2001 European Baseball Championship
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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]
| 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 |
In group play, Russia lost to Great Britain, marking the first time the British defeated an eventual medalist in the tournament.[7]
Standings
Awards and honors
| Award | Player | Team |
| Most valuable player | Rinat Makhmoutov | Russia |
| Leading hitter | David Sheldon | Italy |
| Pitcher with best ERA | Michael Leys | Belgium |
| Pitcher with best W–L record | Alain Gadoua | France |
| Most runs batted in | Pavel Chadim | Czech Republic |
| Most home runs | Jiri Visek | Czech Republic |
| Most stolen bases | Ralph Milliard | The Netherlands |
| Most runs scored | Sylvain Hervieux | France |
| Outstanding defensive player | Alexander Nizov | Russia |
All Star team
| Position | Player | Team |
| Right-handed pitcher | Rinat Makhmoutov | Russia |
| Left-handed [itcher | Michael Leys | Belgium |
| Catcher | Andrey Selivanov | Russia |
| First base | Jairo Ramos | Italy |
| Second base | Alexander Nizov | Russia |
| Third base | Jurjan Koenen | The Netherlands |
| Shortstop | Seth La Fera | Italy |
| Outfield | Remy Maduro | The Netherlands |
| Roberto De Franceschi | Italy | |
| Bradley Marcelino | Great Britain | |
| Designated hitter | Marcel Joost | The Netherlands |
Source[5]