The Netherlands Halman, like his father and younger brother Jason, played professional baseball in the Netherlands and on the Netherlands national team. Halman debuted when he was 16 years old with the Dutch
Honkbal Hoofdklasse team
Kinheim in
Haarlem in 2003. That season, he led the league with six triples. The next year, Halman was one of the best players in the country,
batting .358 with a league-leading 4 home runs, 4 triples, and 41 runs batted in (RBIs). He won the league's MVP Award and was named the most promising young Dutch player. He primarily played first base in 2004. His strong play drew the notice of American baseball scouts. Halman was named to the Netherlands' provisional roster ahead of the
2006 World Baseball Classic (WBC) but was not selected for the final team. He also played in the
2007 Baseball World Cup, batting .214 with 3 RBI in seven games. In the 2009 WBC, Halman hit .091 with one double and nine strikeouts in 11 at bats in four games. The Dutch team made a surprising run to the
second round of the tournament but finished with a 2–4 record.
Minor League Baseball Halman signed with the
Minnesota Twins on November 21, 2003, but his contract was voided on April 1, 2004. In 2006, he hit .259 with 5 home runs and 15 RBI in 28 games for the
Class-A Short Season Everett AquaSox. He was third on the team with 10 stolen bases. He had a 12-game hitting streak from June 21 to July 4. He had season-high three hits on July 19. However, he suffered a season-ending injury, fracturing his right hand With the AquaSox, he hit .307 with 16 home runs and 16 stolen bases in 62 games. He was named to the Class-A Short Season and
Northwest League All-Star teams and was also named the Class-A Short Season Player of the Year. With both Wisconsin and Everett, Halman was teammates with fellow Dutch player
Kalian Sams. where he hit another 10 home runs. He ended the season with a combined 29 home runs and 31 stolen bases. He was named the Mariners' Minor League Player of the Year. After the regular season, he returned to the Netherlands to play four games with Kinheim, going 4-for-11 with three doubles and two sacrifice flies. He also played for the
Peoria Javelinas in the
Arizona Fall League, batting only .217 with three home runs in 21 games. Halman and the Rainiers won the 2010
Pacific Coast League championship.
Major League Baseball On September 22, 2010, Halman and three teammates were
called up to the
Seattle Mariners after Tacoma's title run. He played in his first MLB game on September 23, starting in center field. After making outs in his first nine at bats, he hit a double off
C.J. Wilson of the
Texas Rangers, on September 27 for his first major league hit. He played in nine of the Mariners' final 11 games, batting .138 with 11 strikeouts and one walk in 30 plate appearances. Halman started the 2011 season back in Tacoma. On June 3, he rejoined the Mariners, replacing struggling outfielder
Michael Saunders, who was sent down to Tacoma. Halman had three hits in his first two games with the Mariners. Halman hit his first MLB home run on June 15 in a 3–1 victory over the
Los Angeles Angels. His last MLB hit was his second home run, off
Brett Cecil of the
Toronto Blue Jays on July 19. He played his final game with the Mariners on August 3 against the
Oakland Athletics, striking out a career-high three times. The next day, he was
optioned back to Tacoma, after going hitless in 19 consecutive plate appearances. His final MLB season ended with a .230 batting average. He struck out in one third of his plate appearances. He hit better in Tacoma, batting .299 with a .358 on-base percentage, both career highs in the U.S., with 3 home runs in 40 games. In his final minor league game, Halman hit three singles and scored twice against the
Fresno Grizzlies on September 5. == Personal life ==