By Jason Daniels.
The Dutch have a way with athletics – and their culture at large: they get a deep squeeze out of their talents, cherish consensus, and maximize precious resources. Such is life in a pint-sized nation fraught with chronic flooding and threatening climates. In baseball, we see a game that tells the distinct Dutch story – from the people, processes, and progressive actions that fuel Dutch ingenuity and sustain its culture.
“Baseball, like soccer, has its tactics and strategic thinking: both elements to which the Dutch gravitate.”
The Hoofddorp debacle marked a departure from the type of unison that has long steered the Netherlands: agreement, tolerance, and cooperation with global partners. Dating back to the Kingdom’s golden age of exploration — on the back of intrepid sea-faring adventurers and colonial imperialism — the Kingdom adopted a globalized and open economy. It was simply too limited geographically to be self-sufficient.
The Dutch way of handling high-priority matters can be illustrated by the ‘Polder Model’, a process popularized in the 1980s that centers on consensus. Polders, the lands that lie next to dikes and canals, require continuous pumping and management to keep out water. This means water control operators must work closely with their neighbors to mitigate flood risks. To prevail at sea-level the Dutch learned that they must place disagreements aside, avoid rigid norms, and find common ground. A falling tide lifts all Dutch.
The Dutch have leaned on this approach to enact some of the world’s leading infrastructure projects, social programs, and pension systems. But today, problem-solving needs are changing. The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that lengthy, year-long meetings where all stakeholders get their say may be proper for land management, but not for responding to crises and modern challenges.
In the 1980s, the Netherlands was one of the first countries to deviate from established political party lines with break-away factions. Today, there are 17 Dutch political parties. The Dutch like to debate, owing to their Calvinist past. They are drawn to pragmatism and sensible action. Yet fragmentation has made it harder to give everyone a say and pick a productive path forward.
This fall, Dutch media reported that over 250 million euros may be cut from the health ministry budget in the coming years, a move that would gut-punch baseball clubs. In the Netherlands, amateur sports like baseball need funding to survive. Some clubs have already fallen financially flat.
The Federation wants to help through sponsorships. Those dollars go toward better broadcasts and media to grow the game. Lately, a lack of top sponsors has crimped the league’s ability to attract young players, many of whom juggle work and school demands. Seb Visser shared that the Federation may revoke a license to one team that’s financially imperiled given it hasn’t met the League’s new fiscal criteria. It’s one of the bigger clubs and losing it would take a massive toll. Said Visser: “That would really hurt the sport.”

“One of those stars was Johan Cruyff, who played catcher in the Ajax youth system until he was 16 years old. Cruyff went on to become one of the best soccer players of his generation.”
Soccer’s Support
Back at the Neptunus – Pirates finals, Jasper Roos turned to his game commentary as a man named Mike, who was helping with the livestream, sat down with me. I opined that it felt laid-back at the ballpark. He affirmed: “that’s Dutch baseball.” Neptunus and the Pirates both have a noticeable Caribbean influence. Neptunus players interacted with kids between innings and much of the game was spoken in English. Mike lamented that Dutch baseball is in decline. He said it used to be bigger decades ago because soccer clubs used it as an off-season sport during the summer.
Documents in the Baseball Hall of Fame archives show that following World War I, many Dutch soccer clubs were persuaded to adopt baseball as a summer sport to keep players active and engaged in a team dynamic. Athletics and cricket had been tried, but the former was too individualistic, and the latter lacked enough physical exertion and translated poorly to soccer fields. During the 1920s, the Dutch Federation trumpeted the slogan: “Baseball, the ideal summer sport for footballers.”
Following World War II, Dutch baseball continued to rely on soccer to attract young talent and grow the game. It helped that two of the most famous soccer clubs, Amsterdam’s Ajax and Blauw-Wit, embraced baseball. Visser said that his grandfather used to play soccer for Ajax.
By the 1960s, more than half of Dutch baseball teams were affiliated with soccer clubs. In 1979, Guus van de Heijden, President of the Dutch Baseball Association, told the Detroit News: “Soccer was an enormous help to us. We got a lot of use out of the names of international soccer stars who played baseball.” One of those stars was Johan Cruyff, who played catcher in the Ajax youth system until he was 16 years old. Cruyff went on to become one of the best soccer players of his generation.
In time, baseball and soccer parted ways. Baseball required better fields, while seasons for both sports grew longer and overlapped. By the end of the 1970s, baseball’s partnership with soccer had petered out and independent baseball clubs became volunteer-based and self-reliant.
Still, the collaboration between baseball and soccer underscores Dutch ingenuity: a habit of maximizing space and limited resources. Even after the split, remnants continue to carry over from one sport to the other. Robert Eenhoorn, who played in 37 MLB games between the Yankees and Angels from 1994–97, grew up playing for Rotterdam’s Neptunus. He credited soccer for developing his baseball abilities, telling the New York Times in 2008: “As an infielder I was always a good defensive player, because I played soccer, where footwork is important.” Baseball, like soccer, has its tactics and strategic thinking: both elements to which the Dutch gravitate.
Peter Kwakernaak approaches player development with a similar outlook. “We try to bring in things like motor learning, the scientific side of things,” he said. “We try to make average talent great, and we’ve had some success with that.”
Tune in tomorrow for Part III.
Other articles in this series:
Part I: Making Sense of Europe’s Top Baseball Power [Link]