Oosterhaut

On Mishaps and Redemption and Mishaps

Sportpark De Slotbosse Toren, 2019

Sunday, May 26, 2019
Amserfoort Quick vs. Oosterhaut Twins
Sportpark De Slotbosse Toren
Honkbal Hoofdklasse
Oosterhaut, The Netherlands
2:00 PM


Outside the Game: 
It was another early morning for me to utilize the breakfast buffet that was included in my stay at the hotel. I filled myself with an unrecommendable amount of meat and cheese and went back to my room to organize my packing and take a quick nap before showering and heading out a little before noon.

This last trip, of course, would be the longest and most complicated of the trip, having to backtrack out to Oosterhaut (the furthest team from the big cities) after finding out they didn't play Thursday evening games there in my first attempt. The distance was so long that it was cheaper for me to buy a Netherlands Train Pass (good for free transit for the day in the entire country) than to purchase an individual return ticket to Oosterhaut from Sloterdijk. I grabbed a crowded train to Schilpol and was quickly able to get an Intercity Direct to Breda. So far, so good, and a celebratory nap was had.

After I woke up, the train had emptied at Rotterdam, and the rest of us had a more spacious ride out to Breda. The terminal WIFI was spotty, and I got my check-in email for my flight home, but I wasn't able to actually check in. It was mildly annoying, but not anything to worry about too much. After my last fiasco with the buses from Breda, I had fully planned out the correct bus time tables and schedules so there wouldn't be a repeat. I knew I had enough time to grab some kiosk food and then head to the bus terminal, where I was able to board my bus early and wait for us to head off.

What could go wrong?

Well, the super-helpful digital displays that showed the stops were down on the bus I was on, which again was a solvable problem. I had the entire route printed out after my last trip, so I just had to keep my eyes open. The trip went fine, until we had the stop at the Oosterhaut bus station. The driver stopped the bus and got out, and then nothing happened. The driver just abandoned us. After five minutes, I asked one of the few passengers on the bus with me what was up, and he said that they sometimes changed drivers here, so it wasn't anything out of the ordinary.

Okay, fine. I sat down and waited. And five minutes turned to fifteen. I asked the other passenger what was up, and he didn't know. I ventured out, and no one was around. Another bus pulled up, and I asked the driver where our driver was. And he said, essentially, that there's a strike, and the other driver would show up at some point.

And then I panicked. Because it might not even be a matter of being late to the game, despite all my planning. The word "strike" thrust fear into my soul of being stranded in a bus station in the furthest east part of the country. After twenty minutes total, another driver did show up and start us on our way, and I ended up getting to the park with fifteen minutes to spare instead of over a half-hour. But at least I was there.

After the game, I wasn't trusting public transportation at all. I googled up some taxi services and started calling, marking the first time this had ever worked right in my entire Dutch vacation. The first couple I called said they couldn't have anyone for an hour or so. The last one said they knew a guy who might be able to help, but that didn't sound promising. The next taxi place I tried said no problem and that they would have someone out shortly to pick me up. Great success! I got a called right after from the driver, and I explained where to pick me up and all was good.

I wasted some time watching the ongoing softball game and taking some more pictures when I got a text saying the car was here. I was greeted by a smiling taxi driver (no doubt seeing euros in his eyes at the prospect of a transit strike) who loaded me into his cab, and we were off to Breda.

We had a talk, and he said that there was going to be a full transit strike on Tuesday: No public transportation at all. This meant people at Sloterdijk station would have no choice but take cabs to get to the airport or to the city center and back, which would be a nightmare for anyone just starting their vacation. I was getting out just under the wire. The cab driver was a nice enough guy, though I wondered if he leaned a little right-leaning, because the way he kept talking about "the real Holland" and "those people" were striking me a little wrong.

About halfway through the trip, I got a call from the cab driver, which confused me because I was in the cab. It wasn't my driver, obviously, but the guy on the phone said he was here to pick me up. I asked him what he meant, because I was in a cab already. I apologized for any confusion, but I said I was already most of the way to Breda. The only thing I could figure is that the driver who called me the first time was the guy that other car service said might be able to help me and not this car service. I felt bad about it, but what are you going to do? He was way later than he said he'd be, for starters.

The only way to score

One way or the other, I was back at Breda. With fifteen minutes until the next Intercity Direct to Schilpol, I stopped at the Julia's, an Italian chain place that I had been avoiding, but since it was my last day, why not? I got a box of pasta and a Pellegrino for the train ride back and went to the train, where I ate as I finished my last scorecard and caught up on my notes, then took a little nap.

Last damp look at Amsterdam

Back in Amsterdam, I walked around a little bit as a light rain started to fall. I took one last run through the city down to the Dam and back up, stopping for "NY Pizza" for dinner, because, why not? I took the train back to the hotel as the rain really started to come down in earnest. I bought my ticket to the airport for the next day, tried to see if the news had changed on the transit strike, and then went back to the hotel to check into my flight, shower, and pack up all my crap before climbing into bed for the last time in the Netherlands.


The Stadium & Fans:

Home plate to center field, Sportpark De Slotbosse Toren

I had been to Sportpark De Slotbosse Toren once before, but it was nice to show up when there was an actual game this time. As seems the norm, the sportpark was surrounded by canals and fishing lakes, and there is an archway opening next to a couple of maintenance buildings that leads out to the plaza by the main ballpark and softball field. The clubhouse is behind home plate on the third-base side of field, behind center field of the softball field. A single section of molded plastic seats runs behind home plate, topped with a small pillbox press box. The seats and access area ends right at the first-base side of the field, while the entire third-base side of the park is open and runs out to the adjoining softball field. Smoking tables are outside the clubhouse, and a low row of benches runs the length of the third-base side of the field, populated by visiting team fans.

Clubhouse

The clubhouse was Dutch standard, with a bar/canteen serving cheap food and drinks, and filled with tables, trophies, and other baseball paraphernalia. The simple digital scoreboard sits near dead-center with just the basics, standing out against the uninterrupted background of trees standing over advertising draped on the chain-link outfield fence. While the park notably lacks lights, it did have Dutch flags flying, the only ones I saw in the rather un-jingoistic Netherlands. The dugouts and bullpens were within the confines of the chain-linked field, and two retired numbers for Martijn Meeuwis (33) and Patrick van Gool (23) stand on the outfield wall corners.

The crowd was the Dutch-standard 100-200 of humans and dogs, and the home team and visiting fans were among the most engaged I saw at any game in the Netherlands. Frills were at a minimum, of course, with the Seventh-Inning Stretch being the only bit of flair in the whole proceedings.


At the Game with Oogie: 

Last scoring

So, for the second time, I arrived at the Twins' park after a bad bus experience. This is not the sort of habit I wanted to fall into. This time at least, there was, in fact, a game on to watch. The softball field was in use for a game, and everyone was practicing up for the man honkbal game as well, so my first great victory.

Hello, darkness, my old friend

I walked around and got my pictures, running into the man and wife and dog from my first two Dutch ballgames. This pretty definitively proved they were Quick fans, at least. The dog ran right up to me, sniffed, and then looked annoyed and trotted away. Love you too, buddy.

In walking around, I saw one of the two mothers I met on my first visit watching, I presume, her daughter's softball game. We smiled and waved at each other. I went into the clubhouse to get some food, but upon ordering, I found out that they didn't take cash and only took Dutch credit cards. I felt awful, but they only wasted one soda that they opened, so what can you do?

I took a seat behind home plate for the game. I ended up next to an older lady who asked me if I knew if the Japanese player was in the game. It turned out that he was, and she said she came to see him, as her friend had been his host for the year, and she hadn't seen him play yet. (There were actually two Japanese players in the game for the Twins, the starting pitcher, and the third baseman.)

With about a third left to play, I got up and went over to the smoking table for the last three innings. I was near a man who had a dog that was being naughty, and he imposed the standard, strict European discipline on him. To be fair, the dog straightened up pretty well after that.

The WIFI was spotty during most of the game, but it did come up afterwards, and I was able to have my cab fiasco as described previously. But mission accomplished: Another league under my belt.


The Game: 

First pitch, Quick vs. Twins

The last game in the Netherlands featured the Quick versus the Twins, finally, in a close-fought game of second-division teams that was ultimately decided in the eighth.

Things started slowly for the Quick, going in order in the first. Oosterhaut got a leadoff walk to second on a sacrifice, but he was caught stealing, wasting a single that followed and leaving it no score after one. Amserfoort went in order again in the second, while the Twins had a leadoff hit batsman erased on a double-play and managed to go in order. The third was repeat performance for the Quick in going in order, while Ootsterhaut was more successful in the bottom of the inning. A leadoff single was sacrificed to second and followed by a walk. A deep double brought both runs in, and two wild pitches brought in the runner from second, leaving the home team with a 3-0 lead after three.

In the top of the fourth, Amserfoort finally broke up the perfect game and got on the board. A leadoff walk was followed by a triple and a double, scoring two and closing the lead to 3-2. The Twins started their half with a homer to right, extending the lead back to 4-2. The Quick reverted to form and went in order in the fifth, while Oosterhaut turned a leadoff walk, a sacrifice, and two singles into another run, making it 5-2. Amersfoort was back on their game in the top of the sixth, as three singles and a walk with two outs got two runs in after loading the bases, closing the lead to one run at 5-4. In the bottom of the frame, the Twins loaded the bases with a hit batsman, a single, and a walk, but no one came across.

The Quick just had a walk and a single to show for the seventh, and Oosterhaut had their own solitary single. Things moved in the eighth, as Amersfoort got a run to tie it up on a single and a double. The Twins came right back with a leadoff double and a hit batsman that were sacrifice bunted up the basepaths. A grounder to first resulted in the runner from third getting gunned down at home, but a wild pitch on the next batter brought in the trailing runner for a 6-5 lead. The Quick managed a sole single in the top of the ninth, and Oosterhaut held on to win, 6-5.


The Scorecard: 

Quick vs. Twins, 5/26/19. Twins win, 6-5.

As always in the Netherlands, I was using the BBWAA scorebook.

As with most Dutch games, there was some weirdness. There was a caught stealing at third in the first inning, which you usually don't see anymore. At the end of third inning, both benches cleared and charged, but there was no fight. I'm not even sure what the reason was, as there was nothing on the field that would cause offence, at least to my eye. It may just have been some trash talk that got out of hand. The bad umpiring moment of the game was in the top of the fourth. The batter hit a long drive between the left and center fielders for a legit double. He tried to extend it to a triple and was visibly out CS 8-5, but called safe. There was a lot of jawing from the managers on that play, but it stood, for some reason. There were also three wild pitches by Quick pitchers that led to two runs. Sloppy play gets you runs.

I was able to suss out all the Twins' players, but the Quick pitchers were all unknown to me except as uniform numbers, thanks to their Website not giving player numbers to the lineups.


The Accommodations: 
I spent most of the evening in the hotel room packing up for the next day, as well as the extended time in the morning. It was the most time I spent in the room, and it was fine.

On Sad Returns

Schilphol Airport

Monday, May 27, 2019

Jersey City, NJ


Outside the Game: 
I woke up early for my last partial Dutch day, and I flailed around a while in bed before heading down to get a quick breakfast and coming back to shower and finish packing. After checking and double-checking the room, I went down to check out, and then dragged my stuff over to the train station for the short, but uncomfortable, ride to Schilphol.

It took a little bit of doing to find the entrance to the airport, but I was eventually inside and through security with minimal fuss. I had some time to kill, so I did some last-minute shopping and changed all my Euros to green stuff again. I went over to the gate, and there were little carts manned by staff doing pre-boarding checks, which was odd, but efficient.

Our actual plane was far enough away that we all had to get on shuttle buses to get over there. I boarded the second bus, and we drove over to the plane and lugged all our stuff up the stairs and in. I got to my seat, got my bag in the overhead, and then relaxed a little. I had the aisle seat, and my central seatmate would turn out to be an American with the smallest bladder in the world, who kept drinking beer. No kidding, he got up at least once an hour during the flight to go to the bathroom.

Beside that, the flight back in time went quickly. I spent most of it watching movies after the food service (Aquaman, Bohemian Rhapsody, and The Catcher Was a Spy--the Moe Berg biopic from last year). There was a nap or two in there as well. The flight went really quickly, and I got my exercise getting up repeatedly for Captain Tiny Bladder.

My real problem came after we landed. Bleary and jet-lagged, we were let out into the late morning in the US into a perfect storm of suck. A bunch of international flights let out at the same time just as customs was doing a shift change, and the lines got unbelievable quickly. When I walked into the area, the digital signs proclaimed a 15-20 minute wait. By the time I got through to a scanner and got on the line for screening, the wait was up to "over 60 minutes." It was a slow and painful slog made worse by the fact that the lines were now so long and doubling back into the scanner area that a good deal of scanning machines were being blocked by the line, thus making the lines grow longer, etc.

It was a mess, but there was nothing to do but wait. I eventually got to a disinterested customs agent who just asked what was in one bag I was carrying. I told her it was duty free, and as I was reaching to get the forms, she just waved me through. Past the worst of it, I called the car service to tell them I was through customs, and a short time later, I met my ride back to Jersey City. I called my parents to tell them I was back safe, and I reached my house with no traffic.

The rest of the day was laundry, organizing, and the metaphysical dread of going back to work the next day.


The Accommodations: 
Jersey City, again and regretfully

Epilogue:

Honkbal Hoofdklasse

And so another league down. The two weeks of vacation into Memorial Day worked well this time, and since the Italian league uses a similar schedule, I think I will pursue that next year for that trip, or at least it will be the plan. We'll have to see.

With Europe hopefully covered in 2020, I'll have to make the effort to try and crack the world of beisbol after that.

Click here to see all the pictures from this trip.

2019 The Netherlands

Haarlem

On Cautious Travel & Fine Dining

Amsterdam from the North

Friday, May 24, 2019
Amsterdam, The Netherlands


Outside the Game: 
It was time to switch cities again, so I was sort of up early, but managed to go back to sleep once or twice. Necessity eventually got me out of bed, and I showered, finished packing, and then checked out. After my last adventure, I was double-counting my bags every five minutes, and not leaving anything to chance, I took the tram up to Centraal. The Intercity Direct trains to Amsterdam run very frequently, so I was able to jump on one quickly. There was no WIFI, but since I spent nearly the entire trip asleep, it was less of an issue.

Arriving at Sloterdijk again, I bought a three-day train pass at the station before heading to my hotel, the nearby Holiday Inn Express. It was far too early in the morning to check in, but I just wanted to leave my bags so I could bum around for a while. The entrance to the hotel was a little confusing, especially the elevator set-up, but I managed to get to the front desk and drop my bags before grabbing a train back to Centraal.

Because I pretty much had to.

I didn't really have a set agenda for this day, and I wasn't feeling very ambitious. I walked down to the Dam for a while, and then headed back up to take the ferry to North Amsterdam. I had only been to the very edge of the area to go to the museums and A'DAM Tower, so I took a long walk along the canals for a while before heading back to the ferry and down to Spui, where they were having the book fair again. I was feeling pretty hungry at this point, and with only a few days left, I gave into temptation and stopped in at Luciens, the tourist-friendly Dutch pancake house, where I had a lunch of bacon and banana pancakes.

Flower power

I continued wandering down to the tulip market for a little bit, ended up doing some more shopping at the Delftware store, and then topped off my phone at the mobile store on the way back to the subway. I went back to Centraal and then by train to Sloterdijk, where I was now able to check into my hotel. I was being served at the same time as an older couple, and we followed each other up the elevator and to our rooms, which were right next to each other. I told them to keep the partying down, and then set up my room a little bit and took a much-needed nap.

I got dressed for dinner and had looked up a fondue place to eat. After getting the train back to Centraal and finding the place, it was right in the center of the heavy tourist area and was already packed, so I wasn't feeling it. I went back down near Spui to look for restaurants, when I passed a sign for "d'Vijff Vlieghen" (The Five Flies). It looked interesting enough, so I decided to go in on a whim and see if they had a table. Now, this place turns out to be a high-end restaurant in a 400-year-old building, and I just wandered in, and not only did they have a table, the only table left for one was the "King's Table," a little nook raised up from the main floor and usually reserved for honeymooners. Good enough for me.

Fit for a king

Suffice to say the meal was mind-blowing. Forgetting the high-end service and historic environs, the food was simply indescribable. I did have to limit it to four courses, as I agreed to keep my meal to under two hours as there was a newlywed couple with a reservation for later, but it was worth every last bit of it.

As I wandered around in my food bliss, I walked back up toward the Dam and kept going. I had found a gamer bar called TonTon in the Red Light District while I was looking for a restaurant earlier in the trip. The thing was, there were three or four red-light windows right across from the entrance to the gamer bar, and given the cramped road, it was kind of awkward and made me feel real pathos for the prostitutes. Here they were, showing their wares, such as it was, and there were all these geeks walking past, essentially saying, "Thank you for the opportunity to buy sex with you, but I'd rather just go play arcade games." I mean, that's a pretty hard pill to swallow, if you think about it too much. But what do I know? Maybe they do gangbuster business from nerds that get a beer or two into them and are prey to their weaknesses on the way home. Either way, you are sitting there playing pinball or video games, and sometimes you're pretty much just staring at the prostitutes because of the way the eyelines are arranged.

It is a weird little world.

The inside was absolutely packed with Germans playing board games and drinking beer, which is what I suppose the new version of Valhalla is to them. There were a couple of locals on the pinball machines and playing air hockey with dates, but it was pretty much me and this older Japanese guy playing the classic arcade games for the most part. Either way, it was a good way to spend an evening.

I waved goodbye to the prostitutes and walked back up to Centraal to grab a train back to the hotel, organize a little, and then fall asleep.


The Accommodations: 

Holiday Inn Express, Sloterdijk

I was at the Holiday Inn Express at Sloterdijk for the last weekend of my trip. It was a bit of a disconnect, because it was very much like every other Holiday Inn room I've been in, and also, very much not like every other Holiday Inn room I've been in.

I had a room at the end of the hall, which is always good for a noise perspective, especially since my only neighbors were that older couple. What it was, however, is right next to the train tracks. I had wondered why some of the Sloterdijk tracks had a half-tunnel around them, and it suddenly became clear: They were noise dampeners for the trains because of the hotel. And you could definitely hear when trains went by still, but it was more of a "whooshy" noise than an "angry train noise," and it really didn't affect my stay at all.

The room had a small alcove at the entrance to hang jackets and the like. It was right next to the frosted door to the long bathroom, with vanity and toilet and shower all in a row. Around the corner was a small desk with built-in shelves for clothes underneath a TV. The bed with nightstands built into the wall was on the other wall. The climate control took a bit to work out, even with English instructions in the room book, but I persevered.

As with most things in the Netherlands, it seems small at first glance, but it manages to have that odd Dutch coziness gezelligheid.

On Accidental Stalking and Other Misfortunes

Pim Mulier Sportpark, 2019

Saturday, May 25, 2019

Hoofddorp Pioneers vs. Haarlem DSS
Pim Mulier Sportpark
Honkbal Hoofdklasse
Haarlem, The Netherlands
2:00 PM


Outside the Game: 
I was up early for my next-to-last  day in-country. I went down to the restaurant for the hotel breakfast, another massive affair, starring mostly cheese and meats that turned into a fresh-bread sandwich of love and calories. I went back upstairs for a nap before showering and heading out.

After a week or so of planning, my nefarious plan to see the van Gogh Museum was coming to fruition. I took the metro down to Museumplein, and then walked to the line for the museum with my ticket for the first group of the day. It was a sizable line-up, but it went fast. There were three American women in line with me who were wondering if they would be able to go the Rijksmuseum later, and I told them that there wasn't really a line to get in or specific entry times for that, so they should be fine going after there visit here, and then we were all whisked into the museum.

Van Gogh Museum

I did my old trick of heading to the top floor and working down, and in so doing I missed most of the crowd for most of my visit, even if I was seeing everything in reverse chronological order. The museum was very well done in telling the story, but it had a policy of no pictures, not for art preservation purposes, but to prevent big hold-ups at the most popular works of art. I respected the prohibition, but there was one smug-looking lady who was taking pictures with her phone at every painting. But she eventually got caught by security guards after being warned, and I'm not sure what happened to her. I like to think she was killed, but probably not.

Anyway, so I made my way through the exhibition. I'm not a big van Gogh guy, but you come to the man's home, you have to go to his house. I eventually made my way to the gift shop, where I took pictures just to take pictures at this point. I bagged up on merchandise, including my favorite piece of merchandising ever: The Potato Eaters potato crisps.

Awful and awesome

Now here's where things get weird. After securing my purchases, I went outside and decided to take a picture of the crisps bag. As I was doing this on the pavement outside the museum, the three American ladies walked by again. We did the polite nod thing, and they went walking away. After I got my shot, I stopped at one of the food kiosks on Museumplein and got a waffle, and as I got on line, I saw the three Americans walking away with their own waffles, and one of them clearly saw me. Okay, great. Well, what are you going to do?

I sat down and ate my waffle, and then walked back to the metro stop to catch the subway back to Centraal. To get there, you have to walk past the Rijksmuseum entrance, and there was some large mascot-looking character doing something in the museum, and so I stopped to look. And locked eyes with the same American lady who was in the museum and watching the character.

Oh, god. Oh, god, no.

So, on the off chance any of you ladies are reading this, I'm very, very sorry, and I swear I wasn't stalking you.

Dealing with residual social anxiety for the rest of the walk, I went back to the hotel to lock myself away from people for a bit and start to organize all my stuff for packing the next day and grab a short anxiety nap. I then snatched up my game bag and took the short train ride to the station in Haarlem for the stadium. I arrived there with no problem, but I was having a bit of an issue orienting myself. Thankfully, there was a map right at the station, and as I was trying to suss out my position, a local came up to dump his recyclables in the bins at the station. He saw me looking and gave me some quick directions, and I was on my way for the short walk to the park.

After the game in the late afternoon, I got to the station just after the train left. In the short wait for the next one, I finished up my scorecard, and then boarded a crowded train back to Sloterdijk. I was able to upgrade from a jumpseat in the exit area to a real seat for the rest of the short ride after a stop or two, and then I went back to my room to drop off my bag and shower.

Dinner at De Stallmeesters

That evening, I decided to give Nieumarket a shot for dinner. After a short metro ride, I was walking around the Amstel canal area. I spotted a traditional Dutch cafe bar, and since I hadn't eaten at one yet and time was running out, I went into De Stallmeesters and had a nice dinner of parsnip soup and an angus burger while looking out over the canal. I walked around for a while before heading back to the hotel, doing some more pre-packing, and then hitting the hay.


The Stadium & Fans:

Home plate to center field, Pim Mulier Sportpark

There are two fields within Pim Mulier Sportpark. There is the larger and nicer Pim Mulier Stadium, and then there is the ballfield at Pim Mulier Sportpark, among smaller fields for lower-level baseball and softball. Pim Mulier Stadium is a two-level affair, with two sections of seating of modern flip-down seats, a top patio with a full restaurant, a business club area, and a small hall of fame. There are posters for the national baseball team, and it would seem that this facility (around A+ or AA in America) was also used for tournaments. This is not the Honkbal Hoofdklasse league's team ballpark. There are two top-level men's teams in Haarlem. They switched parks in the recent past, but then the other team got relegated out of Honkbal Hoofdklasse, so now the top-level team plays at the lesser Pim Mulier Sportpark ballfield, as the first team still has rights to the stadium. Still following?

DSS Clubhouse across the way

That particular park was nearly all chain-link fences, as was the case in The Hague. The bullpens and dugouts are on the outside of the main fence, with just the field inside. The digital scoreboard sits on in left field against the backdrop of trees and an apartment building construction rising in right-center above the advertising-laden outfield wall. The spectator area is relatively tiny. There is a small clutch of molded plastic seats right behind home plate, with a small pillbox of a press box on top. A patio behind the playing area holds some free-standing chairs, and fans bring their own. A raised dais on the first-base side of home has a long, high table with bar seats behind it. There is a small canteen under the stands, but most of the food (and facilities) are across the sidewalk at the main clubhouse for all the DSS teams. There are small memorial to Dick Hoff and Ruud Naaktgeboren has his #2 retired on the outfield wall.

The small crowd was a typical Dutch 100-200 people and dogs, but much closer to the former. There were some visiting fans who were huddled on chairs on the third-base side. The game was no-frills, as with most Dutch matches, although for some reason they played some very hick-y American country music between innings. The fans (and announcers) were very into the game, and happy with the home victory.


At the Game with Oogie: 

Scoring with program

When I showed up, I was confused by the stadium situation, to the point that I was horrified that I might not have checked the home stadium correctly and had gone to the wrong place again. Walking further in, I saw the other park and was slightly more reassured, if not more confused. I took pictures of both parks and then walked around a little. As it got closer to game time, I was greeted by an old man at the gate who handed me the only program I would receive in my entire trip to see Dutch baseball.

I tried to go to the little kiosk underneath the stands, such as they were, and the helpful man there said the main concessions (and bathrooms, by the way) were across the road the main DSS clubhouse. And so it was that the standard European clubhouse was by the soccer fields, with the regular posters and trophies, and clubhouse bar and grill. I grabbed some food and headed back across for the game, sitting for the first section of the game in the molded plastic seats behind home plate. I was able to clearly hear the announcers, who were very much homers. When there was one questionable pitch called a strike, I clearly heard from behind me "Niet" ("No").

As the sun got to be a little much in the later innings, I moved over to the shade on the first base side by the home dugout. The older gentleman who gave me my program before and I started chatting at that point. He had started playing baseball with softball as a boy in New Zealand before coming home to join family in the Netherlands. He helpfully explained some things, including how the lower-level team managed to get the nicer stadium (local sports politics, as stated above) and the fact that the teams were just getting by to pay their rent on the stadium grounds. He feared that several teams were going to go belly up in the next few years.

He also talked about the pressure that the top-level schedule put on the very semi-professional players on the team. With three games and at least one practice every week, the players were making a significant sacrifice during the season, giving up all their weekend mornings and at least two nights. The players on the field really wanted to be there and put in a lot of effort to play. It was a very humanizing thing to hear, coming from a land where the base minimum player at the top level makes a half-million dollars a year, and the thought of a second job is the furthest things from their minds.

He wished me luck as the game ended, as he was heading off to a big social for the softball league.


The Game: 

First pitch, Pioneers vs. DSS

This rematch of the "battle of nearly identical red teams" of Pioneers and DSS at the other's locale also switched up the ending.

The Pioneers came out strong early, as a leadoff hit by pitch was followed by four straight singles (though not without some controversy) that brought four runs across the plate, giving them the early 4-0 nod. Haarlem started strong themselves with a double, then a strikeout nixed on a passed ball, making it first and third. A sacrifice fly to center brought in a run, but that was it, cutting the lead to 4-1. The second went in a blink, with only a leadoff single caught stealing for Hoofddorp, and DSS went in order. The Pioneers went in order in the top of the third, and Haarlem just a walk in their half.

Hoofddorp went in order again in the fourth, and while DSS started their half of the inning strong with back-to-back singles (scoring one run on a late throw), that was all they got, leaving it 4-2 after four. The anemic Pioneers went in order yet again in the fifth, but a walk-a-thon consisting of four walks only interrupted by a ground-out, and a two-out single got Haarlem three runs to take their first lead, 5-4. In the sixth, Hoofdoorp got a leadoff walk to second on an error, but he got caught sleeping on the bag and nothing came across. DSS did everything but score in their half of the frame, with two singles and walk loading the bases, but killing the threat with no runs.

The Pioneers had only a single to show for the top of the seventh, but Haarlem went back to their scoring ways. A leadoff double and a single got a run in, making it 6-4, but a failed suicide squeeze and other mayhem ended the damage there (see below). In the top of the eighth, Hoofddorp had just a walk to show for it, but DSS kept scoring, with four walks, two singles, and a double bringing in four more to expand the lead to a more comfortable 10-4. In their last licks, the Pioneers turned two singles and a passed ball into a run, but nothing more, placing the final score at 10-5, DSS.


The Scorecard: 

Pioneers vs. DSS, 05/25/19. DSS wins, 10-5.

I was using the BBWAA scorebook again.

Lots of weird stuff in this one. We start in the top of the first, where a single brought in a run, and the second runner also attempted to make it home, but he was pretty clearly out 7-2, but was called safe. That was worthy of a note. In the bottom of the first was the rare K erased on a passed ball. The bottom of the second  had a batter hit a pop-up that looked foul, but the catcher dropped it in fair territory, and the runner was easily put out 2-4. In the bottom of the fifth, there was the good ole' CS 8-1-5 on a single to left-center, where the center fielder hit the pitcher as cutoff, who still had time to throw out a runner trying to make it to third from first. In the top of the sixth, there was an E1 on an attempted pick-off throw to first that was then erased CS 1-4 when he took too big a lead at second. And in the rarest of occasions in this modern age, there was a 3-2 putout on an attempted suicide squeeze. There was also an appeal play to third that same half-inning, which was denied. The bottom of the eighth had one last weirdo, with a CS 8-2 on a runner trying to make it home from first on a double to center.

I also started putting a red dot by a player that had a memorable line score.  The first recipient was DSS' first baseman, who had a split of 0 AB, 2 R, 0 H, 1 RBI thanks to a sacrifice fly and four walks. With the help of the scoreboard and the program, I was able to get all of the players down, except one pitcher for the Pioneers who was not in the program or announced clearly on the PA.


The Accommodations:
I was at the Holiday Inn Express again. Beside the extended time in the morning for breakfast, I didn't spend an awful lot of time there this day.

Click here to see all the photos from this trip.

2019 The Netherlands

Hoofddorp

On Unexpectedness in Many Forms

Sportpark Pioniers, 2019

Thursday, May 23, 2019

Haarlem DSS vs. Hoofddorp Pioneers
Sportpark Pioniers
Honkbal Hoofdklasse
Hoofddorp, The Netherlands
6:00 PM


Outside the Game: 
The longer this trip went, the later my mornings started. I managed to drag myself into the sunlight at around 11:30 AM, and I was heading straight to the post office to send my package of crap home to myself. The gentleman who was at the counter the last two times I went wasn't there, so I struggled through the process using my poor Dutch with a younger person who didn't have great English. Things were improved when an older woman came out from the back and helped us both out, and my package was on its way.

Before bird problems

I was hungry for breakfast/lunch, so I took the metro over to Market Hall again, and had a long, leisurely lunch out the outdoor seating of an Italian place. I ended up sitting under a tree, which is important because I was leaning over the remains of my bowl of risotto reading my tablet when a bird crapped right on the tablet. Now, the good news here is that it didn't ruin the remains of my lunch. The bad news is that I had bird crap all over my tablet. The waiter was apologetic and brought me napkins and things to clean it with, but I mean, what are the damn chances?

After lunch, I went up to Centraal to secure my train tickets for today and tomorrow. After waiting for my number to come up, I had a very helpful and friendly woman walk me through all the tickets and the potential pitfalls, and I headed back to the hotel for my last afternoon nap in this hotel.

I got the tram back up to Centraal at 5 PMish, and I was quickly able to get an Intercity to Schiphol, the closest major train stop to the stadium, and I went to the tourist information desk to get the number for cab company for the way back. There was a two-bus commute that I could potentially use to get out to the stadium, but especially this late in the trip, I wasn't feeling it and decided to cab out and back from the somewhat inconvenient park.

With some time to kill, I got the lay of the airport down, and then used a massage chair for a bit to help my back and aching feet and legs. It was then time for me to go out to the cab stand outside the airport and get out to the park. As is often the case, I had a nice conversation with the cab driver. After I told him my destination, he related how he played softball in middle school, but that was the limit of his knowledge with baseball. He said he wasn't working later when the game was over, but he also gave me the number for his cab company, so thusly armed I went into the game.

After my tribulations detailed below, on the way out, I did get another cab to get me back to the airport. A quick ride later, and I grabbed some sandwiches at a market in the station and boarded a train back to Rotterdam, getting in at about 11:15 PM. I decided for some reason or another to walk back to the hotel, but the walk seemed longer than normal, though it was a nice night.

Back at the hotel, I did some desultory packing before packing it in myself around midnight.


The Stadium & Fans:

Home plate to center field, Sportpark Pioniers

Sportpark Pioniers was easily one of the nicest baseball complexes in the Netherlands. Its only real competition was Rotterdam. While Rotterdam probably had more capacity, the Hoofddorp stadium was very close, much newer, and much better organized. It was a baseball-only facility for one, although it is across the road from a park and a rugby pitch. You enter from the parking lot, and the main stadium is right there, with a proper facade and everything, and the practice and training fields arrayed around much like a US spring training complex. Along with Rotterdam, this was the only stadium in the Netherlands approaching mid-A minor-league ball, definitely high-A and a stretch for AA. I would learn it was part of a bid to lure MLB to play in the Netherlands, though London would eventually secure those games.

The DuckOut

A large brick plaza is at the entrance and around the park, reaching to the softball and other fields that surround the main field. A large baseball-bat column holds up the overhang by the main entrance to the park. The lower floor of the building houses the player locker rooms, bathrooms, and a team baseball store. A small flight of stairs leads up to the second level, which has a business lounge luxury level with its own patio, and the "DuckOut" general clubhouse. Outside the DuckOut are picnic tables for the smokers on a plateau above the one row of seats that extends down and runs from about third to first base. Two patios with tables and stairs down are on each end of the building. An addition set of stairs goes up to a proper press box perched on the top of the building.

The field itself is quite up-to-date, and the facilities even have minor-league standard elements, such as the bullpens beyond the outfield walls. A large digital scoreboard sits in left-center field, above the advertising-strewn outfield wall and the solid backdrop of trees, excepting one block of buildings in right-center field. The park had a number of memorials and tributes, including Fysio Cura Plaza, Co Pikee Terrace, Koene Plain, and Van Zullien Terrace, a block of seven retired numbers on the outfield wall, and two plaques to Friends of Softball and the 100 Club.

The crowd was about the Dutch average between 100-200 humans and dogs. The entertainment level was slightly higher than normal, as well, with minor-league standard "glass breaking" sound effects on foul balls and even playing "Who Let the Dogs Out," in addition to play-up music and the 7th-inning stretch. For the most part, the crowd was quite into it, and were very appreciative when the home team came back and (spoiler) won it in the bottom of the ninth.


At the Game with Oogie:

Night scoring

I arrived at the park just as a bunch of practices on the surrounding fields seemed to be ending. I did my walk around and took my pictures before heading back into the park building itself. There was a ground-floor shop that was actually staffed and opened. Although it didn't have much Pioneers merch beyond jerseys, I was able to pick up an official Dutch baseball at least. I went upstairs and wandered around the business area and patio before heading into the "DuckOut" clubhouse. Though it had the bar/barfood/trophy setup of most teams, it was obviously much newer and nicer.

The bartender saw me taking pictures and told me to stop wasting film, but I told him that was why I was here. We talked a bunch about my trip, and he told me that I should go upstairs to the press box because that was the best place to take pictures. I explained to him that in America, you just don't walk up to the press box, but he said to just tell them that he said it was okay. The intrinsic New Yorker in me expected a set-up, but I decided to give it a try.

There was another set of stairs that went up to the press box at the top of the stadium, and I walked in. The three occupants turned around to look at me, and I told them what the barkeep had said. The head announcer ushered me in and let me take some photos. I saw he was the official scorer, and I asked him about keeping score in Europe. He said he "kept score in Dutch," using Dutch word abbreviations in his scorebook instead of English ones. I talked to him quite a bit about scoring before I realized it was getting close to game time and excused myself.

I went down to the bar and reported my successful endeavor. I tried to order some food, but the grill wasn't working that day, so I just got a drink and went outside to grab a seat. I started out behind home plate, but I moved over to the first-base side seats for most of the game, as I could get better pictures there. There was a guy in my section who was watching a soccer match on his phone for most of the game, so there's that.

After the game ended, I tried to call the cab companies, but I was not able to get through for whatever reason. I knew I was dialing the phone right this time, but it still wasn't working. Maybe there was a dead zone? After attempting in several places in the stadium, I realized that I was screwed.

The bartender from before was out having a smoke and saw me cursing at my phone and asked what was up. He said that he'd get me a cab. The places that I had contact info for were all booked up (apparently it is a big night out in Haarlem on Thursdays or something), but he called another number he had and assured me that a cab was coming. He even offered me a drink on the house, but I politely declined, as I needed to get back and I wasn't in the mood for drink right then, even if if I probably needed it. Sometimes people don't suck.


The Game: 

First pitch, DSS vs. Pioneers

The battle of the Dutch teams with nearly identical red uniforms (DSS and Pioneers) was won by the home team on a walk-off. For what kind, you will need to read on.

The first inning started slowly, with DSS going in order. A two-base error on a throw by the pitcher got Hoofddorp's lead runner to second, and he was sacrificed over to third, but there he died. The second was a scoring frame, as Haarlem had a string of a single, a hit batsman, and two more singles to bring in three runs for a brief, 3-0 lead. In the bottom of the inning, the Pioneers came back with three straight singles, a sacrifice bunt, and a ground-out to get two back, leaving it 3-2 at the end of two. DSS kept going in the third with a hit batsman, a single, an error, and another single to tack on two more runs, making it 5-2. Hoofddorp could only answer with a leadoff double in the bottom of the inning that went no further.

The fourth hit a lull, as Haarlem went in order and the Pioneers only had a single in the bottom half. DSS continued its languid ways in the top of the fifth with just a single to show for their efforts, but the Pioneers were off to the races. Five straight singles and a ground-out got them four runs, giving them a lead for the first time in the game at 6-5. The sixth went quickly, with Haarlem going in order and Hoofddorp stranding a single.

The seventh was also more of the same, with DSS going in order, and Hoofddorp leaving a walk and a single on the base paths. Things got interesting again in the top of the eighth, as Haarlem turned one-out singles and doubles into the tying run. The Pioneers managed to squeak out only a walk erased on a double-play in the bottom of the frame. DSS struck out in turn in the top of the ninth, but Hoofddorp made something of their last licks. Two back-to-back, one-out singles got it first and third. An intentional walk loaded the bases, and a grounder to first got the force at home, leaving it bases loaded with two outs. A routine grounder to short seemed to send us to extras, but the shortstop threw it to Germany, and a walk-off E6 ended the game at 6-5, Pioneers.

The Scorecard: 

DSS vs. Pioneers, 05/23/19. Pioneers win, 6-5.

I was using the BBWAA again.

Beyond the walk-off E6, there were a bunch of plays of note. In the top of the third, there was a dispute over a hit by pitch that was not called by the umpires. The batter got a single afterwards, so perhaps some justice there. There was also your garden-variety CS 8-3-6 in that same inning when the batter unsuccessfully tried to extend his clean single into a double. In the bottom of the fifth during the Pioneer's rally, there was an incident where "FC" didn't really capture of all the play, which was a grounder to third that was an attempted 5-2 putout that hit the runner. That same inning had a pretty rare 5t on a grounder to third with men on first and second. And, of course, the last play of the game got a write-up on the E6 heard round the world.

The leadoff hitter on DSS got a golden sombrero, a suprisingly rare event on the trip, and between team sites, scoreboards, and announcers, I was able to get the entire lineup in the scorebook correctly. Hurray me.


The Accommodations:
I left pretty early and got back pretty late with travel the next day, so as per usual, most of the my time in the hotel was spent sleeping.

Click here to see all the photos from this trip.

2019 The Netherlands

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