On Big Money and Failed Connections
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| Neptunus Familiestadion, 2019 |
Sunday, May 12, 2019
Hoofddorp Pioneers vs. Curacao NeptunusNeptunus Familiestadion
Honkbal Hoofdklasse
Rotterdam, The Netherlands
2:00 PM
Outside the Game:
For the first time on the trip, I was up early, though I floundered around on the bed before necessity of timing made me arise, shower, and head out into the Sunday morning. I bought my ticket for the train to Rotterdam, but the attendant assumed I wanted a regular train ticket and not the express (I assume imparting typical Dutch frugality onto me as the upgrade was only about E2), but it hardly mattered, as I fell dead asleep as soon as I boarded the train and woke up right before we entered the station.
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| Smuller's |
I groggily exited the train in the large Rotterdam Centraal station and grabbed a late breakfast/lunch at the Smuller's automat there. I went to the large ticket office, worked out the ticketed queue system, and eventually got helped by an attendant. In lieu of just buying a bus ticket, they sold me a reusable transit pass that I could apply to all my bus travel for the rest of the trip. They also chastised me for taking the slowest train possible to get here and nearly ordered me to upgrade to the "Intercity Direct" trains on the way back.
A short walk outside got me to another efficient bus station, and I was quickly on my way out to the park, which happened to also be the stop for the local zoo. Despite my planning, it took me a bit to get oriented and determine the right way to walk, but I had plenty of time to sort it out, as it was over an hour until game time, and I was a short distance away.
Eventually oriented correctly, I walked to the stadium to find out that they charged an admission of E7.50. This isn't a problem, except I was low on cash and had forgotten to get some more on the way. The helpful gate attendant pointed me down the canal to the nearby suburb, and I took a relaxing walk down the canal, past yet another family of ducks, to find the traffic circle at the center of this clutch of civilization and the bank contained therein. With time to spare after procuring currency, I walked back and dabbled into the surrounding sportpark for a little bit before heading back to the ballpark about 45 minutes before gametime.
After the game, I walked up to the bus stop just as a bus was arriving, so I was back at the station in no time. I made my cheap upgrade to the Intercity Direct and jumped on the next one back up to Amsterdam. The admittedly much-faster ride back was spent finishing my scorecard and taking small naps. Once back at Centraal, I got went back to Sloterdijk, and it finally being of sufficient hour to call America, I attempted to call my mother on the occasion of Mother's Day.
Except the phone didn't work. It said I was out of time or minutes or something, but I hadn't used it except to text work and my landlord earlier in the week. The familial trouble I would be in would be immense. So I decided to bite the bullet and call home from my hotel phone and eat the costs.
Except my room phone didn't dial internationally. I took a nap to sleep on it and showered before heading out. I tried to call customer service for my Dutch cell phone, but they were closed for Sunday. I decided to Hail Mary with the hotel staff, explained my situation, and asked if there was a pay phone or something to call from around here. They said that it was Mother's Day in the Netherlands as well, and the lady let me use a staff phone to make a quick call to my parents, who, of course, didn't answer--but I was able to leave a message and fulfill the commitment, at least.
I took the train back to the city center and decided to head to the north side of town for the evening. There is a free ferry that continuously runs between Centraal and the newly hip Nord Amsterdam, and a short boating excursion later had me safely on the upper shore. The "I am/sterdam" sign is right along this patch, and while I was taking pictures, some American college-aged girls were trying to be edgy by kissing in front of the sign. It is like... honey... this is the first country in the world to legalize gay marriage. Take it back to the frathouse if you want attention.
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| I want attention |
My goal for the evening was A'DAM 360, a former oil company building that had been converted into hipster company lofts, as well as a high-up observatory for tourists, and we know how I love those. I paid my way and took the elevator up, taking pictures and wandering around as the sun set on this chilly evening. There is a restaurant inside as well, but if you didn't have reservations in advance, there was no love. One of the unique features of the A'DAM was the "highest swing in Europe," a big mechanical swing at the edge of the building that throws you out over the edge of the building for an extra fee.
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| A bit of a view |
So, you know, of course. I'm generally not afraid of heights or swings, but the first time I was tossed over the edge by the swing, I had serious reconsiderations of my priorities and life choices until that point. It was legitimately terrifying for some reason, until I was able to start getting the Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear running through my head. Not to leave you in suspense, but I survived the experience, but I definitely decided not to repeat it.
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| Swingers |
After taking all the pictures I wanted from the lofty vantage point, I headed back down to welcome terra firma and stopped in at The Butcher in the base of the building for a dinner of gourmet burgers. I may not have mentioned it already, but man, the Dutch love hamburgers. They probably needed something to go with the fries.
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| Mmm... burgers |
As the sun was finally setting for real, I was on the ferry back to Centraal, and despite my naps, I was well and truly exhausted. I took the train back to Sloterdijk, went back to the hotel, had a glass of tea to warm me up, and then went straight to bed.
The Stadium & Fans:
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| Home plate to center field, Neptunus Familiestadion |
This was the first park in the Netherlands that charged admission, and it was the first one to really have a right to do so. Neptunus Familiestadion (Neptunus Family Stadium) is the biggest and perhaps nicest park in the country, rising to high A-ball or perhaps even AA standards. It also houses the most successful team in Europe, regularly winning not only the Dutch championship (the Holland Series), but also the European Championship with the regularity of a beating drum. Thanks to corporate sponsorships, the team goes by the moniker "Curacao Neptunus" instead of the local name for most of the other sports teams.
Neptunus Familiestadion is one of the few parks with its own proper entranceway and parking lot. After paying at the gate, you walk into a large courtyard in front of the proper ballpark. The courtyard has a separate food concession (not open for my visit), some baseball statuary, a small kids play area, and some batting cages, in addition to a memorial to the bombing of the city in 1940.
Stairways lead up into the seating bowl, or you can enter the larger-than-normal-but-still-a-clubhouse clubhouse. A separate food concession is in the wall at one end of the clubhouse, while a full bar sits in the center. A small case of merchandise sits at the other end of the bar (more on that later), and around the room are small tables for eating and a neon team sign, as well as MLB and Neptunus memorabilia.
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| The clubhouse |
Stairs up on the seating area exit onto a wide walkway that runs the entire length of the seats, from first base to third base around home. It easily has the highest seating capacity of all the Dutch ballparks, and it is regularly used for international tournaments. Two sections of seating extend both down and above the walkway, with a level of "club" or VIP seating recessed at the top of the seating area under the shade overhang. An actual press box with clock is in the top-most deck behind home plate, and a series of ramps lead to corrugated-steel doors that were closed for my visit. Another small standing table area leads out from the clubhouse to right behind home plate. The outfield wall looks out onto trees obscuring the other sports fields, a proper black batters eye sits in center, and an honest-to-goodness digital scoreboard sits in left-center, displaying pictures of players, full stats, and even pitch speed.
There are several memorials around the park, including pictures and retired numbers of Dutch players to make to MLB in the clubhouse and on the outfield walls, and memorial road signs as seen in other Dutch parks, here dedicated to Ab Hogedoorn and Henk Ballemakerplein.
The crowd was similar to other Dutch games I saw, but closer to over 200 than 100-200, with several other fans keeping score in the group. The crowd size may have been the same, but the fans here apparently took things more seriously than elsewhere in the country. Still, there was no between-inning hijinxs, although Take Me Out to the Ballgame and Meet Me In St. Louis had sing-alongs on the scoreboard.
At the Game with Oogie:
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| Dutch scoring |
I wandered in a little earlier than normal, as I saw there was more to take in here. I did all my photography inside and out, and headed back into the clubhouse for some food. I ordered a giant brat and a Gatorade at the separate kiosk and ate it behind home plate watching them set up for the game. Back inside, I asked about the merchandise, and the helpful bartender told me that the person who sells the merch wasn't there that day. I was trying to work out my schedule of when they were going to be there and when I could get back, but she said she'd give the woman a call and would take my cell number to call me if she could get in touch with them.
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| Brat |
I settled into a seat on the first base side in the upper level where I could get some clear shots over the netting. Eventually, this shaded seat turned out to be too cold, so I wandered over to the sunny third base side later on, wondering if summer weather ever came to The Netherlands. During the later innings, the bartender came up to me again, and I realized I had missed a call on my cellphone. She said someone was here who could sell me merch, so I told her I'd be down between innings.
I went inside and a pleasant man introduced himself to me and sold me a rather pricey baseball cap for cash. I thanked him, watched the next half inning from behind home plate, and then went back up into the sun by third base for the remainder of the game.
With the scoreboard giving me pitch speed, I finally got some idea of what the pitching was like in the league. Just watching pitchers with no context doesn't really give you any idea of how fast they are pitching, except for some subjective measurements of the noise when it hits the gloves. What I saw here, and what was no doubt likely the case across the league, was that the pitchers were throwing in the 70s and 80s, which explains why they are so few Dutch names in the MLB currently.
The only bit worth mentioning was an at-bat in the 8th inning where a batter fouled off 12 straight balls before getting a single. He got a nice cheer from the crowd for his success.
The Game:
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| First pitch, Pioneers vs. Neptunus |
The top team in Europe was facing off against one of the second-tier teams in the Dutch league, and for once, the script played out exactly as you would expect.
It started with the Pioneers stranding a leadoff single in the first, but Rotterdam did not waste their opportunities, bringing a run in on a hit batsman, walk, and two-out single, staked to an early 1-0 lead. Both sides went in order for a quick second, but Hoofddorp got a runner to third in the top of the third on a single, stolen base, and a passed ball, but he died on the bag there. Neptunus again went in order in the bottom of the inning, the last time they would do so for the game.
The top of the fourth saw the Pioneers scatter a walk and a single to no effect, but Rotterdam got another run around in their half on a walk, stolen base, and double, extending the lead to 2-0. Hoofddorp got a leadoff single to second in the top of the fifth, but he went no further. Neptunus got out their scoring bats in the bottom of the fifth in an inexplicable barrage. Back-to-back singles started the offense, and then a walk loaded the bases. A wild pitch brought in a run, and a double cleared the rest of the bases. Another wild pitch got the runner to third before a ground-out drove him in. Then three straight walks loaded the bases with two outs before a ground out ended the bleeding with Neptunus out to a 6-0 lead. Despite a leadoff double followed by a single, the Pioneers got nothing across in the sixth, and Rotterdam stranded a pair of singles in the bottom of the frame.
Hoofddorp could do nothing with a single and hit batsman in the top of the seventh, while Neptunus squandered a leadoff walk that made it to second on another wild pitch when he was caught in a fly-out double-play when napping off the bag. The Pioneers went in order in the eighth, while Rotterdamn stranded another walk and single that advanced on another wild pitch. In their last licks, Hoofddorp only scratched out a two-out single, and it went in the books as a 6-0 Rotterdam win.
The Scorecard:
Pioneers vs. Neptunus, 05/11/19. Neptunus wins, 6-0.
Six.
Perhaps the story of this game was six wild pitches by the Pioneers hurlers. I've never seen nearly that much in a game before. They also gave up eight walks.
All of it was being recorded in the BBWAA scorebook again. There were three plays of particular note, not to mention a full-on event. The second batter of the game tried to lay down a bunt but got the lead runner nabbed at second on a 1-6 put-out. Before the start of the bottom of the first, the grounds crew had to bring a wheelbarrow out to short left to fix some issue or other on the field. It was impossible to tell from my seat, but I wonder why it wasn't an issue in the top of the first.
A rather clear E4 was adjudicated to be a single in the bottom of the fifth, and there was a particularly ugly double-play in the bottom of the seventh. A leadoff walk made it to second on one of the myraid of wild pitches. A fly-out to left was not properly noted by the runner, who was napping off the bag, and the left fielder threw a strike to second for the DP F7-4. I can still hear the manager shouting.
Thanks to the scoreboard, I was able to get all the player information recorded completely for the first time, and the scoreboard even displayed the scoring decisions for each play, which was certainly welcome.
The Accommodations:
Again I didn't spend a ton of time in the hotel today, but their customer service certainly saved my familial bacon.
2019 The Netherlands
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