Netherlands national baseball team

Netherlands national baseball team
Information
Country	Netherlands
Federation	Royal Netherlands Baseball and Softball Federation
Confederation	WBSC Europe
Manager	Hensley Meulens
WBSC ranking
Current	7 (18 November 2024)[1]
Highest	5 (December 2014)
Lowest	9 (3 times; latest in June 2021)
Uniforms
World Baseball Classic
Appearances	5 (first in 2006)
Best result	4th (2 times, most recent in 2017 )
Olympic Games
Appearances	4 (first in 1996)
Best result	5th (2 times, most recent in 2000)
World Cup
Appearances	17 (first in 1970)
Best result	1st (1 time, in 2011)
Intercontinental Cup
Appearances	5 (first in 1983)
Best result	2nd (2 times, most recent in 2010)
European Championship
Appearances	34 (first in 1956)
Best result	1st (24 times, most recent in 2021)

The Netherlands national baseball team is the national baseball team of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, representing the country in international men's baseball. They are currently ranked as the best team in the Europe, and the team is also ranked seventh in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC).^[1] The team is controlled by the Royal Netherlands Baseball and Softball Federation, which is represented in the WBSC Europe.

The Netherlands participated in the Summer Olympic Games in 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008. The team has also participated in other major international baseball tournaments recognised by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and WBSC: the World Baseball Classic (WBC), the Baseball World Cup, and Premier12. The Netherlands best finish was winning the 2011 World Cup, when it beat beating 25-time champion Cuba in the finals. More recently the Dutch finished fourth in the 2013 and 2017 World Baseball Classic.

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 Dutch team has finished in either first or second place in 31 out of the 32 European Baseball Championships in which it has appeared. The exception was the 2023 European Baseball Championship, where the Netherlands placed third. The team failed to failed to qualify for the 2020 Olympics after finishing second behind Israel in the Africa/Europe 2020 Olympic Qualification tournament then in last place at the three-team Final Qualifying Tournament in late June 2021.