On Thursday Mister-Baseball reported thanks to a statement by KNBSB press officer Loet Van Schellebeek that the Dutch National Team already has decided to go to the 2011 IBAF Baseball World Cup in Panama. However he was a bit premature. On Friday the Royal Dutch Baseball and Softball Association (KNBSB) released a statement by technical director Robert Eenhoorn who wasn’t happy about the media reports that a decision already was made.
“Of course you always want to play a World Championship, but you also want a reasonable time to know where you stand. The messages were always that there would be no World Cup this year. And then you get six months in advance to hear that suddenly you have to go to Panama.”
Eenhoorn further cites schedule problems for the Dutch National Team, as the Holland Series would end just a week before the start of the tournament. Additionally the European Champions Cup Final Four is set for September 24 and 25. And obviously teams from the Netherlands are always favored to reach the European Cup Finals.
With that in mind Eenhoorn wants to use the upcoming Congress of the Confederation of European Baseball (CEB) in early March in Brussels to discuss the participation at the Baseball World Cup with other European countries. Greece, Italy and Germany are also qualified for the tourney. “No, the last word is definitely not yet said.”