Netherlands national baseball team

History

Early history

The Netherlands national team played its first international game on August 26, 1934 in Heemstede; the Dutch side lost to Belgium by a score of 21–12. In a rematch later that summer, the Netherlands notched its first-ever win, defeating Belgium 19–17 in Antwerp. The Dutch won an early international baseball tournament over France and a team from Hawaii in Paris in 1937. Throughout the 1930s, the Netherlands would play regular games against Belgium and France, accumulating a record of 7–2 against the two opponents between 1937 and 1939, and emerging as the strongest European baseball power. The Netherlands was one of the 12 inaugural members of the International Baseball Federation in 1938.

Joining the European Baseball Federation in 1955, the Netherlands won the 1956 European Baseball Championship. From that point on, they won all 10 continental championship they entered until 1973, not losing a game until 1971. Also in 1956, the Dutch appeared at the 1956 Global World Series held at Milwaukee County Stadium in the United States. They lost both games they played, against Puerto Rico (14–2) and Colombia (7–1). Nevertheless, the Dutch team continued to dominate at the European championships, thanks to the pitching of Han Urbanus, the first Dutch player to be scouted by a Major League Baseball team. (He reportedly declined a contract with the New York Giants.) The Dutch team also won a three-team tournament over Spain and Belgium in September 1957 commemorating the opening of Camp Nou in Barcelona.

The Dutch national team began including players from the Netherlands Antilles, the Dutch colonial possessions in the Caribbean, in the 1960s and 1970s, even though the Netherlands Antilles maintained its own national team at the time. This practice was maintained despite complaints from Italy. The Dutch federation defended its players of Caribbean ancestry as "possessing the nationality 100%". The Italians dropped their complaint allowing Caribbean-born players to make up an integral part of its squad. Both the Dutch and Italians also began using American-born players with European heritage in international tournaments.

The Dutch team has also regularly had managers from the United States. Ron Fraser, who later coached the Miami Hurricanes, managed the team in parts of the 1960s and 1970s. Jim Stoeckel, later the Davidson Wildcats coach, also managed the team, as did Pat Murphy, who later managed the Milwaukee Brewers. In the World Baseball Classic era, the team has primarily been managed by former Dutch team players, including Hensley Meulens, Evert-Jan 't Hoen, and Andruw Jones, though Americans Davey Johnson and Rod Delmonico also helmed the team.

World Baseball Classic

The Netherlands has competed in each edition of the World Baseball Classic, the top international baseball tournament. The team has twice finished fourth

2006

Prior to the 2006 WBC, the Netherlands played four exhibition games in Florida. They beat Eckerd College twice in February, then lost to the University of Tampa college team and an Atlanta Braves spring training squad. Andruw Jones competed against his MLB team in the final exhibition.

The Netherlands competed in Pool C, along with reigning world champion Cuba, Panama, and Puerto Rico, in the first round at the Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

After losing to Cuba and Puerto Rico in their round-robin pool games, they finished third in their pool and were eliminated along with Panama. Shairon Martis threw a 7-inning no-hitter against Panama.

2009

Prior to the 2009 WBC, the Netherlands played seven exhibition games, including 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, again at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in Puerto Rico. The team won 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 to Venezuela then the United States. The Dutch finished seventh in the competition.

2013

The Netherlands competed in Pool B against Chinese Taipei, South Korea, and Australia at Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium in Taichung, Taiwan. The Dutch team won their first game against South Korea 5–0, but lost to Chinese Taipei 8–3. However, the Netherlands defeated Australia 4–1, thus securing a position for the second round in the Tokyo Dome to face off against Japan and Cuba.

The Dutch team defeated Cuba 6–2 before facing two-time defending champion Japan, suffering a 16–4 loss stopped after 7 innings due to the mercy rule. This forced a rematch with Cuba. The Dutch narrowly beat Cuba 7–6 to advance to the championship round, then lost a seeding match, again falling to Japan, 10–6. They faced the Dominican Republic in the semi-finals, losing 4–1. The Netherlands finished fourth in the tournament.

2017

The Netherlands, ranked ninth in the world, included major league stars, many of whom were raised in islands in the Caribbean that are part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The players included All-Star shortstop Xander Bogaerts (from Aruba), 20-home-run hitter shortstop Didi Gregorius (born in the Netherlands and raised in Curaçao), 20-home-run hitter second baseman Jonathan Schoop (born in Curaçao), Gold Glove shortstop Andrelton Simmons (born in Curaçao), and infielder/outfielder Jurickson Profar (born in Curaçao). Sports Illustrated wrote that the Dutch team "boasts arguably the most talented infield in the entire tournament."

In the first round, the Netherlands lost to Israel, 4–2. In what NBC reported was thought to be the tallest batter-pitcher matchup in baseball history, the Dutch team's 7 ft pitcher Loek van Mil walked Israel's 6 ft first baseman Nate Freiman. The Dutch then beat South Korea (5–0) and Taiwan (6–5). Along with Israel, which finished first in the pool, the Netherlands qualified for the next round in Japan.

In the second round, an extra innings loss against Japan was followed by two mercy rule wins over Israel and Cuba. Together with Japan, which had finished top of the pool, the Netherlands advanced to the championship round. All-Star closer Kenley Jansen joined the Dutch team for the championship round.

The Netherlands semifinal match against Puerto Rico ended in a loss with an 11th inning walk-off sacrifice fly by Eddie Rosario. The final score was 4–3. Outfielder Wladimir Balentien was chosen in the All-WBC team after leading the tournament in hits, home runs, and RBI.

2023

After two runs to the prior WBC semi-finals, the Netherlands failed to advance past the first round in 2023. All five teams in its pool finished with a 2–2 record, but Cuba and Italy advanced on tiebreakers while the Dutch, Chinese Taipei, and Panama were eliminated.

2026

The Netherlands will compete against Israel, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and Nicaragua in the 2026 WBC on March 6–11, 2026, at LoanDepot Park in Miami, Florida in Pool D.

Five-time MLB All-Star Andruw Jones will manage the team. Infielder and four-time All Star Xander Bogaerts and Gold Glove center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela have both committed to play in the tournament.

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of professional baseball match results currently active in the latest version of the WBSC World Rankings, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled. ;Legend

2019

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

Current roster

(pitching) (bullpen) (quality control) (bench) (first base) (hitting) (third base)

Roster

Tournament record

World Baseball Classic

The Netherlands has competed in all five World Baseball Classic tournaments. All 16 teams that played in the 2006 edition were invited to compete in the second in 2009. The Netherlands was an automatic qualifier for the 2013 and 2017 tournaments.

The Netherlands progressed to the second round of competition in 2009, and achieved its highest finish, fourth, in both 2013 and 2017. Unusual for international competition in baseball, the squads selected in the WBC feature active Major League Baseball players in addition to Minor League, Nippon Professional Baseball, and local players. Generally, major league players are unavailable for international tournaments due to their contracts with their respective clubs.

The Netherlands teams in the WBC have featured many major leaguers, including Wladimir Balentien, Roger Bernadina, Xander Bogaerts, Didi Gregorius, Greg Halman, Kenley Jansen, Andruw Jones, Shairon Martis, Sidney Ponson, Jurickson Profar, Jonathan Schoop, Andrelton Simmons, and Randall Simon, most of whom are from Aruba or Curaçao.

Olympic Games

The Dutch's best finish in the Olympics is fifth place, which they did in both 1996 and 2000. The first time the Netherlands participated in a baseball tournament at the Summer Olympics was in . Netherlands finished with a 1–2 record, with its only victory coming against Chinese Taipei. There was no official placing, as baseball was a demonstration sport at the 1988 Summer Olympics.

The Netherlands finished first in the 2019 European Baseball Championship, earning entry to theAfrica/Europe 2020 Olympic Qualification tournament, which was held in Italy in September 2019. The Dutch finished second behind Israel, receiving another opportunity to qualify, at the Final qualifying tournament. Facing the Dominican Republic and Venezuela, the Netherlands finished last and did not qualify for the Olympics.

WBSC Premier12

Baseball World Cup

The Netherlands' best finish in the Baseball World Cup was first place in . Netherlands also hosted the tournament twice, in and . In , the Netherlands was one of the eight European nations to host the 2009 Baseball World Cup. It marked the first time in history that the World Cup was hosted by a continent rather than one country.

European Baseball Championship

The Netherlands won the first European Baseball Championship it competed in, in 1956, and has won 25 tournaments. The only time the team did not compete in the finals was 2023, when they lost to Spain in the semifinals.

European Baseball Championship

Other tournament results

Intercontinental Cup

Haarlemse Honkbalweek

World Port Tournament

U-18 Baseball World Cup

U-18 Baseball European Championship

U-15 European 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. For example, Richie Palacios and Joshua Palacios were born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, and Leon Boyd was born and raised in Canada, but all of them have played for the Netherlands national baseball team due to their having Dutch heritage. 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 was the Netherlands 2013 World Baseball Classic squad.

2013 World Baseball Classic

;Manager: Hensley Meulens ;Coaches: Bert Blyleven, Brian Farley, Steve Janssen, Wim Martinus, Tjerk Smeets, Ben Thijssen

The following players made up the Dutch team for the 2011 Baseball World Cup, held in October 2011.

Team members are mostly from the Netherlands or overseas territories with a few non-Dutch players:

• Boyd is from Canada and has Dutch ancestry
• Yntema is from the Dominican Republic and has Dutch citizenship

Coaches Farley (USA) and Janssen (Belgium) have some involvement with baseball teams in the Netherlands.

2011 Baseball World Cup

World ranking

In January 2009, the International Baseball Federation created a ranking system so that the nations involved in international competition could be compared independently. Teams receive points based on the position they finish at the end of tournaments. The system takes into account results not only of the senior men's teams but also of junior teams. Weightings that emphasise the importance of certain tournaments are based on the number of teams competing, the number of continents represented (or eligible to be represented), and, in the case of continental tournaments such as the European Baseball Championship, the relative strength of teams eligible. Only results from the most recent edition of any tournament within the previous four years are used, so points are added and removed over time. Since the system began, the rankings have been adjusted after the completion of tournaments qualifying for the ranking process.

:* When the rankings were first released, the 2008 Summer Olympics was the most recent tournament completed by the Netherlands that had any bearing on the rankings themselves. :** Multiple tournaments were held since the previous release of the rankings.

References

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References

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