Cijntje did not play baseball or even see baseball played in person until he was 15 years old, when a man came to his town of about 80 people and began teaching the sport.[1]
In September 1987, Cijntje was added to Baltimore's 40-man roster, becoming the first player from the Netherlands Antilles to be added to an MLB roster.[6] Going into the 1988 season, he was ranked as the Oriole's #7 prospect by Baseball America.[7]
In 1988, Cijntje again split time between Rochester and Charlotte, with his offensive production plummeting. He hit a combined .247 with 27 steals. In 1989, he played 27 games in Rochester and 57 games in Hagerstown, now a Double-A team, before moving on to Cleveland's system, playing 17 games Double-A Canton–Akron to finish his affiliated career.[5] Overall, he hit .270 with 588 hits and 184 stolen bases in 642 minor league games.[8]
Cijntje later played in the Dutch Hoofdklasse. He led the league with a .386 batting average in 1991[9] and was third in the league in stolen bases for Kinheim in 1997.[10] After retiring, he was the first base coach for the Amsterdam Pirates in 2022 and 2023.[11]