| Honkbal Hoofdklasse | |
| Current Season: | 2024 Honkbal Hoofdklasse season |
| Sport: | Baseball |
| Formerly: | Eerste Klasse |
| Founded: | 1922 |
| Country: | Netherlands |
| Confed: | KNBSB |
| Teams: | 9 |
| Champion: | Neptunus (20 titles) |
| Champ Season: | 2024 |
| Most Successful Club: | Neptunus (20 titles) |
| Sponsor: | Lucky Day |
| Level: | 1 |
| Related Comps: | European Cup |
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 followed a promotion and relegation system with the Honkbal Overgangsklasse until 2022. Many of the official team nicknames have contained the name of the club's sponsor.
The two best teams participate in the European Cup.
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, except for 1972 and 1973, when a best-of-five Holland Series was held between the top two teams to determine the champion. The Holland Series returned in 1987 and has been held annually at the end of the season to determine the national champion. The championship series is currently held in a best-of-seven format. The top six teams qualify for the playoffs, with the top two teams earning a bye through the wild card round.[1]
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. It previously was the second league in the Dutch baseball pyramid from 1958 to 1986 and 2001 to 2009. In the intervening years, from 1987 to 2000 and 2010 to 2020, the Overgangsklasse operated as the secondary 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 was part of broader efforts to improve the league's quality of play and national visibility. The league expanded to nine teams for the 2022 season.[2] The Silicon Storks, who were slated to be relegated, remained in the Hoofdklasse alongside, who had defeated the Storks in a playoff to earn promotion to the top league.[3] The Storks were replaced in 2023 by UVV, which had been in the Hoofdklasse until 2017.[4] The league saw more changes after the 2024 season, with Kinheim replacing DSS/Kinheim in the top league[5] and Quick Amersfoort voluntarily moving down to the Eerste Klasse.[6]
| Team | City | Stadium | Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DSS/Kinheim | Haarlem | 2,500 | ||
| HCAW | Bussum | 1,000 | ||
| Neptunus | Rotterdam | Neptunus Familiestadion | 2,760 | |
| Hoofddorp Pioniers | Hoofddorp | Sportpark Pioniers | 1,000 | |
| Amsterdam Pirates | Amsterdam | 500 | ||
| Quick Amersfoort | Amersfoort | XL Lease Park Dorrestein | 400 | |
| Heemstede | Heemsteedse Sportparken | 400 | ||
| Twins Oosterhout | Oosterhout | Sportpark Slotbosse Toren | 500 | |
| UVV | Utrecht | Sportpark de Paperclip |
| Hoofdklasse Records[7] | ||||
| Rank | Team | Titles | First | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Neptunus Rotterdam | 20 | ||
| 2nd | 12 | |||
| 3rd | Blauw-Wit Amsterdam | 9 | ||
| Sparta/Feyenoord | 9 | |||
| 5th | Amsterdam Pirates | 7 | ||
| 6th | Amsterdam | 6 | ||
| 7th | Kinheim | 5 | ||
| SC Haarlem | 5 | |||
| Schoten Haarlem | 5 | |||
| 10th | Ajax Amsterdam | 4 | ||
| 11th | Amstel Tijgers | 3 | ||
| EHS Haarlem | 3 | |||
| HCAW | 3 | |||
| Quick Amsterdam | 3 | |||
| 15th | AGHC Amsterdam | 2 | ||
| 16th | ADO Den Haag | 1 | ||
| EDO Haarlem | 1 | |||
| HHC Haarlem | 1 | |||
| Hoofddorp Pioniers | 1 | |||
| Seagulls Amsterdam | 1 | |||
| VVGA Amsterdam | 1 | |||