According to a report on Honkbalsite.com the Dutch Hoofdklasse changes the regulations for foreign players. The new rules were announced during a meeting of the federation board at the House of Sports in Nieuwegein last Saturday.
Starting with the 2010 season, only three foreign players without Dutch passport are allowed to be on the roster, regardless if they are players from the European Union. These restrictions are possible since Baseball in the Netherlands is considered an amateur sport in difference to the many professional sport leagues in Europe, where this isn’t allowed by European law. The league office confirmed this after an inquiry by Mister-Baseball.com.
There are a few more regulations to go with this. Only one of the three foreign players is allowed to be used as starting pitcher during a three-game series against the same team. A second player still can be used as a reliever. Additionally foreign catchers are limited to start in two of the three games. There are no further restrictions for the other positions.
However foreign players, which have played five years in the Netherlands no longer will be considered as foreigners.
Photo: © Ron Wickert, www.eott.nl