Loud music may have led to Greg Halman slay
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands - Police say an argument about loud music could be the reason Seattle Mariners outfielder Greg Halman was stabbed to death.
Police spokeswoman Patricia Wessels tells The Associated Press that loud music "appears to be the reason the victim walked downstairs," but police are still trying to piece together what happened after that.
Police say they are still interviewing the brother of Halman as a suspect in the death of the 24-year-old Dutch baseball player, who was killed in the early hours of Monday morning at an apartment in Rotterdam.
Halman hit .230 in 35 games and made starts at all three outfield positions for the Mariners in 2011 before being optioned to Triple-A Tacoma.
Mariners outfielder Halman stabbed to death
Born in the city of Haarlem, Halman began his playing career in the Dutch Pro League, and was was part of the gold medal-winning Dutch squad at the 2007 European Championship. He also played for the Netherlands at the 2009 World Baseball Classic.
Because he played professionally in the United States, Halman was not part of the Netherlands team that won the Baseball World Cup in Panama last month. The Dutch beat Cuba 2-1, becoming the first European team to win the title.
Former major leaguer Robert Eenhorn, the technical director of the Dutch baseball association, said he was devastated by the news.
"The only thing I can say right now is we are deeply shocked," Eenhorn, who played for the New York Yankees and Anaheim Angels in the 1990s, told the AP. "All our thoughts are with his family and how they are going to have to deal with this tremendous loss."
Halman was in Europe earlier this month as part of the European Big League Tour, an initiative organized by Baltimore Orioles pitcher Rick Van den Hurk in which major league stars gave clinics to children. Van den Hurk is also Dutch.
Massimo Fochi, the vice president of the Italian baseball federation, said he met Halman less than two weeks ago at a European Big League Tour event in Parma.
"He was a great guy and the most appreciated by the kids," Fochi said. "His passing away is really painful."