The Netherlands national baseball team is the national

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

team of the

Kingdom of the Netherlands The Kingdom of the Netherlands (, ;, , ), commonly known simply as the Netherlands, is a sovereign state consisting of a collection of constituent territories united under the monarch of the Netherlands, who functions as head of state. The re ...

, representing the country in international men's baseball. They are the best-ranked team in the

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, and ranked seventh in the world by the

World Baseball Softball Confederation The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) is the international Sports governing body, governing body for the sports of baseball, softball, Baseball5 and Blind baseball. It was established in 2013 by the merger of the International Baseba ...

(WBSC). The team is controlled by the Royal Netherlands Baseball and Softball Federation, which is represented in WBSC Europe. The Netherlands participated in the

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The 1896 Summer Olympics, inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, ...

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, and

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

. The team has also participated in other major international baseball tournaments, including the

World Baseball Classic The World Baseball Classic (WBC), also referred to as the Classic, is an international baseball tournament sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), the sport's global governing body, and organized in World Baseball Clas ...

(WBC),

Baseball World Cup The Baseball World Cup (BWC) was an international baseball tournament for national teams around the world, sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF). First held in 1938 as the Amateur World Series (AWS), it was, for most of its ...

, and Premier12. The Netherlands' best finish was winning the 2011 World Cup, defeating 25-time champion

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

in the finals. More recently the Dutch finished fourth in the

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

and 2017 WBC. The team is made up primarily of players from the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

in Europe, and from Dutch territories and islands in the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

that are part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Baseball is extremely popular in

Aruba Aruba, officially the Country of Aruba, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in the southern Caribbean Sea north of the Venezuelan peninsula of Paraguaná Peninsula, Paraguaná and northwest of Curaçao. In 19 ...

and

Curaçao Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the southern Caribbean Sea (specifically the Dutch Caribbean region), about north of Venezuela. Curaçao includ ...

, which were part of the former

Netherlands Antilles The Netherlands Antilles (, ; ), also known as the Dutch Antilles, was a constituent Caribbean country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands consisting of the islands of Saba (island), Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten in the Lesser Antilles, ...

. Some foreign-born players 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. The Dutch team has finished in either first or second place in 31 of the 32 European Baseball Championships in which it has appeared. The exception was the 2023 European Baseball Championship, which the Netherlands placed third.

History

Early history

The Netherlands national team played its first international on August 26, 1934 in

Heemstede Heemstede () is a town and a municipality in the Western Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. In 2021, it had a population of 27,545. Located just south of the city of Haarlem on the border with South Holland, it is one of the richest ...

; the Dutch side lost to

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

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 Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

. Throughout the 1930s, the Netherlands would play regular games against Belgium and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, accumulating a record of 7–2 against the two opponents between 1937 and 1939, and emerging as the strongest European baseball power. Joining the European Baseball Federation in 1955, the Netherlands won the 1956 European Baseball Championship. From that point on, they won every continental championship they entered until 1973, a total of 10 consecutive titles. Also in 1956, the Dutch made their first appearance in global competition, appearing at the 1956 Global World Series held at

Milwaukee County Stadium Milwaukee County Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Opened in 1953 Milwaukee Braves season, 1953, it was primarily a baseball park for Major League Baseball's Milwaukee Braves and later the Milwaukee Brewers. It was also ...

in the United States. They lost both games they played, against

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

(14–2) and

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

(7–1). Nevertheless, the Dutch team continued to dominate at the European Championship, thanks to the pitching of Han Urbanus, the first Dutch player to be scouted by a

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

team. (He reportedly declined a contract with the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

). The Dutch national team began the practice of selecting players from the

, the Dutch colonial possessions in the Caribbean, in the 1960s and 1970s. Though the Netherlands Antilles maintained its own

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

at the time. This practice was maintained despite complaints from other federations in Europe; the Dutch federation defended its players of Caribbean ancestry as "possessing the nationality 100%". The European Baseball Federation ruled in favor of the Dutch, allowing Caribbean players to make up an integral part of its squad going forward.

World Baseball Classic era

2006

Prior to the 2006 WBC, the Netherlands played four exhibition games. They lost two games, against the

University of Tampa The University of Tampa (UTampa, UT or Tampa U) is a private university in Tampa, Florida. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. UTampa offers more than 200 programs of study, including 19 master's degrees and a br ...

college team and an

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

squad at Cracker Jack Stadium in

Kissimmee, Florida Kissimmee ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Osceola County, Florida, Osceola County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 79,226. It is a principal city of the Greater Orlando, O ...

. The Netherlands competed in Pool C, along with reigning world champion

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

, and

, in the first round at the Hiram Bithorn Stadium in

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...

. 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.

2009

Prior to the 2009 WBC, the Netherlands played seven exhibition games, including games against the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

, and

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

. 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 The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

, and

, 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 second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of Un ...

the Dutch lost to

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Therefore, the team was eliminated and finished seventh in the final standings.

2013

The Netherlands competed in Pool B against

Chinese Taipei "Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan. Due to the One China principle stipulated by the ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

, and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

at the

Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium () is a stadium in Beitun District, Taichung, Taiwan. The stadium officially opened on November 9, 2006, replacing the antiquated Taichung Baseball Field. Located on the corner of Chongde Road (崇德� ...

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 defeated Australia 4–1, thus securing their position for Round 1 in

Tokyo Dome is an indoor stadium in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. It was designed as a baseball stadium following its predecessor, Korakuen Stadium (whose former site is now occupied by the Tokyo Dome Hotel and a plaza for this stadium). In Japan, it is often us ...

to face off against

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and

. The Dutch team defeated Cuba 6–2 before facing two-time defending champion Japan, suffering a 16–4 loss stopped after 7th innings due to the

mercy rule A mercy rule, slaughter rule, knockout rule, or skunk rule ends a two-competitor sports competition earlier than the scheduled endpoint if one competitor has a very large and presumably insurmountable scoring lead over the other. It is called t ...

. 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 the

in the third-place match, 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 An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

shortstop Xander Bogaerts (from

), 20-home-run hitter shortstop

Didi Gregorius Mariekson Julius "Didi" Gregorius (born February 18, 1990) is a Curaçao, Curaçaoan-Netherlands, Dutch professional baseball shortstop for the Algodoneros de Unión Laguna of the Mexican League. He has previously played in Major League Basebal ...

(born in the Netherlands and raised in

), 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." The Netherlands lost to

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, 4–2. In what

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

reported was thought to be the tallest batter-pitcher matchup in baseball history, the Dutch team's pitcher Loek van Mil walked Israel's first baseman Nate Freiman. The Dutch then beat

(5–0) and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

(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 A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

closer Kenley Jansen joined the Dutch team for the championship round. The Netherlands semifinal match against

ended 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 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

and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

advanced on tiebreakers while the Dutch,

, and

were eliminated.

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...

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

The club announced its roster for the 2024 WBSC Premier12 on 21 October 2024.

Tournament record

World Baseball Classic

The Netherlands has competed in all five World Baseball Classic tournaments. All 16 teams that played in the

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

edition were invited to compete in the second in

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

. The Netherlands was an automatic qualifier for the

and

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

tournaments. The Netherlands has 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

players in addition to

Minor League Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

, and local players. Generally, major league players are unavailable for international tournaments due to their contracts with the respective clubs. The Netherlands teams in the WBC have featured many major leaguers, including Wladimir Balentien,

Roger Bernadina Rogearvin Argelo "Roger" Bernadina (born June 12, 1984), nicknamed "The Shark," is a Dutch Curaçaoan professional baseball outfielder for the Hotsand Macerata Angels of the Italian Baseball League (IBL). He has previously played in Major League ...

, Xander Bogaerts,

, Greg Halman, Kenley Jansen, Andruw Jones, Shairon Martis, Sidney Ponson, Jurickson Profar, Jonathan Schoop, Andrelton Simmons, and Randall Simon, most of whom are from

Olympic Games

The Dutch's best finish in the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competit ...

is fifth place, which they did in both

and

. The first time the Netherlands participated in a baseball tournament at the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

was in . Netherlands finished with a 1–2 record, with its only victory coming against

. There was no official placing, as baseball was a

demonstration sport A demonstration sport, or exhibition sport, is a sport which is played to promote it, rather than as part of standard medal competition. This occurs commonly during the Olympic Games but may also occur at other sporting events. Demonstration sport ...

at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

. Team Netherlands finished first in the

2019 European Baseball Championship The 2019 European Baseball Championship was an international baseball tournament organized by the Confederation of European Baseball. The 2019 Championship was held September 7–15, 2019, in Bonn and Solingen, Germany. The tournament contribu ...

, and earned the right to qualify for the

2020 Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

. The Dutch team competed at the Africa/Europe 2020 Olympic Qualification tournament, which was held in Italy in September 2019, and placed second behind Israel. Since the team was the runner-up, it received another opportunity, and competed at the Final qualifying tournament, along with Dominican Republic and Venezuela. The team placed last and failed to qualified.

WBSC Premier12

Baseball World Cup

Their best finish in the

was first place in . Netherlands also hosted the tournament twice, in and . In , the

was one of the 8

an 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 a single country.

European Baseball Championship

Team Netherlands won the

, winning a gold medal. Among the players competing for it were

, Mike Bolsenbroek, Donny Breek, Rob Cordemans, Tom de Blok, Yurendell DeCaster, Lars Huijer, Kevin Kelly, Dwayne Kemp, Diego Markwell, Randolph Oduber, Dashenko Ricardo, Shairon Martis,

Kalian Sams Kalian Rivalino Sams (born 25 August 1986) is a Dutch former professional baseball outfielder who reached Triple-A in Minor League Baseball and played professionally in other countries. He also played more than 100 games for the Netherlands nati ...

, Sharlon Schoop, Curt Smith, Tom Stuifbergen, J. C. Sulbaran, and Orlando Yntema. European Baseball Championship

Other tournament results

Intercontinental Cup Haarlemse Honkbalweek World Port Tournament U-18 Baseball World Cup U-18 Baseball European Championship {, border="0" cellpadding="2" , - valign="top" , *

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

: 3rd *

: 2nd *

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

: 1st *

: 3rd *

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

: 2nd *

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

: 1st *

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

: 1st *

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

: 1st *

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

: 2nd *

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

: 3rd U-15 Baseball World Cup {, border="0" cellpadding="2" , - valign="top" , *

: 8th *

: 7th *

: 8th *

: 10th U-15 European Baseball Championship {, border="0" cellpadding="2" , - valign="top" , *

: 1st *

: 2nd *

: 1st *

: 4th *

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

: 1st *

: 4th *

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

: 1st *

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

: 1st *

: 2nd *

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

: 3rd *

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

: 1st

Players

The

Dutch Caribbean The Dutch Caribbean (historically known as the Dutch West Indies) are the New World territories, colonies, and countries (former and current) of the Dutch Empire and the Kingdom of the Netherlands located in the Caribbean Sea, mainly the norther ...

has very strong baseball traditions. A team from

Willemstad Willemstad ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Curaçao, an island in the southern Caribbean Sea that is a Countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was the cap ...

"Liga Pabou" won the 2004 Little League World Series and was runner-up in

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

. Each territory has its own baseball federation and in the past, the

and

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

, 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 Tjerk Smeets (born 3 June 1980) is a former Dutch baseball player for Kinheim and the Netherlands national baseball team, Dutch national team and technical director of the Royal Netherlands Baseball and Softball Federation (KNBSB). He is the son ...

, Ben Thijssen The following players made up the Dutch team for the 2011 Baseball World Cup, held in October 2011.
International Baseball Federation: Roster The Netherlands, Accessed October 16, 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 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. {, class="wikitable" border=1 style="border-collapse:collapse; font-size:90%; text-align:center;" cellpadding=3 cellspacing=0 , - ! rowspan=2 , Date
Released ! rowspan=2 , Tournament ! rowspan=2 , Tournament
Result ! rowspan=2 colspan=2 , Ranking ! rowspan=2 colspan=2 , Points ! colspan=3 , Position Above ! colspan=3 , Position Below , - ! Rank ! Team ! Points Difference ! Rank ! Team ! Points Difference , - , 13 January 2009 ,

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

^* , 7th , 6th , , , 336.57 , , , 5th , align=left , , +121.93 , 7th , align=left , , -74.38 , - , 24 March 2009 ,

2009 World Baseball Classic The 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an International Baseball Federation, international baseball competition. It began on March 5 and finished March 23. Unlike in 2006 World Baseball Classic, 2006, when the Round-robin tournament, round- ...

, 7th , 6th , , , 382.57 , , , 5th , align=left , , +89.25 , 7th , align=left , , -102.32 , - , 12 August 2009^** , 2009 World Port Tournament , 2nd , 6th , , 412.57 , , 5th , align=left , , +179.25 , 7th , align=left , , -109.82 , - , rowspan=2 , 19 October 2009^** , 2009 World Youth Baseball Championship , 8th , rowspan=2 , 6th , rowspan=2 , , rowspan=2 , 405.33 , rowspan=2 , , rowspan=2 , 5th , rowspan=2 align=left , , rowspan=2 , +156.30 , rowspan=2 , 7th , rowspan=2 align=left , , rowspan=2 , -45.14 , - , 2009 Baseball World Cup , 6th , - , rowspan=4 , 6 December 2010^** , 2010 Haarlem Baseball Week , 1st , rowspan=4 , 6th , rowspan=4 , , rowspan=4 , 374.51 , rowspan=4 , , rowspan=4 , 5th , rowspan=4 align=left , , rowspan=4 , +149.85 , rowspan=4 , 7th , rowspan=4 align=left , , rowspan=4 , -22.20 , - , 2010 European Baseball Championship , 2nd , - , 2010 World Junior Baseball Championship , 6th , - , 2010 Intercontinental Cup , 2nd , - , rowspan=2 , 31 October 2011^** , 2011 World Port Tournament , 3rd , rowspan=2 , 5th , rowspan=2 , , rowspan=2 , 483.51 , rowspan=2 , , rowspan=2 , 4th , rowspan=2 align=left , , rowspan=2 , +172.91 , rowspan=2 , 6th , rowspan=2 align=left , , rowspan=2 , -24.68 , - , 2011 Baseball World Cup , 1st , - , rowspan=3 , 18 September 2012^** , 2012 Haarlem Baseball Week , 4th , rowspan=3 , 6th , rowspan=3 , , rowspan=3 , 476.76 , rowspan=3 , , rowspan=3 , 5th , rowspan=3 align=left , , rowspan=3 , +8.24 , rowspan=3 , 7th , rowspan=3 align=left , , rowspan=3 , -17.13 , - , 2012 18U Baseball World Championship , 11th , - , 2012 European Baseball Championship , 2nd , - , rowspan=2 , 20 March 2013^** , 2013 World Port Tournament , 2nd , rowspan=2 , 5th , rowspan=2 , , rowspan=2 , 497.76 , rowspan=2 , , rowspan=2 , 4th , rowspan=2 align=left , , rowspan=2 , +44.03 , rowspan=2 , 6th , rowspan=2 align=left , , rowspan=2 , -5.74 , - , 2013 World Baseball Classic , 4th :* 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

{{National sports teams of the Netherlands B National baseball teams in Europe 1934 establishments in the Netherlands National sports teams established in 1934

History

Early history

World Baseball Classic era

2006

2009

2013

2017

2023

Results and fixtures

2019

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

Current roster

Tournament record

World Baseball Classic

Olympic Games

WBSC Premier12

Baseball World Cup

European Baseball Championship

Other tournament results

Players

2013 World Baseball Classic

2011 Baseball World Cup

World ranking

See also

References