(Story by Marco Stoovelaar; Photos by Henk Seppen & Marco Stoovelaar)
 Amsterdam Pirates joins professional Euro League Baseball
Nederlands
 AMSTERDAM (Neth.) -
L&D Amsterdam Pirates has joined the European Association of Professional Baseball, the league announced in a press release on Wednesday (September 9).
...Amsterdam Pirates joins Euro League Baseball...
(© Photo: Henk Seppen) |
On Monday, EAPB President Wim van den Hurk and members of the board of the Amsterdam-based club had a talk about the professional European League.
Now, Gerard van Tiggelen, chairman of the Amsterdam Pirates, officially has confirmed that L&D Amsterdam Pirates will become a member of the EAPB.
And with that, will join the inaugural season of Euro League Baseball, which is scheduled to start in 2016.
In the press release, it is stated that Wim van den Hurk had a very constructive meeting with (chairman) Gerard van Tiggelen and (treasurer) Remko de Bie who are very excited about the opportunities ELB has to offer without ignoring the challenges that lie ahead.
With the addition of L&D Amsterdam Pirates, Euro League Baseball has now finalized its line up for its inaugural season.
L&D Amsterdam Pirates is the third Dutch team to join the EAPB after Vaessen Pioniers informed the EAPB that it wants to become an Aspirant Member for the inaugural season, which means they don’t intend to play in the ELB next year.
Eaerlier, reigning Dutch champion Curaçao Neptunus already had joined the league.
Amsterdam Pirates has a very rich history in Dutch baseball as well as in European baseball.
Throught the years, many of its players were selected to play for the Netherlands National Baseball Team.
Also, several of its players have turned professional.
Two of them reached the Major League, being outfielder Rikkert Faneyte and short stop Didi Gregorius.
...The site of Amsterdam Pirates...
(© Photo: Marco Stoovelaar) |
Faneyte played in the main squad for Amsterdam in the Dutch big league, before starting his professional career.
There, he became the second Dutch-born and raised player to reach the Major League, playing for the San Francisco Giants.
Later, he also played for Texas Rangers.
Gregorius played in youth teams of Pirates, before returning to the Netherlands Antilles with his family, including his father Didi Gregorius, who pitched for Amsterdam in the Dutch league for several seasons.
Gregorius Sr. and Faneyte both played for the Amsterdam-squad when it captured its first Dutch championship-title in 1987.
Gregorius Jr. went on to play professionally and currently is the regular short stop for the New York Yankees, being the successor of legendary Derek Jeter.
Gregorius also played in the Major League for Cincinnati Reds and Arizona Diamondbacks.
At the site in Amsterdam, several international events were (jointly) organized, including the European Championship (2003) and World Championship (2005, 2009).
Amsterdam Pirates also hosted the European Softball Championship in 2007.
The European Association of Professional Baseball (EAPB) was founded in May 2015 by some of the strongest teams in Europe.
The EAPB aims to form and operate Euro League Baseball, the first Professional Baseball League in Europe with teams from the Netherlands, Italy, France, Germany, Czech Republic and Spain.
...Most games in Amsterdam are well-visited...
(© Photo: Marco Stoovelaar) |
On May 8, the founding of the League was announced following a meeting in Amsterdam by representatives of San Marino, Rouen, Pioniers and Neptunus.
Non-attending members then were Sénart, Regensburg and two teams from Spain, being CB Barcelona and CBS Sant Boi.
The ten teams, representing six countries, that have joined the league for its inaugural season are coming from Czech Republic (1), France (2), Germany (3), Italy (1), the Netherlands (2) and San Marino (1).
They are L&D Amsterdam Pirates (Amsterdam, Netherlands), UnipolSai Bologna (Bologna, Italy), Bonn Capitals (Bonn, Germany), Draci Brno (Brno, Czech Republic), Haar Disciples (Munich/Haar, Germany), Curaçao Neptunus (Rotterdam, Netherlands), Buchbinder Regensburg Legionäre (Regensburg, Germany), Rouen Huskies Baseball 76 (Rouen, France), T&A San Marino (Serravalle, San Marino) and Templiers Sénart (Sénart, France).
(September 9)
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