The Hague

On Mercy

Sportpark Kijkduin-Schapenatjesduin, 2019

Sunday, May 19, 2019

Curcacao Neptunus vs. Silicon Storks
Sportpark Kijkduin-Schapenatjesduin
Honkbal Hoofdklasse
The Hague, The Netherlands
2:00 PM


Outside the Game: 
I had another lazy morning, but eventually inspired myself to get out of bed and shower up. I double-checked my itinerary for the day and did a little research on hotels for my last weekend in Amsterdam before heading out.

I had a couple of choices to get to the nearby Hague. I could take the metro all the way there, or overland trains. The hotel said the trains were the right way to go, so I took the tram up to Centraal and got on the next Sprinter, as the travel time was about the same if I waited for the next Intercity Direct. Once in The Hague, I could either take a tram (that was a bit of a walk to the stadium) or a bus (that would take me right there). I confidently went up to a bus shelter with my bus number on it when the two old ladies there clearly saw I was going the wrong way, and pointed me to the outbound stop for the same bus that I should be on.

Lovely day

A short bus ride got me to the stop I needed, and after a little looking around, I figured out which way to walk to get to the stadium. As per usual, it was in a sportpark, but this one had quite a big hill right at the entrance. With time to kill, I climbed the big hill and looked around, and eventually tramped around the park a little bit before heading into the wooded entrance to the ballfields until about a half hour before gametime.

Earlier than expected, I was heading back to the bus stop, as the weather was getting cold and windy relatively close to the shore. Luckily, I arrived just as a bus back to the station was arriving, and I boarded it with a clutch of old folks who were there for some reason. A short--but warm--bus ride got me back at The Hague Centraal, where a train back to Rotterdam was just about to leave.

Witty

A walked back to the hotel for a well-deserved nap, and then cleaned up again and head off into the evening. My goal this evening was to cut through the Museumplein in Roterdam and check out the Witte de Withwartier, the "hip street" in Rotterdam. I stopped off at some shops, and poked around the bars and whatnot, even finding a full-fledged supermarket to grab some supplies. I popped into one of the fancy burger shops for dinner and topped it off with some gelato from a store at the end of the street. I walked around a bit more to burn some of it all off before heading back to the hotel.

I prepped for the next day of museum blitzing and then had an early night in bed, with the window open and a light breeze blowing, while catching up on my episodes of Barry.


The Stadium & Fans: 

Home plate to center field, Sportpark Kijkduin-Schapenatjesduin

The curtly named Sportpark Kijkduin-Schapenatjesduin probably has the most chain-link per square foot of any Dutch ballpark. With the exception of the clubhouse buildings and dugouts, everything in the fields are constructed of chain link. A secondary full-sized field is right by the entrance and shares a chain-link outfield wall with the main field further along. The cement dugouts are located outside of the field (accessed by a small chain-link gate), as is the press box, which is its own little trailer building. Along with Oosterhaut, this field was the only one that doesn't have lights, so they play their home games on Thursday evening at other fields.

Clubhouse

The clubhouse is located by the entrance, next to a maintenance building, a good distance from the main field. It had the requisite little canteen/bar, and trophies and other baseball memorabilia over the walls. Outside is a small area of picnic tables (for smokers) and a play area (right next to the smokers' tables). There is a retired number for Win Remmerswaal and an Ed Lakwijk Terras. A small section of stepped wooden bleachers sits behind home plate for seating under an overhang of trees, and the scoreboard is a small digital ball/strike/out number in left-center field. The vista is all trees behind chain-link, the major milieu for the field.

Even though they are the lowest team in the league, they still got the Honkbal Hoofdklasse-standard 100-200 people watching the game, along with the requisite dogs. There were a number of supporters for the nearby Rotterdam squad along the visiting third-base dugout as well. There was also the complete lack of extras that was common in Honkbal Hoofdklasse, and I didn't even get to find out if they did a seventh-inning stretch (for reasons described below).


At the Game with Oogie: 

Scoring early and often

I walked into the sportpark at my usual time, and I was immediately stunned by the amount of chain link involved in the proceedings. I went down to the field first and took my pictures before hiking on back to the clubhouse. The guys working the counter that day weren't great with English, so I mustered up as much usable Dutch as I was able to order a burger and frites and something to drink while poking around and taking pictures.

All-American

As the game approached, I walked back down to grab a seat on the benches behind home plate, carefully cleaning it of bird droppings caused by the over-hanging trees behind home plate. I was sitting among the usual Dutch-sized baseball crowd, garnering a look every now and again. I was regularly startled by batboys in the woods on the other side of the chain-link fence behind me who went to go and retrieve the many foul balls that got knocked back there.

After the end of the game, I had an extended discussion with the guys in the announcer's booth (see below), and with that, I was heading out with the crowd to get back to the bus station.


The Game: 

First pitch, Neptunus vs. Storks

The best team in Europe played the worst team in the Dutch league, and the results are exactly what you'd expect, starting with the visiting Neptunus batting around in the first inning, and ending with their DH pitching in a mercy-ruled game.

The first batter for Neptunus got a single, then stole second, and made it to third on the errant throw by the catcher. The second batter singled him in and stole second. A fly out to deep right changed things up a bit, but the next batter walked, and both runners pulled a double steal. The next two batters walked to load the bases, and a short single brought in another run. Charlie Brown uncorked a wild pitch, and a run scored and everyone moved up, and a short single loaded the bases again. That was it for the starter. The new pitcher got a strikeout then walked the next two batters, sending in a run before a ground-out to short ended the top of the first at 4-0 Neptunus. The Hague went in order.

In the second, Rotterdam settled for two runs on a leadoff single and a homer to right to extend the lead to 6-0. The Storks again went in order. Neptunus very nearly batted around in the third again. Two straight singles started off the inning, and a fly out to right moved the runners. A one-out single drove in a run, and then a grounder to short got thrown away, leading to another run and everyone advancing. A sacrifice fly brought in another run, and a double cleared the bases, giving Neptunus a comfortable 10-0 lead. The Hague broke up the no-hitter and the shutout in the bottom of the third, with a single, double, and another single driving in a run to make it 10-1.

Rotterdam did bat around again in the fourth. A one-out hit batsman and a double were followed by two walks to drive in a run. A single brought in two more, and a walk loaded the bases again before two outs ended the inning at 14-1, Rotterdam. A new pitcher came in, and the Storks put together as good an inning as they could muster, turning four singles and a double into three runs to close it to 14-4. In a small miracle, Neptunus only had a double in the top of the fifth, while The Hague went in order.

In the top of the seventh, Rotterdam almost batted around yet again. The half-inning started with two quick outs, and then it continued with a walk, a single, a walk, and a wild pitch to move everyone up. A grounder to first got butchered, and another run came in. Then, just for fun, there was a homer to dead center before the fly-out to center ended the half at 19-4. Perhaps as a reward for his homer in the top of the inning, Neptunus put in their DH to pitch. After giving up two walks, he got the Storks in order.

And everyone packed up to go home. A brief conversation with the announcing crew identified that there was a mercy rule in Honkbal Hoofdklasse, and with a run differential of 15 runs, that was quite invoked. So that was a thing that happened.


The Scorecard: 

Neptunus vs. Storks, 05/19/19. Neptunus wins a mercy-shortened game, 19-4.

I was using the BBWAA again.

So outside of having to put down a note about a mercy rule in a game not in Little League, there were more oddities. Plays of literal note involve the E2 on the catcher's throw on a base steal attempt in the first inning and the E6 in the third that the shortstop threw out of play. This is also probably the first, last, and only time I will have a DH with a pitching line. (And what a line it was: 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 BB, 2 K.)

Between team Websites and announcements, I got all the players except three pitchers.

The mercy rule in a pro game. I mean, really.


The Accommodations: 
I spent little time in the hotel again, today, except for the morning and evening.

Click here to see all the photos from this trip.

2019 The Netherlands

Rotterdam

On Big Money and Failed Connections

Neptunus Familiestadion, 2019

Sunday, May 12, 2019

Hoofddorp Pioneers vs. Curacao Neptunus
Neptunus 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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: 

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.

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: 

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.

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:

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.

Click here to see all the photos from this trip.

2019 The Netherlands