Netherlands national baseball team

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The Netherlands national baseball team is the national team of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is governed by the Koninklijke Nederlandse Baseball en Softball Bond, or the Royal Netherlands Baseball and Softball Federation. It is a member nation of the Confédération Européenne de Baseball, or Confederation of European Baseball.

Dutch players preparing for the gold medal game against Cuba in the 2006 Intercontinental Cup

The Netherlands boasts the most successful national baseball team in Europe. Of the 29 times that the European Championships have been held, the Netherlands has won the Gold medal 19 times and the Silver medal 7 times.

The Netherlands has also participated in the Baseball World Cup several times, hosting the event in 1986 and 2005. Its best finish was 4th place in the 2005 competition. It also participated in the Summer Olympic Games in 1988, 1996, 2000 and 2004 and in the inaugural World Baseball Classic held in 2006.

The Netherlands territories of Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles in the Caribbean have very strong baseball traditions. A team from Willemstad, Curaçao (Netherlands Antilles), called the Curaçao Yankees, 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 has fielded its own baseball team in international competitions. In recent years, however, players from Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles have played on the national team of the Netherlands itself, alongside players from continental Europe, resulting in a team with a stronger concentration of talent.

Their best international result was achieved during the 2006 Intercontinental Cup. The Dutch reached the final after beating Japan in the semi finals 3-0. Cuba was the opponent in the final and due to their status favourites to win the title. The Netherlands however took a 2-0 lead in the second inning and were able to keep advantage until the seventh, when Cuba equalised. Pitchers Diego Markwell and Rob Cordemans only allowed three base hits in 9 innings. In the 10th a Cuban homerun gave the Cubans their first lead, but the Dutch had an RBI as well. In the 11th inning Cuba batted another three runs in and took the gold, while the silver was for The Netherlands.

1 2006 World Baseball Classic
- 1.1 Results
- 1.2 Roster
2 Olympics
3 Baseball World Cup
4 Honors

[edit] 2006 World Baseball Classic

The Netherlands finished in third place in Pool C in the first round of the 2006 World Baseball Classic and did not advance to the second round. Its most memorable highlight is the no-hitter pitched by Shairon Martis against Panama.

[edit] Results

Round One, Pool C
March 8, 2006 - Puerto Rico 8 Netherlands 3
March 9, 2006 - Cuba 11 Netherlands 2
March 10, 2006 - Netherlands 10 Panama 0 (7 innings)