Pirate City is the site of minor league and spring training activities for the Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League . The complex is located in Bradenton , Florida , and serves as the site of the Pirates spring training workouts, while nearby LECOM Park (formerly known as McKechnie Field) is the site of the team's home spring training games.
25-582: While the Pirates have been training in Bradenton since 1969, the Pirate City complex received a major renovation in 2008, the result of a $ 20 million financial agreement between the team and city that fixed up both the Pirate City and McKechnie Field. Pirate City also hosts corporate events, retreats, parties, receptions and all types of baseball camps and events. It has served as a training facility for
50-475: A Pirates Hall of Famer : Roberto Clemente (field 1), Pie Traynor (field 2), Honus Wagner (field 3) and Willie Stargell (field 4). One of the chapters in Ron Luciano 's book The Umpire Strikes Back is titled "Where The #$ @& Is Pirate City?", as various players (and umpires) had difficulty finding the place. Netherlands national baseball team The Netherlands national baseball team
75-587: A team with a stronger concentration of talent. Since the 2013 World Baseball Classic , the Netherlands participates as the Kingdom of the Netherlands , the formal name of the sovereign state that includes both the Dutch Caribbean and the Netherlands proper. 2023 European Baseball Championship The 2023 European Baseball Championship was an international baseball tournament organized by
100-626: Is the national baseball team of the Kingdom of the Netherlands , representing the country in international men's baseball. They are currently ranked as the best team in the Europe , and the team is also ranked seventh in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). The team is controlled by the Royal Netherlands Baseball and Softball Federation , which is represented in
125-518: The 2004 Little League World Series and was runner-up in 2005 . Each territory has its own baseball federation and in the past, the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba have fielded its own team in international competitions. In recent years, however, players from the Dutch Caribbean have played on the national team of the Netherlands itself, alongside players from continental Europe and a handful of Americans of Dutch descent, resulting in
150-841: The 2006 WBC , the Netherlands played four exhibition games. They lost two games, against the University of Tampa college team and an Atlanta Braves squad at Cracker Jack Stadium in Kissimmee, Florida . The Netherlands competed in Pool C, along with world champion Cuba , Panama , and Puerto Rico , in the first round at the Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico . After losing to Cuba and Puerto Rico in their round-robin pool games, they finished third in their pool and were eliminated along with Panama. Prior to
175-581: The 2009 WBC , the Netherlands played seven exhibition games, including games against the Pittsburgh Pirates , Cincinnati Reds , and Minnesota Twins . The Netherlands team lost all three games against these MLB opponents. The Netherlands competed in Pool D, along with 2006 WBC semi-finalist Dominican Republic , Panama , and Puerto Rico , in the first round, again at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The team won both games against
200-426: The 2024 WBSC Premier12 on 21 October 2024. The Netherlands has competed in all five World Baseball Classic tournaments. All 16 teams that played in the 2006 edition were invited to compete in the second in 2009 . The Netherlands was an automatic qualifier for the 2013 and 2017 tournaments. The Netherlands has progressed to the second round of competition in 2009, and achieved its highest finish, 4th, in both
225-553: The Confederation of European Baseball . It was held in five cities in the Czech Republic , from September 24 to October 1, 2023. The championship marked the first time in history, excluding three occasions when they did not enter the tournament, that the Netherlands did not feature in the final, having lost 7-6 to Spain in the semi-finals. The top 14 teams of the 2021 European Championship qualified automatically for
250-738: The Netherlands national baseball team during the 2009 World Baseball Classic and hosted the LG Twins of the Korea Baseball Organization . The Pirates' rookie-level minor league affiliate, the Gulf Coast Pirates of the Gulf Coast League , play their home games at Pirate City. The complex includes player dorms, coaches' suites and offices for staff and front-office personnel. For the majority of
275-819: The WBSC Europe . The Netherlands participated in the Summer Olympic Games in 1996 , 2000 , 2004 , and 2008 . The team has also participated in other major international baseball tournaments recognised by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and WBSC: the World Baseball Classic (WBC), the Baseball World Cup , and Premier12 . The Netherlands best finish was winning the 2011 World Cup , when it beat beating 25-time champion Cuba in
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#1732790180337300-785: The 2013 and 2017 tournaments. Unusual for international competition in baseball, the squads selected in the WBC feature active Major League Baseball players in addition to Minor League , Nippon Professional Baseball , and local players. Generally, major league players are unavailable for international tournaments due to their contracts with the respective clubs. The Netherlands teams in the WBC have featured many major leaguers: Wladimir Balentien , Roger Bernadina , Xander Bogaerts , Didi Gregorius , Greg Halman , Kenley Jansen , Andruw Jones , Shairon Martis , Sidney Ponson , Jurickson Profar , Jonathan Schoop , Andrelton Simmons , Randall Simon , most of whom are from Aruba or Curaçao . Prior to
325-1174: The 2020 Olympics after finishing second behind Israel in the Africa/Europe 2020 Olympic Qualification tournament then in last place at the three-team Final Qualifying Tournament in late June 2021. The following is a list of professional baseball match results currently active in the latest version of the WBSC World Rankings , as well as any future matches that have been scheduled. Win Lose Void or postponed Fixture 1B – Jean-Paul Jacobs, 3B – Andreas Danielzick Ray-Patrick Didder (1) Juremi Profar (1) Ademar Rifaela (1) 1B – Gabor Erdos, 3B – Alessandro Spera 1B – Jean-Paul Jacobs, 3B – David Kulhanek 1B – Sergii Bolilyi, 3B – Gabor Erdos Juremi Profar (1) 1B – Christopher Feuerecker, 2B – Mojmír Jankovič, 3B – Jiri Kroupa Juremi Profar (1) 1B – Gabor Erdos, 2B – Alessandro Spera, 3B – Fabien Carrette-Legrand Infielders Outfielders Coaches Roster The club announced its roster for
350-536: The Chinese Taipei 8–3. However, the Netherlands won against Australia 4–1, thus securing their position for Round 1 in Tokyo Dome to face off against Japan and Cuba . The Dutch team defeated Cuba 6–2 before facing two-time defending champion Japan and earned a humiliating loss 16–4 at the end of 7th inning due to mercy rule . This forced a rematch with Cuba. The Dutch narrowly clinched their win against
375-1190: The Cuban team 7–6 to secure their position in the semi-finals, where they lost again to Japan, 10–6. They faced off against the Dominican Republic where they lost 4–1. The Netherlands finished 4th overall. Team Netherlands, ranked 9th in the world, included major league stars, many of whom were raised in islands in the Caribbean that are part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The players included All-Star shortstop Xander Bogaerts (Boston Red Sox; from Aruba ), 20-home-run hitter shortstop Didi Gregorius (New York Yankees; raised in Curaçao ), 20-home-run hitter second baseman Jonathan Schoop (Baltimore Orioles; born in Curaçao), Gold Glove shortstop Andrelton Simmons (Los Angeles Angels; born in Curaçao), and infielder/outfielder Jurickson Profar (Texas Rangers; born in Curaçao). Sports Illustrated opined that
400-533: The Dutch team "boasts arguably the most talented infield in the entire tournament." The Netherlands was defeated by Team Israel (4–2). In what NBC reported was thought to be the tallest batter-pitcher matchup in baseball history, the Dutch team's 7-foot-1-inch (2.16 m) pitcher Loek van Mil walked Israel's 6-foot-8-inch (2.03 m) first baseman Nate Freiman . The Dutch then beat South Korea (5–0) and Taiwan (6–5). Along with Israel, which finished first in
425-613: The finals. More recently the Dutch finished fourth in the 2013 and 2017 World Baseball Classic . The team is made up primarily of players from the Netherlands in Europe, and from Dutch territories and islands in the Caribbean that are part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Baseball is extremely popular in Aruba and Curaçao , which were part of the former Netherlands Antilles . Some foreigners of Dutch descent have also been members of
450-670: The pool, the Netherlands qualified for the next round, in Japan. In the second round, an extra innings loss against Japan was followed by two mercy rule wins over Israel and Cuba. Together with Japan, which had finished top of the pool, the Netherlands advanced to the championship round . Reigning All-Star and NL Reliever of the Year Kenley Jansen joined the Dutch team for the championship round. The Netherlands semifinal match against Puerto Rico ended with an 11th inning walk-off sacrifice fly by Eddie Rosario . The final score
475-746: The strong Dominican Republic team. As result, the team made it through the first double-elimination round along with Puerto Rico. In the second round the Dutch lost to Venezuela and the United States . Therefore, the team was eliminated and finished 7th in the final standings. The Netherlands competed in Pool B against Chinese Taipei , South Korea , and Australia at the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium in Taichung, Taiwan . The Dutch team won their first game against South Korea 5–0, but lost to
500-459: The team. While baseball only maintains a niche following throughout Europe, the Netherlands and Italy are the two European countries where the sport's popularity is strongest. The Dutch team has finished in either first or second place in 31 out of the 32 European Baseball Championships in which it has appeared. The exception was the 2023 European Baseball Championship , where the Netherlands placed third. The team failed to failed to qualify for
525-570: The tournament. After the expulsion of Russia, who had finished 10th, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine , the remaining three spots were filled through a qualification tournament, that saw Hungary, France and Switzerland qualify. Slovakia was the only team from the 2021 championship that did not qualify in 2023. The tournament took place in six different stadiums across the Czech Republic. The top two teams of each group advanced to
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#1732790180337550-485: The year, the dorms are occupied by the organization's Minor League players, players doing rehabilitation work in Bradenton and those who come to Pirate City for the fall instructional league. Per team policy, all players participating in Minor League camp are required to live in one of the 75 player dorm rooms, each of which holds two people. There are four full-sized practice fields at the complex, each one named for
575-568: Was 4–3. Dutch outfielder Wladimir Balentien was chosen in the All-WBC team after leading the tournament in hits, home runs, and RBI. The Dutch best finish in an Olympics is fifth place, which they did in both 1996 & 2000 . The first time the Netherlands participated in the baseball tournament at the Summer Olympics was in 1988 . Netherlands finished with a 1–2 record, with its only victory coming against Chinese Taipei . There
600-513: Was no official placing as Baseball at the 1988 Summer Olympics was a demonstration sport . It competed at the Africa/Europe 2020 Olympic Qualification tournament , in Italy in September 2019, taking second place behind Israel. Their best finish in the Baseball World Cup was first place in 2011 . Netherlands also hosted the tournament twice, in 1986 and 2005 . In 2009 , the Netherlands
625-1160: Was one of the 8 European nations to host the 2009 Baseball World Cup . It marked the first time in history that the World Cup was not hosted by a continent rather than a single country. Team Netherlands won the 2019 European Baseball Championship , winning a gold medal. Among the players competing for it were Roger Bernadina , Mike Bolsenbroek , Donny Breek , Rob Cordemans , Tom de Blok , Yurendell DeCaster , Lars Huijer , Kevin Kelly , Dwayne Kemp , Diego Markwell , Randolph Oduber , Dashenko Ricardo , Shairon Martis , Kalian Sams , Sharlon Schoop , Curt Smith , Tom Stuifbergen , JC Sulbaran , and Orlando Yntema . European Baseball Championship Intercontinental Cup Haarlemse Honkbalweek World Port Tournament World Junior Baseball Championship European Junior Baseball Championship World Youth Baseball Championship European Youth Baseball Championship The Dutch Caribbean has very strong baseball traditions. A team from Willemstad , Curaçao "Liga Pabou" won
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