Haarlem Baseball Week
Baseball tournament in the Netherlands (founded in 1961)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Haarlem Baseball Week (Dutch: Honkbalweek Haarlem, before 2016 known as Haarlemse Honkbalweek)[1] is an international invitation baseball tournament at the Pim Mulier Stadium in Haarlem, Netherlands. It was first held in 1961 and has been held every other year in even-numbered years since 1972, except for 2020.
| |
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Sport | Baseball |
| Location | Haarlem, Netherlands |
| Month played | July–August |
| Established | 1961 |
| Format | Round robin then single elimination |
| Venue | Pim Mulier Stadium |
| Teams | 6 (Finals) |
| Most championships |  Sullivans (6) |
| Website | Honkbalweek.nl |
| Current champion | |
 Japan | |
The tournament has faced financial and other troubles in recent years but remains ongoing. In December 2016, a few months after the 28th edition of the event, event organizers announced the tournament would end, due to financial problems.[2][3] A workgroup was formed to find sponsors in order to realise a relaunch, which succeeded after several companies and the municipality of Haarlem guaranteed an amount that would cover the costs of at least three more events.[4][5][6][7] The 2020 edition of the tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the tournament resumed in 2022.[8][9][10] A similar biannual baseball tournament in nearby Rotterdam, the World Port Tournament, was last held in 2019.[11]
Teams from the United States have won the most tournaments, though most of them were semi-professional and amateur teams, not the national team. The Sullivans, an amateur team from Grand Rapids, Michigan run by a local furniture store owner and baseball scout, won six titles, the most of any team. In Haarlem, the Sullivans regularly featured pitcher Carl Angelo, who first pitched in the tournament in 1963 and became the oldest player to play in the tournament in 1996, at the age of 64.[12][13][14] The Sullivans team was renamed for part of the 1990s due to a sponsorship from Michigan-based Little Caesars restaurants.[15] Two American college teams, the Arizona Wildcats[16] and Miami Hurricanes, have also won the tournament. Among national teams, the U.S., the Netherlands, Cuba, and Japan have all won five tournaments.[17]
Since the tournament occurs in the summer, the U.S. has sent its collegiate national team to the event.[10] Many college players who played in the tournament have later played in Major League Baseball, including Dave Winfield, Paul Skenes, Kris Bryant, and Trea Turner.[18][10]
Results
Medal table
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  United States (USA) | 14 | 8 | 12 | 34 |
| 2 |  Netherlands (NED) | 5 | 7 | 10 | 22 |
| 3 |  Cuba (CUB) | 5 | 6 | 2 | 13 |
| 4 | Japan (JPN) | 5 | 3 | 2 | 10 |
| 5 |  Canada (CAN) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 |  Netherlands Antilles (AHO) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 7 |  Great Britain (GBR) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 |  South Korea (KOR) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 |  Australia (AUS) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
 Chinese Taipei (TPE) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
 Germany (GER) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 12 |  Curaçao (CUW) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 Puerto Rico (PUR) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 14 |  France (FRA) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Italy (ITA) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |