Greece national baseball team

The first time that Greece put together a national team that got any recognition in the baseball world was ahead of the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics. Greece, as the host country, was faced with the dilemma that the actual baseball talent pool in the country was very small, and what players were available were amateur. However, as a result of lenient citizenship laws, various minor leaguers from the United States were able to play for the Greeks. Among the better known players were Baltimore Orioles prospect Nick Markakis, former major leaguer Clay Bellinger, and various other players of Greek descent.^[2][3]

Greece made its international debut at the 2003 European Championship qualification, contested in Hungary. The team finished the tournament undefeated and qualified for the 2003 European Championship in the Netherlands.^[2][4] Surprisingly, Greece finished as runners-up in the tournament, losing the final to the host Netherlands team.^[5] Second baseman Chris Demetral and outfielder Cory Harris were included in the tournament's All-Star Team, while Peter Maestrales finished the championship as the leader in both stolen bases and runs scored.^[6]

At the 2004 Summer Olympics, the Greek national team, led by American college baseball coach Dusty Rhodes^[7] finished the tournament in 7th-place, with a single win against Italy.

As runners-up of the 2003 European championship, Greece qualified for the 2005 Baseball World Cup. However, the Greek government curtailed all funding to the Hellenic Baseball and Softball Federation, so the team did not participate, with the Czech Republic taking their place.^[2]