The Netherlands national baseball team is the national baseball team 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 seventh place in the IBAF World Rankings.
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 caused a sensation when it 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 Netherlands competed in the 2009 Baseball World Cup.
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“Greece is a sort of American vassal; the Netherlands is the country of American bases that grow like tulip bulbs; Cuba is the main sugar plantation of the American monopolies; Turkey is prepared to kow-tow before any United States pro-consul and Canada is the boring second fiddle in the American symphony.”
—Andrei Andreyevich Gromyko (1909–1989)
“What do we mean by patriotism in the context of our times? I venture to suggest that what we mean is a sense of national responsibility ... a patriotism which is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime.”
—Adlai Stevenson (1900–1965)
“The salary cap ... will be accepted about the time the 13 original states restore the monarchy.”
—Tom Reich, U.S. baseball agent. New York Times, p. 16B (August 11, 1994)
“Is my team ploughing,
That I was used to drive
And hear the harness jingle
When I was man alive?”
—A.E. (Alfred Edward)