Honkbal Hoofdklasse - TheSportsDB.com

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Poster

Established
1922 (101 years old)

First Recorded Event
2012-04-05

Current Season
2023

API Football ID
23

Sport

Baseball

Location
The Netherlands

Gender
Male

Alternate Names

TV Rights

Last Edit

Site
Home / Sport / Baseball / Honkbal Hoofdklasse

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Upcoming Events

06 Apr 23	Curaçao Neptun	-	DSS Kinheim	Neptunus Familiestad @ 5:30pm
06 Apr 23	Hoofddorp Pioni	-	Quick Amersfoor	Sportpark Pioniers @ 5:30pm
06 Apr 23	HCAW	-	L and D Amsterd	Rob Hoffmann Vallei @ 5:30pm
08 Apr 23	Quick Amersfoor	-	Hoofddorp Pioni	XL Lease Park Dorres @ 12:00pm
08 Apr 23	DSS Kinheim	-	Curaçao Neptun	Pim Mulier Sportpark @ 12:00pm
08 Apr 23	L and D Amsterd	-	HCAW	Sportpark Ookmeer @ 12:00pm
09 Apr 23	Curaçao Neptun	-	DSS Kinheim	Neptunus Familiestad @ 12:00pm
09 Apr 23	HCAW	-	L and D Amsterd	Rob Hoffmann Vallei @ 12:00pm
09 Apr 23	Hoofddorp Pioni	-	Quick Amersfoor	Sportpark Pioniers @ 12:00pm
13 Apr 23	Hoofddorp Pioni	-	Twins Oosterhou	Sportpark Pioniers @ 5:30pm
Latest Results
17 Sep 22	HCAW	2 - 0	Curaçao Neptun	Rob Hoffmann Vallei
11 Sep 22	Curaçao Neptun	0 - 1	HCAW	Neptunus Familiestad
10 Sep 22	HCAW	2 - 0	Curaçao Neptun	Rob Hoffmann Vallei
08 Sep 22	Curaçao Neptun	4 - 5	HCAW	Neptunus Familiestad
27 Aug 22	HCAW	3 - 1	L&D Amsterdam	Rob Hoffmann Vallei
21 Aug 22	L&D Amsterdam	2 - 4	HCAW	Sportpark Ookmeer
21 Aug 22	Curaçao Neptun	10 - 3	Twins Oosterhou	Neptunus Familiestad
21 Aug 22	Hoofddorp Pioni	3 - 14	DSS Kinheim	Sportpark Pioniers
20 Aug 22	Twins Oosterhou	2 - 4	Curaçao Neptun	Slotbosse toren Park
20 Aug 22	HCAW	0 - 4	L&D Amsterdam	Rob Hoffmann Vallei

Description
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The Honkbal Hoofdklasse (Dutch for Major League Baseball) is the highest level of professional baseball in the Netherlands. It is an eight-team league that plays a 42-game schedule and is overseen by the Royal Netherlands Baseball and Softball Federation (KNBSB).

Games are played principally on weekends. The season runs from April to September and is followed by the playoffs among the four best teams, which culminates in the Holland Series. Both of the playoff rounds are best-of-five. The league follows a promotion and relegation system with the Eerste klasse so that the composition of both levels changes from year to year. Many of the official team nicknames contain the name of the club's corporate sponsor.

The two best teams participate in the European Cup.

The Honkbal Hoofdklasse has been the highest level of competitive baseball in the Netherlands since 1958, when it was elevated over the former Eerste Klasse by the Koninklijke Nederlandse Honkbal Bond, the forerunner of the KNBSB. The Eerste Klasse served as the top baseball competition in the Netherlands from its establishment in 1922 until 1957, excluding 1945 when play was suspended due to World War II. The Hoofdklasse has been organized by the KNBSB since 1971.

Until 1986 the winner of the season was also crowned the national champion, with the exception of 1972 and 1973, when a best-of-five Holland Series was held between the top two teams to determine the champion. Since 1987 the Holland Series has been held annually at the end of the season to determine the national champion. The series is currently held in a best-of-seven format.

In 2021 the Eerste Klasse was reinstated as the second level of Dutch professional baseball and the league to which teams from the Hoofdklasse are relegated at the end of the season. This was also the case from 1958 to 1986 and 2001 to 2009. In the intervening periods, from 1987 to 2000 and 2010 to 2020, the Overgangsklasse operated as the secondary professional baseball league in the Netherlands.

Following the 2021 Season the KNBSB decided to end relegation and promotion and operate the Hoofdklasse with fixed teams. The reform is part of broader efforts to improve the league's quality of play and national visibility. The tournament was also expanded to 9 teams for the 2022 season. The Silicon Storks, who were slated to be relegated, will remain in the Hoofdklasse alongside the RCH Pinguins, who had earned a promotion to the top league.

Seasons