2001 European Baseball Championship
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| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | Germany |
| Dates | 28 July – 5 August 2001 |
| Teams | 12 |
| Defending champions |  Netherlands |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Netherlands (17th title) |
| Runners-up |  Russia |
| Third place |  Italy |
| Fourth place |  France |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Most HRs |  Jiri Visek |
| Most SBs | Ralph Milliard |
| Best ERA |  Michael Leys |
| Awards | |
| MVP | Rinat Makhmoutov |
The 2001 European Baseball Championship was held in Germany and won by the Netherlands. The main venue was the Baseball Stadium Rheinaue in Bonn, and secondary venues were in Cologne and Solingen.[1][2] Russia was a Cinderella team in the tournament, beating both the Netherlands and Italy and finishing in second place.[3] Russia beat the Dutch, coming from behind in the 9th inning in group play, and beat the Italians in the semifinals.[4][5] The Dutch avenged their earlier loss, defeating Russia in the gold medal game, 4–0 behind the pitching of Rob Cordemans and Patrick Beljaards.[6]
In group play, Russia lost to Great Britain, marking the first time the British defeated an eventual medalist in the tournament.[7]
