Appearances 4 (First in 2006) Appearances 17 (First in 1970) Manager Hensley Meulens | Appearances 4 (First in 1996) Location Netherlands | |
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Country Kingdom of the Netherlands Best result 4th (2 times, in 2013 and 2017) Best result 5th (2 times, most recent in 2000) Confederation Confederation of European Baseball | ||
The netherlands national baseball team blue bay curacao golf beach resort
The Netherlands national baseball team is the national baseball team of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, representing the country in international men's baseball. They are currently ranked as the best team in the European Union, and the team is also ranked ninth in the IBAF World Rankings.
Contents
- The netherlands national baseball team blue bay curacao golf beach resort
- World Baseball Classic
- 2006
- 2009
- 2013
- 2017
- Olympics
- Baseball World Cup
- Other tournament results
- Players
- 2013 World Baseball Classic
- References
The Netherlands participated in the Summer Olympic Games in 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008. The team has also participated in both of the other major international baseball tournaments recognised by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF): the World Baseball Classic (WBC) and the Baseball World Cup. In 2011, the team won the World Cup after beating 25-time champion Cuba in the finals. The team is controlled by the Koninklijke Nederlandse Baseball en Softball Bond, which is represented in the Confederation of European Baseball.
The team is made up primarily of players from the Netherlands in Europe, and from Dutch territories and islands in the Caribbean that are part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, such as Aruba and Curaçao (which is part of the former Netherland Antilles, which have since been dissolved), where baseball is extremely popular. Some foreigners of Dutch descent have also been members of the team. While baseball only maintains a niche following throughout Europe, the Netherlands, along with Italy, are the two European countries where the sport's popularity is strongest.
The team is playing in the 2017 World Baseball Classic.
World Baseball Classic
The Netherlands has competed in all three of the World Baseball Classic tournaments held. All sixteen teams that played in the 2006 edition were invited to compete in the second in 2009. The team was an automatic qualifier for the 2013 tournament.
The Netherlands has progressed to the second round of competition in 2009, and achieved its highest finish, 4th, in the 2013 tournament. Unusual for international competition in baseball, the squads selected in the World Baseball Classic tournaments featured players active in Major League Baseball in addition to Minor League, Nippon Professional Baseball and local players. Generally players in the Major Leagues are unavailable due to their contracts with the respective clubs.
The Netherlands team in the World Baseball Classic has featured Major Leaguers Andruw Jones (2006, 2013), Sidney Ponson (2009 only), and Randall Simon (both), as well as then-future Major Leaguers Jair Jurrjens (2006 only) and Kenley Jansen (2009, 2013), all born in the Caribbean in either Aruba or Curaçao.
2006
Prior to the 2006 World Baseball Classic, the Netherlands played four exhibition games. They lost two games, against a college team from the University of Tampa and an Atlanta Braves squad at Cracker Jack Stadium in Kissimmee.
The Netherlands competed in Pool C—along with world champion Cuba, Panama and Puerto Rico—in the first round at the Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Having failed to win against Cuba and Puerto Rico in their round-robin pool games, they finished third in their pool, and were eliminated along with Panama.
2009
Prior to the 2009 World Baseball Classic, the Netherlands played seven exhibition games, including three games against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds and Minnesota Twins. The Netherlands team lost all three games against these MLB opponents.
The Netherlands competed in Pool D, along with 2006 WBC semi-finalist Dominican Republic, Panama, and Puerto Rico, in the first round at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The team impressed many, winning both games against the strong Dominican Republic team. As result, the team made it through the first double-elimination round along with Puerto Rico.
In the second round the Dutch lost both their games against Venezuela and the United States. Therefore, the team was eliminated and finished 7th in the final standings.
2013
The Netherlands competed in Pool B against Chinese Taipei, South Korea and Australia at the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium in Taichung, Taiwan. The Dutch team won their first game against South Korea 5-0, but lost to the Chinese Taipei 8-3. However, the Netherlands win against Australia 4-1, thus securing their position for Round 1 in Tokyo Dome to face off Japan and Cuba.
The Dutch team single-handedly win against the Cuban team 6-2 before facing off against two-time defending champions Japan and earned a humiliating loss 16-4 at the end of 7th inning due to mercy rule as they face off against Cuba once again. They narrowly clinched their win against the Cuban team 7-6 to secure their position to the semi-finals when they lose against the Japanese team again 10-6 for the Dutch team to face off against the Dominican Republic where they lose 4-1. The Netherlands, having significant improvement from two previous World Baseball Classic games, finished 4th overall, despite missing out its ever first WBC medal.
2017
Team Netherlands, ranked 9th in the world, includes current major league stars, many of whom were raised in islands in the Caribbean that are part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The players include All Star shortstop Xander Bogaerts (Boston Red Sox; from Aruba), 20-home-run-hitter shortstop Didi Gregorius (New York Yankees; raised in Curaçao, which is part of the former Netherland Antilles which have since been dissolved), 20-home-run-hitter second baseman Jonathan Schoop (Baltimore Orioles; born in Curaçao), Gold-Glover shortstop Andrelton Simmons (Los Angeles Angels; born in Curaçao), and infielder/outfielder Jurickson Profar (Texas Rangers; born in Curaçao). Sports Illustrated opined that the Dutch team "boasts arguably the most talented infield in the entire tournament."
The Netherlands was defeated by Team Israel (4-2), but beat South Korea (5-0) and Taiwan (6-5), in the first round of the 2017 World Baseball Classic. Along with Israel, which came in ahead of it in the pool, it qualified for the next round, in Japan.
In what NBC reported was thought to be the tallest batter-pitcher matchup in baseball history, the Dutch team’s 7-foot-1-inch (2.16 m) pitcher Loek Van Mil walked Israel's 6-foot-8-inch (2.03 m) first baseman Nate Freiman.
Olympics
The Dutch best finish in an Olympics is fifth place, which they did in both 1996 & 2000. The first time the Netherlands participated in the baseball tournament at the Summer Olympics was in 1988. Netherlands finished with a 1-2 record, with its only victory coming against Chinese Taipei. There was no official placing as Baseball at the 1988 Summer Olympics was a demonstration sport.
Baseball World Cup
The Dutch best finish in the International Baseball Federation's (IBAF) World Cup has been the first place, which they did in 2011. Netherlands also hosted the games twice, in 1986 and in 2005. In 2009, the Netherlands was one of the 8 European nations to host the 2009 Baseball World Cup. It marked the first time in history the World Cup was not be hosted by a certain country, but rather a whole continent.
Other tournament results
Intercontinental Cup
Haarlemse Honkbalweek
World Port Tournament
European Baseball Championship
World Junior Baseball Championship
European Junior Baseball Championship
World Youth Baseball Championship
European Youth Baseball Championship
Players
The Dutch Caribbean has very strong baseball traditions. A team from Willemstad, Curaçao "Liga Pabou" won the 2004 Little League World Series and was runner-up in 2005. Each territory has its own baseball federation and in the past, the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba have fielded its own team in international competitions. In recent years, however, players from the Dutch Caribbean have played on the national team of the Netherlands itself, alongside players from continental Europe and a handful of Americans of Dutch descent, resulting in a team with a stronger concentration of talent. Since the 2013 World Baseball Classic, the Netherlands participates as the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the formal name of the sovereign state that includes both the Dutch Caribbean and the Netherlands proper.
The following is the Netherlands 2013 World Baseball Classic squad.