1987 European Baseball Championship
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| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | Spain |
| Dates | 17–26 July |
| Teams | 7 |
| Defending champions |  Netherlands |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Netherlands (13th title) |
| Runners-up |  Italy |
| Third place |  Spain |
| Fourth place |  Belgium |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Games played | 29 |
| Awards | |
| MVP | Rikkert Faneyte |
The 1987 European Baseball Championship was held in Barcelona and Sant Boi, Spain. The Netherlands won its second consecutive championship, which qualified the team for the 1988 Summer Olympics.[1] Italy finished as runner-up.[2]
Rikkert Faneyte, who would later play in Major League Baseball, was the tournament MVP.[2] Future National League Manager of the Year Pat Murphy managed the Dutch team.[3] He left immediately after the tournament to coach the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.[4]
The seven teams were split into two groups that played a round-robin tournament. The top two teams of each group, the Netherlans, Italy, Spain, and Belgium, competed in another round-robin tournament, as did the remaining three teams. The top two teams from the second round competed in a championship series, which the Netherlands won after winning two games, with their win over Italy in the second round counting toward a 3–2 victory.[5][2] The Netherlands blew out Italy in the decisive game, 16–1.[1][4] Spain bested Belgium in a third-place series, again winning three games to two, with the second round win counting.[2]
