Camden Riversharks.[8] He played in 16 games for Camden in 2014, hitting .232 with 2 home runs. He became a free agent after the season.
Sams joined the Québec Capitales of the Can-Am League for the 2015 season.[9] He batted .279/.374/.534 with 16 home runs, 65 RBI, and 32 stolen bases in 61 games. Sams also appeared in five games for the Corendon Kinheim in the Dutch Honkbal Hoofdklasse, hitting .429.
On 24 February 2016, Sams signed with the Delfines de Ciudad del Carmen of the Mexican League.[10] Sams appeared in seven games for the club, notching seven hits in 16 at-bats before being released on 4 May 2016.
After his release from the Mexican League, Sams returned to Canada, re-signing with the Québec Capitales for the 2016 season.[11] In 61 games, Sams slashed .277/.372/.504 with 12 home runs and 41 RBI. In 2017, again with Québec, Sams batted .291/.350/.593 with 23 home runs and a career-high 70 RBI. Sams also played in five games for L&D Amsterdam in the Hoofdklasse. In 2018 for Québec, Sams batted .311/.391/.500 with 11 home runs and 48 RBI, and appeared in three games for Amsterdam. In total, Sams played in 289 games for the Capitales from 2015 to 2018.[12] Upon his retirement, Sams said he found his love for baseball again when he played in Canada.[13]
On 21 March 2019, Sams signed with the High Point Rockers of the Atlantic League.[14] He batted .203/.292/.297 before being released on 7 July 2019.
On 13 July 2019, Sams signed with the Sussex County Miners of the Can-Am League.[15] He hit .278/.353/.467 before he was released on 15 August 2019.
On 19 August 2019, Sams signed with the Amsterdam Pirates of the Honkbal Hoofdklasse, and played in 1 game for the club, going hitless in 2 plate appearances.[16] Sams played in 20 games for Amsterdam in 2020, slashing an amazing .359/.516/.813 with 8 home runs and 27 RBI.[17] He remained with the club to begin the 2021 season. He helped the team win the Holland Series in 2019 and 2021.[18]
On 27 October 2022, Sams announced his retirement from professional baseball via Instagram.[19] He said that his age and shoulder injuries contributed to his decision.[20]
Sams played more than 100 games for the Netherlands national baseball team. He debuted with the national team in 2006 and played in the 2013 World Baseball Classic (WBC) and 2017 WBC. He helped the Dutch win the 2011 Baseball World Cup and European Baseball Championships in 2014, 2016, and 2019. He also played in the 2015 WBSC Premier12, 2019 WBSC Premier12, and Africa/Europe 2020 Olympic Qualification tournament.[21]
Sams was born in the Netherlands and is of Curaçaoan descent.[22] He has two children, one son and one daughter.