Netherlands wins first ever baseball world cup

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The Dutch baseball team won the world cup in Panama last night.

Radio Netherlands reports:

The Netherlands baseball team has made history winning the World Cup final in Panama after beating Cuba 2-1. It is the first time a European team has won the title since Britain did in 1938.

The Dutch players and team staff celebrated their victory in the Rod Carew stadium in Panama City with dozens of fans. The Dutch embassy and consulate had invited some 200 people to witness the historic duel, team manager Tjerk Smeets said. An hour after the end of the game, he said, all the champagne was long gone, but they were still on the pitch celebrating with all the fans.

Edith Schippers, minister of Health, Welfare and Sport said according to De Stentor: “The baseball team added a golden chapter to the history of Dutch sports. This was a unique performance, both physically and mentally. If you manage to beat baseball super power Cuba twice in two days, you really are the best of the best. Baseball is just a small sport in the Netherlands, which is why this performance is truly impressive.”

Queen Beatrix has sent a telegram to the Dutch team congratulating them.

Algemeen Dagblad wrote that play was delayed because of rain: “The Oranje had Rob Cordemans on the mound. The almost-37-year-old from Schiedam has been a member of the team since 1995, but the highlight of his career was last Saturday. The Dutchman sent Cuban after Cuban packing with three strikes. […] He experienced troubles for the first time in the fourth inning when Frederich Cepeda reached third base.”

Cepeda would score 0-1. Sidney de Jong drew the Dutch alongside after a strike from Bryan Engelhardt, and Johan Schoop let Curt Smith score. Smith (25) was declared the most valuable player of the tournament by the International Baseball Federation, IBAF.

(Photo by John Martinez Pavliga, some rights reserved)

2 Comments »

  1. […] Netherlands wins first ever baseball world cup. Winning at baseball is a nice change from the media complaining about nearly winning at football. […]

  2. […] Tomorrow the Dutch will be playing in the 2014 European Baseball Championship held in the Czech Republic and are a big favourite to win. They were last tournament’s winner as well as having won the World Cup back in 2011. […]

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