Honkbal Hoofdklasse Explained

Honkbal Hoofdklasse
Current Season:2024 Honkbal Hoofdklasse season
Sport:Baseball
Founded:1922
Country:Netherlands
Teams:8
Champion:Amsterdam Pirates
(7th title)
Most Champs:Neptunus
(19 titles)
Related Comps:European Cup
Relegation:Overgangsklasse

The Honkbal Hoofdklasse (Dutch for Major League Baseball) is the highest level of professional baseball in the Netherlands. It is an eight-team league that plays a 42-game schedule and is overseen by the Royal Netherlands Baseball and Softball Federation (KNBSB).

Games are played principally on weekends. The season runs from April to September and is followed by the playoffs among the four best teams, which culminates in the Holland Series. Both of the playoff rounds are best-of-five. The league follows a promotion and relegation system with the Honkbal Overgangsklasse so that the composition of both levels changes from year to year. Many of the official team nicknames contain the name of the club's corporate sponsor.

The two best teams participate in the European Cup.

History

The Honkbal Hoofdklasse has been the highest level of competitive baseball in the Netherlands since 1958, when it was elevated over the former Eerste Klasse by the Koninklijke Nederlandse Honkbal Bond, the forerunner of the KNBSB. The Eerste Klasse served as the top baseball competition in the Netherlands from its establishment in 1922 until 1957, excluding 1945 when play was suspended due to World War II. The Hoofdklasse has been organized by the KNBSB since 1971.

Until 1986, the winner of the season was also crowned the national champion, with the exception of 1972 and 1973, when a best-of-five Holland Series was held between the top two teams to determine the champion. Since 1987, the Holland Series has been held annually at the end of the season to determine the national champion. The series is currently held in a best-of-seven format.

In 2021, the Eerste Klasse was reinstated as the second level of Dutch professional baseball and the league to which teams from the Hoofdklasse are relegated at the end of the season. This was also the case from 1958 to 1986 and 2001 to 2009. In the intervening periods, from 1987 to 2000 and 2010 to 2020, the Overgangsklasse operated as the secondary professional baseball league in the Netherlands.

Following the 2021 season, the KNBSB decided to end relegation and promotion and operate the Hoofdklasse with fixed teams. The reform is part of broader efforts to improve the league's quality of play and national visibility. The tournament was also expanded to nine teams for the 2022 season.[1] The Silicon Storks, who were slated to be relegated, will remain in the Hoofdklasse alongside the RCH-Pinguins, who had earned a promotion to the top league.[2]

Current clubs

Team City Stadium Ref Capacity
DSS/KinheimHaarlemPim Mulier Sportpark[3] 2,500
Quick AmersfoortAmersfoortXL Lease Park Dorrestein[4] 400
Curaçao NeptunusRotterdamNeptunus Familiestadion[5] 2,460
L&D AmsterdamAmsterdamSportpark Ookmeer[6] 500
Twins OosterhoutOosterhoutSlotbosse toren Park[7] 500
HCAWBussumRob Hoffmann Vallei[8] 1,000
Silicon StorksThe HagueSportpark Kijkduin-Schapenatjesduin[9] 1,000
Hoofddorp PioniersHoofddorpSportpark Pioniers[10] 1,000
RCH-PinguinsHeemstedeHeemsteedse Sportparken400

Results

Hoofdklasse Records[11]
RankTeamTitlesFirstLast
1stNeptunus Rotterdam19
2ndHaarlem Nicols12
3rdBlauw-Wit Amsterdam9
Sparta/Feyenoord9
5th
Amsterdam Pirates7
6thOVVO Amsterdam6
7thSC Haarlem5
Schoten Haarlem5
Kinheim Haarlem5
10thAjax Amsterdam4
11thQuick Amsterdam3
EHS Haarlem3
Amstel Tijgers3
HCAW Bussum3
15thAGHC Amsterdam2
16thVVGA Amsterdam1
HHC Haarlem1
Seagulls Amsterdam1
EDO Haarlem1
ADO Den Haag1
Hoofddorp Pioniers1

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Visser, Seb. "Hoofdklasse vanaf 2022 op slot, Silicon Storks blijft er als negende team in." HonkbalSoftbal.nl 29 October 2021. Accessed 10 December 22021. https://honkbalsoftbal.nl/2021/10/29/hoofdklasse-vanaf-2022-op-slot-silicon-storks-blijft-er-als-negende-team-in/.
  2. "RCH Pinguins H1 dwingt promotie af." RCH Pinguins. 17 October 2021. Accessed 10 December 2021. https://www.rch-pinguins.nl/?p=11411.
  3. Web site: DSS . de Nederlandse honkbalsite . March 11, 2015.
  4. Web site: Quick Amersfoort. de Nederlandse honkbalsite . May 26, 2019 .
  5. Web site: Curaçao Neptunus . de Nederlandse honkbalsite . March 11, 2015.
  6. Web site: L&D Amsterdam . de Nederlandse honkbalsite . March 11, 2015.
  7. Web site: Twinsbaseball.nl.
  8. Web site: HCAW . de Nederlandse honkbalsite . March 11, 2015.
  9. Web site: Silicon Storks . de Nederlandse honkbalsite . May 26, 2019.
  10. Web site: Vaessen Pioniers . de Nederlandse honkbalsite . March 11, 2015.
  11. http://www.honkbalsite.com/archief/landskampioenen.html List of Dutch champions