Seattle Mariners Outfielder Greg Halman Stabbed to Death
Seattle Mariners outfielder Greg Halman was found stabbed to death early Monday morning.
Rotterdam Police spokesperson Patricia Wessels told the Associated Press that police were called to a home in the Dutch port city on Monday.
Dutch police found the 24-year-old baseball player on the ground bleeding from fatal stab wounds.
When police arrived on the scene they tried, but failed, to resuscitate Halman.
Halman’s 22-year-old brother, Jason Halman, was arrested as a suspect.
"He is under arrest and right now he is being questioned," said Wessels to the Associated Press in a telephone interview. "It will take some time to figure out what exactly happened."
Greg Halman was born in Harrlem, Netherlands and made his first major league debut in Sept. 23, 2010 for the Seattle Mariners. The right-handed batter hit two home runs and nine RBI’s for his career.
On June 3, Halman was called to replace struggling outfielder Michael Saunders, who was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma. He hit his first home run in the big leagues on June 15 in a 3 to 1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.
The Dutch-born Halman appeared in 44 games over the last two seasons for Seattle. He hit .230 with two homers and six RBIs this past season.
He was signed as a non-drafted free agent in 2004, and he began his professional career in 2005 with the rookie level Arizona League Mariners.
“How could someone do this to their own brother? I sure hope this is not accurate,” wrote forum user MD1582 commented on ESPN’s website. “An absolute tragedy. My heart goes out to this family for the loss of possibly two sons.”
Raised in an athletic family, Halman’s brother, Jason, and father Eddy, both played professional baseball for the Dutch National team. His sister, Naomi, played basketball for the FIBA Euro league for the Netherlands.
Naomi currently has a picture of her late brother posted on her Facebook profile.