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. Baseball is extremely popular in Aruba and Curaçao, which were part of the former Netherlands Antilles. Some foreigners of Dutch descent have also been members of the team. While baseball only maintains a niche following throughout Europe, the Netherlands and Italy are the two European countries where the sport's popularity is strongest.[citation needed]
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.[2]
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 has progressed to the second round of competition in 2009, and achieved its highest finish, 4th, in both the 2013 and 2017 tournaments. 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 the respective clubs.
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 San Juan, 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 and the United States. Therefore, the team was eliminated and finished 7th in the final standings.
The Dutch team defeated Cuba 6–2 before facing two-time defending champion Japan and earned a humiliating loss 16–4 at the end of 7th inning due to mercy rule . This forced a rematch with Cuba. The Dutch narrowly clinched their win against the Cuban team 7–6 to secure their position in the semi-finals, where they lost again to Japan, 10–6. They faced off against the Dominican Republic where they lost 4–1. The Netherlands finished 4th overall.
Team Netherlands, ranked 9th 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 (Boston Red Sox; from Aruba), 20-home-run hitter shortstop Didi Gregorius (New York Yankees; raised in Curaçao), 20-home-run hitter second baseman Jonathan Schoop (Baltimore Orioles; born in Curaçao), Gold Glove shortstop Andrelton Simmons (Los Angeles Angels; born in Curaçao), and infielder/outfielder Jurickson Profar (Texas Rangers; born in Curaçao).[6][7][8]Sports Illustrated opined that the Dutch team "boasts arguably the most talented infield in the entire tournament."[8]
The Netherlands was defeated by Team Israel (4–2). 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.[9] The Dutch then beat South Korea (5–0) and Taiwan (6–5).[10][11] Along with Israel, which finished first in the pool, the Netherlands qualified for the next round, in Japan.[12]
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. Reigning All-Star and NL Reliever of the YearKenley Jansen joined the Dutch team for the championship round.
The Netherlands semifinal match against Puerto Rico ended with an 11th inning walk-off sacrifice fly by Eddie Rosario. The final score was 4–3. Dutch outfielder Wladimir Balentien was chosen in the All-WBC team after leading the tournament in hits, home runs, and RBI.
Their best finish in the Baseball World Cup was first place in 2011. Netherlands also hosted the tournament twice, in 1986 and 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 that the World Cup was not hosted by a continent rather than a single country.
The Dutch Caribbean has very strong baseball traditions. A team from Willemstad, Curaçao "Liga Pabou" won the 2004Little 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.
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 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.
^"IBAF World Rankings"(PDF). International Baseball Federation. 12 August 2009. Archived from the original(PDF) on 7 October 2009. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
