On the day prior to the start of the 2012 European Championship, Spain has released its 24-man roster for the tournament in the Netherlands. The team of manager Mauro Mazzotti tries to rebound from a disappointing showing at the 2010 EC in Germany, where they missed out on the medal round and had to go through a Qualifier to get back into the main event.
On paper the team looks a lot stronger, which they already showed in a couple of games during the Italian Baseball Week in Nettuno, where they prevailed against defending champion Italy, the Czech Republic and Chinese Taipei. Especially the pitching staff looks strong with Eric Gonzalez, Ricardo Hernandez, Antonio Noguera and Manuel Olivera up in front. Also on the team are brothers Daniel and Paco Figueroa, which helped Spain during the 2009 Baseball World Cup. Veterans Remigio Leal, Jose Luis Riera and Nestor Perez make another run on a title.
Mazzotti will be supported on the coaching staff by Manny Crespo of the Detroit Tigers, Miguel Erroz, Candelario Diaz, Renny Duarte and Felix Cano. They also will be flying to the World Baseball Classic Qualifier in Jupiter, Florida a couple of days after the European Championship. In the Netherlands Spain will square off against Sweden, Croatia, Russia, Greece and Italy.