Netherlands
From BR Bullpen
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The Netherlands, also referred to as Holland (pars pro toto), is a country in Europe. The Dutch have dominated baseball in Europe for decades and have won the most European Championships, well ahead of #2 Italy. The Netherlands has competed in the Olympics almost every year in which baseball has been played and have done okay, though they have won no medals. The top league in the Netherlands is Hoofdklasse. Baseball in the Netherlands is known as Honkbal. The combination of the biannual tournaments Haarlemse Honkbalweek and the World Port Tournament ensures there is every year at least one international tournament.
The three Dutch host cities to the 2009 Baseball World Cup (Haarlem, Rotterdam,Amsterdam) are all part of Holland in the strictest sense. This region, a former county with no current official status, has also been home to all but one or two of the Hoofdklasse teams in recent years.
