(Story by Marco Stoovelaar; Photo by Henk Seppen)
 Tonight would have been Opening Night in Dutch Major League baseball
Nederlands
    AMSTERDAM / AMERSFOORT / ROSMALEN / ROTTERDAM (Neth.) -
It was a sunny day today, it also was a sunny evening, but there was no baseball.
Tonight (Thursday, April 16), the regular season in the Dutch Major League was to open with four games.
However, on this Opening Night, there was no baseball and all sports-accomodations were closed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
As mentioned, it was sunny day.
It has been sunny and pleasant weather in the past few weeks.
Normally, in the exhibition period of March and early April, it can be cold and rainy and uncomfortable while the teams play their exhibition games and participate in pre-season tournaments.
Now, we have had the warmest day ever on April 5, 8 and 12.
...Opening Night 2020 has been postponed...
(© Photo: Henk Seppen) |
On March 15, after new measures were announced by the Dutch Government, all activities were cancelled through April 6.
That meant that all scheduled exhibition games up to that date were scrubbed.
As it would be not possible to open a new season without a proper period of preparation, the Royal Netherlands Baseball and Softball Association (KNBSB) on March 23 announced that it had cancelled all games through April 27 in order to give the teams a three-week period to prepare for an eventual start of the new season.
On March 31, Goverment-measures were extended through April 28 and all gatherings and events were cancelled and are forbidden through June 1.
Tonight, Dutch champion L&D Amsterdam Pirates was to open the new season at home, led by new Head Coach Michael Duursma, who would make his big league coaching-debut.
The team was to host Hoofddorp Pioniers, which will be led again by Mervin Gario this season.
Last year, Pirates lost the first three games of the best-of-seven Holland Series against then-reigning champion Curaçao Neptunus.
But hereafter, Amsterdam Pirates staged a historic comeback and became the first team in history to win the next four games and capture the Championship-title.
Neptunus had to travel to Rosmalen tonight for an away-game against Twins Oosterhout at the site of Gryphons.
Both teams are led by the same Head Coaches this season, Ronald Jaarsma (Neptunus) and Jeffrey Arends (Twins).
Quick Amersfoort was to play at home against HCAW.
René de Vries, who last season was part of a 3-man coaching-staff that led Quick, this season is the Head Coach.
Dè Flanegin is back as Head Coach of HCAW.
In Rotterdam, at the site of Neptunus, Silicon Storks was to play at home against DSS/Kinheim.
At Storks, Eugene Henson was to make his debut as Head Coach.
Michael Crouwel leads the team of DSS/Kinheim, which is a team that has been created after a cooperation between DSS and Kinheim.
Last year, the two teams (who share the same sports complex) faced each other in the best-of-five Promotion/Relegation Series.
DSS won to stay in the big league and Kinheim, which relegated from the highest division some years ago, stayed in the second highest league.
After the season, both teams announced they intended to work more closer together.
As a result, a combination-team plays in both the highest and second highest leagues.
Tonight, three umpires were assigned for the first Opening Night-games, being Jeffrey Bentsnijder, Bernard Flohr and Richard Wessel.
All made their big league regular season-debut last season.
Flohr officiated in three games, Bentsnijder and Wessel in one.
Initially, the new season was scheduled to open on Thursday, April 23.
However, on March 2, the WBSC Final Qualifier (April 1-5), to be played in Taiwan, for this years Olympic Games was postponed.
The event, in which the Netherlands Baseball Team participates, was moved to June 17-21.
With that, the season in the Dutch big league needed some adjustments.
Tonight's games were originally scheduled for Thursday, August 13, but that series was moved up forward and placed on the agenda for this weekend.
On March 24, the Olympic Games, to be held in Tokyo (Japan), were postponed to 2021.
Shortly thereafter, the Final Olympic Qualifier also was cancelled and will be re-scheduled on to be announced dates.
(April 16)
|
Opening Night 2020.