Netherlands Baseball Divisie

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*Fictional Story Alert*

The Netherlands, 1964, and the fledgling sport of Baseball had just come through a rough decade of amateur organisation as the country fought to recover from its suffering during World War II.

Baseball as a sport in the lowlands was introduced sparingly by British and American forces located in various Dutch towns during the war, yet it was the return of an evacuee that led to the sport finding a semblence of routine and the eventual development of amateur teams across the nation.

Throughout the following decade (1950s) Baseball thrived and soon grew to become a vital part of the resurrection of leisure time in the populous. However money was sparse and investment in the sport was insignificant to the extent that teams survived as long as their players remained active. National competition was a pipedream at that stage as clubs would face off in local matchups to avoid costly travel arrangements and eventually teams would proclaim their dominance of the sport in their region.

As The Netherlands moved into the 1960s, the nation would begin to prosper economically and with the move to professionalism in Football (Soccer) there was a movement to try and push Baseball in the same direction. It was in 1964 that Ad Plug would form the Netherlands Baseball League (NBL) as a head organisation to attempt to bring together the top regional teams to compete for the National crown with a view to growing the sports popularity and reputation.

The following 4 years proved successful but the limited exposure of a 8 teams competing in a knockout tournament over 2 weekends failed to attract the major investment required to get the sport into the professional era. Media and Sponsorship money dried up as the years went by and with the threat of bankruptcy looming, Ad Plug had one last chance to get things turned around.

Skip forward to the end of the 1960s and on the 4th March 1969 the NBL finally confirmed that there would be a fully integrated National Baseball competition to be run by the NBL with all teams involved being professional clubs. The Netherlands Baseball Divisie was born and with the start date being March 1970, a decade of change, excitement and trepidation was in store for the sport.

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Netherlands Baseball Divisie
Elite 12

Head Sponsor:
Amstel

Competition Setup:
12 Teams
6 games vs each opponent, totalling 66 games split equally.
Top 2 Teams advance to Amstel Elite Series (Best of 5) to decide Champion

Awards:
Amstel Champion Hurler (Pitchers Award)
Amstel Top Bat (Hitters Award)
Amstel Magic Mitt (Fielders Award)
Amstel Rookie Award (Newcomers Award)

Roster Functions:
20 Man Active Roster
No limit on Foreign Players
Roster Expansion Date 1st May each year (upto 30 players)
Trade Deadline 1st May each year
Amateur Draft Date 1st December each year (4 rounds)

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Teams:
Soest Bolts
Rotterdam Cowboys
Almere Damage
Utrecht Triumph
Haarlemmermeer Curveballs
Leidschendam-Voorburg Archers
Leiden Coyotes
Vlissingen A's
Roermond Traders
Tilburg Rats
Dordrecht Patrol
Zoetermeer Bluejays

**From here on in I will be recaping the league on a yearly basis, I am playing in Commissioner Mode.**

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Netherlands Baseball Divisie - Elite 12:

The Beginning
'a recap of the 1970 season

A need for success put instant pressure not only on the NBD as a competition but all 12 teams as they would be judged on a national stage and not only by their own fanbase. This underlying motive ensured that the opening season of the Elite 12 would be memorable for its competitive nature as well as the first Elite Series falling to one of the provincial clubs.

Following the opening draft where by teams picked from the eligible pool of talent, the season began in ernest in March 1970 as all 12 team set off on an unknown road to their eventual destiny.

After a frantic start the league soon found itself housing a mini split, 6 teams would put themselves in contention as the season progressed and infact the season would end with just 6 games seperating the top 6 teams, leaving the league with a final week of suspense.

Initially it appeared that the powerful Rotterdam Cowboys would break away from the pack and take home the division pennant and secure a place in the Elite Series, however a mid season slump saw them fall back from the race leaving 3 teams to duke it out exchanging positions up until the final day.

Dordrecht Patrol would find themselves as the unfortunate losers in the race, as the Leidschendam-Voorburg Archers clinched the leagues best record just 1 game ahead of 2nd place Zoetemeer Bluejays. The 2 teams would then meet up in the Amstel Elite Series as the Bluejays would upset the Archers 3-2 and become the Netherlands first ever professional champions.

League Standings Elite 12 Team W L WPct GB R RA Leidschendam-Voorburg Archers 38 28 .576 - 259 228 Zoetermeer Bluejays 37 29 .561 1.0 317 280 Roermond Traders 36 30 .545 2.0 269 235 Vlissingen A's 36 30 .545 2.0 308 305 Dordrecht Patrol 36 30 .545 2.0 288 275 Tilburg Rats 35 31 .530 3.0 322 319 Rotterdam Cowboys 34 32 .515 4.0 247 238 Almere Damage 33 33 .500 5.0 260 272 Haarlemmermeer Curveballs 31 35 .470 7.0 274 294 Soest Bolts 29 37 .439 9.0 267 277 Utrecht Triumph 26 40 .394 12.0 262 332 Leiden Coyotes 25 41 .379 13.0 257 275

Post-Season Results Amstel Super Series Zoetermeer over Leidschendam-Voorburg, 3-2

League Batting Stats Team R/G R G AB H 2B 3B HR BB SO SB AVG OBP SLG OPS Tilburg Rats 4.9 322 66 2312 592 151 8 80 240 362 18 .256 .330 .432 .762 Zoetermeer Bluejays 4.8 317 66 2224 551 116 14 57 234 321 41 .248 .324 .389 .713 Vlissingen A's 4.7 308 66 2282 604 148 16 51 228 336 23 .265 .335 .411 .745 Dordrecht Patrol 4.4 288 66 2210 513 121 15 58 221 351 79 .232 .304 .379 .683 Haarlemmermeer Curveballs 4.2 274 66 2268 568 142 15 47 176 394 37 .250 .310 .388 .699 Roermond Traders 4.1 269 66 2277 563 126 19 34 180 355 111 .247 .305 .364 .670 Soest Bolts 4.0 267 66 2230 522 119 9 55 200 367 26 .234 .300 .370 .670 Utrecht Triumph 4.0 262 66 2248 540 112 9 52 182 374 31 .240 .302 .367 .670 Almere Damage 3.9 260 66 2178 513 120 12 47 191 367 45 .236 .301 .366 .668 Leidschendam-Voorburg Archers 3.9 259 66 2188 535 94 16 29 168 301 114 .245 .301 .342 .643 Leiden Coyotes 3.9 257 66 2227 506 98 11 73 210 329 3 .227 .300 .379 .680 Rotterdam Cowboys 3.7 247 66 2200 493 96 7 71 198 363 17 .224 .297 .371 .668 Totals 4.2 3330 792 26844 6500 1443 151 654 2428 4220 545 .242 .309 .380 .690 Average 278 66 2237 542 120 13 55 202 352 45

League Pitching Stats Team R/G R G CG SHO SV ERA IP HA HRA BB K WHIP OAVG BABIP Leidschendam-Voorburg Archers 3.5 228 66 13 3 20 3.17 585.2 475 48 186 343 1.13 .218 .239 Roermond Traders 3.6 235 66 15 5 14 3.22 591.2 493 45 203 329 1.18 .225 .246 Rotterdam Cowboys 3.6 238 66 17 4 19 2.95 597.0 509 59 167 431 1.13 .227 .257 Almere Damage 4.1 272 66 8 3 22 3.76 582.0 521 51 217 316 1.27 .236 .255 Dordrecht Patrol 4.2 275 66 16 4 18 3.95 594.2 521 43 225 293 1.25 .235 .254 Leiden Coyotes 4.2 275 66 7 3 11 3.97 585.0 537 55 217 359 1.29 .241 .266 Soest Bolts 4.2 277 66 14 7 11 3.84 588.2 534 66 160 336 1.18 .240 .256 Zoetermeer Bluejays 4.2 280 66 13 5 14 4.06 583.0 600 54 148 321 1.28 .265 .289 Haarlemmermeer Curveballs 4.5 294 66 4 3 18 4.19 590.1 552 55 243 344 1.35 .246 .269 Vlissingen A's 4.6 305 66 10 7 25 4.20 593.2 574 58 216 350 1.33 .254 .278 Tilburg Rats 4.8 319 66 11 5 15 4.37 599.0 574 66 182 332 1.26 .252 .271 Utrecht Triumph 5.0 332 66 13 4 12 4.49 591.1 610 54 264 466 1.48 .266 .313 Totals 4.2 3330 792 141 53 199 3.85 7082.0 6500 654 2428 4220 1.26 .242 .266 Average 278 66 12 4 17 590 542 55 202 352

League Miscellaneous Stats Team ExpW ExpL Diff AS aAS BAW PAW RAW FAW Attendance Payroll Balance Leidschendam-Voorburg Archers 37 29 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 395,764 $431,717 $2,248,337 Roermond Traders 37 29 -1 0 0 0 1 0 0 226,042 $419,445 $1,406,761 Rotterdam Cowboys 34 32 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 172,708 $519,295 $914,026 Almere Damage 32 34 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 174,117 $366,560 $947,660 Dordrecht Patrol 34 32 2 0 0 1 0 0 2 251,575 $468,256 $1,603,794 Leiden Coyotes 31 35 -6 0 0 0 0 0 1 154,283 $461,081 $810,454 Soest Bolts 32 34 -3 0 0 0 0 0 0 171,698 $454,651 $832,520 Zoetermeer Bluejays 37 29 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 330,956 $425,645 $1,735,388 Haarlemmermeer Curveballs 31 35 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 168,680 $398,594 $880,764 Vlissingen A's 33 33 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 269,015 $458,066 $1,787,159 Tilburg Rats 33 33 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 229,254 $446,533 $1,442,753 Utrecht Triumph 26 40 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 169,712 $423,533 $818,846

League Award Winners Amstel Top Bat Roel Marijnissen DOR .279/.356/.598, 19 HR, 52 RBI, 26.0 VORP Amstel Champion Hurler Adrie Vervoort ROE 10-5, 2.56 ERA, 133.2 IP, 55 K, 32.0 VORP Amstel Rookie Award Luke Wagterveld TIL .289/.386/.478, 9 HR, 34 RBI, 21.7 VORP Amstel Magic Mitt Pitcher Chris Beyen .000 PCT., 0 PO, 0 A, 0.00 RANGE Catcher Roel Bikham .000 PCT., 0 PO, 0 A, 0.0 CS % First Base Knud van der Kamp .000 PCT., 0 PO, 0 A, 0.00 RANGE Second Base Donny van Campen .000 PCT., 0 PO, 0 A, 0.00 RANGE Third Base Hedde Overgaag .000 PCT., 0 PO, 0 A, 0.00 RANGE Shortstop Rudolf Janszen .000 PCT., 0 PO, 0 A, 0.00 RANGE Left Field Stef Abspoel .000 PCT., 0 PO, 0 A, 0.00 RANGE Center Field Rusty Aarden .000 PCT., 0 PO, 0 A, 0.00 RANGE Right Field Lothar Struyk .000 PCT., 0 PO, 0 A, 0.00 RANGE

League All-Stars

League Batting Leaderboards Batting AVG L. de Weever LEC .314 S. van Bakel TIL .309 O. Ouwens ZOE .308 J. Coster HAA .305 R. van Katwijk VLI .303 On-Base PCT O. Ouwens ZOE .399 L. Teunisz ROT .395 E. van der Weiden VLI .393 R. van Katwijk VLI .391 R. Groenevelt ROE .389 Slugging PCT R. Marijnissen DOR .598 J. Coster HAA .574 L. Teunisz ROT .550 L. Zimerman ZOE .531 A. Bruggeman SOE .524 On-Base + Slugging R. Marijnissen DOR .953 L. Teunisz ROT .945 J. Coster HAA .923 L. Zimerman ZOE .910 A. Bruggeman SOE .898 VORP R. Marijnissen DOR 26.0 D. Claus SOE 23.8 E. van der Weiden VLI 23.1 S. van Bakel TIL 23.1 J. Coster HAA 22.9 Runs Created R. Marijnissen DOR 52.4 S. van Bakel TIL 49.6 L. Zimerman ZOE 48.3 L. Wagterveld TIL 48.2 O. Ouwens ZOE 48.0 Runs Created / 27 outs L. Teunisz ROT 7.88 O. Ouwens ZOE 7.81 R. Marijnissen DOR 7.45 A. Bruggeman SOE 7.43 E. van der Weiden VLI 7.24 Isolated Power R. Marijnissen DOR .319 J. Coster HAA .269 D. Bothof DOR .266 T. Francken ROE .253 L. Teunisz ROT .250 Games L. de Weever LEC 66 S. van Bakel TIL 66 L. Zimerman ZOE 66 A. Bruggeman SOE 65 N. Dirks ROT 65 At-Bats B. Jasperse VLI 267 S. van Bakel TIL 262 L. de Weever LEC 261 R. Oprel SOE 261 A. Zwarthoed TIL 256 Runs U. Houtman ZOE 46 R. Marijnissen DOR 45 L. Wagterveld TIL 45 O. Ouwens ZOE 44 D. Claus SOE 43 Hits L. de Weever LEC 82 S. van Bakel TIL 81 B. Jasperse VLI 77 R. Groenevelt ROE 75 R. van Katwijk VLI 74 Total Bases R. Marijnissen DOR 150 L. de Weever LEC 135 L. Zimerman ZOE 129 J. Coster HAA 128 S. van Bakel TIL 127 Singles J. Illidge UTR 60 R. Oprel SOE 59 B. Jasperse VLI 58 A. Breugelmans LEI 57 L. de Weever LEC 56 Doubles R. Janszen HAA 25 A. Scheephorst VLI 24 D. Claus SOE 22 G. Osman HAA 22 P. Bakermans VLI 21 Triples A. Marrero HAA 6 C. de Blois ROE 5 S. Abspoel LEI 3 P. Bakermans VLI 3 G. Brem LEI 3 Home Runs R. Marijnissen DOR 19 D. Bothof DOR 17 L. Zimerman ZOE 14 F. Banho ROT 13 J. Coster HAA 13 Runs Batted In L. Zimerman ZOE 55 R. Marijnissen DOR 52 D. Bothof DOR 50 L. de Weever LEC 50 J. Coster HAA 48 Stolen Bases F. Stroombeek ROE 27 E. Huijbregts DOR 23 E. Klink ROE 23 R. Oprel SOE 22 F. Wijnmaalen LEI 21 Bases-On-Balls A. Oversluizen SOE 46 L. Wagterveld TIL 41 N. van Aarts ROT 39 U. Houtman ZOE 38 O. Ouwens ZOE 37 Intentional Walks A. Scheephorst VLI 11 L. Zimerman ZOE 9 E. Boele DOR 8 R. Aarden ALM 6 S. Bogers LEI 6 Hit-By-Pitch R. Bikham UTR 8 X. Dekkers ROT 7 L. Teunisz ROT 7 N. van Aarts ROT 7 R. van Katwijk VLI 7 Strikeouts O. Witteman LEC 60 D. Bookelman HAA 53 J. Knoppert VLI 53 C. de Blois ROE 52 D. Bothof DOR 50 Sacrifice Hits S. Bogers LEI 8 E. Pagán TIL 6 J. Schumacher HAA 6 O. Witteman LEC 6 F. Domburg TIL 5 Sacrifice Flies K. Lans ZOE 5 R. Maeyer ALM 5 H. Schooten ROE 5 M. Alkemade ROE 4 R. Bikham UTR 4

League Pitching Leaderboards ERA S. Willemsen ROT 1.77 C. Beyen HAA 2.22 J. Baas LEI 2.40 A. Vervoort ROE 2.56 L. Steenbergen ROT 2.59 Wins G. de Koster VLI 10 M. Moen DOR 10 A. Vervoort ROE 10 D. Fraters SOE 9 J. Mertens ZOE 9 Losses B. Swaneveld LEC 11 M. Ernst UTR 10 H. Lamberts SOE 10 F. van der Esch ROT 10 J. Struyk HAA 9 Winning PCT G. de Koster VLI .714 O. Koot LEI .714 M. Moen DOR .714 D. Maeyer ROT .700 L. Steenbergen ROT .700 Saves B. Porteman VLI 17 J. Janszen HAA 14 Z. Bennink ROT 13 J. Kooiman DOR 13 O. Oskamp ROE 12 Games Pitched F. van As HAA 30 M. van Bekenes ALM 29 R. Aalbers ALM 28 A. van Abcoude VLI 28 G. Bik LEC 25 Games Started S. Willemsen ROT 18 G. de Koster VLI 17 L. de Waal VLI 17 M. Ernst UTR 17 J. Mertens ZOE 17 Complete Games N. Angelbeek SOE 9 M. Ernst UTR 8 J. Mertens ZOE 8 A. Talboom ROE 8 G. Gil VLI 7 Shutouts S. Willemsen ROT 3 W. Fransen TIL 2 E. Mastenbroek ZOE 2 J. Mertens ZOE 2 A. Redel LEI 2 Innings Pitched M. Honshorst DOR 137.1 S. Willemsen ROT 137.1 J. Mertens ZOE 136.0 A. Talboom ROE 135.2 N. Angelbeek SOE 134.0 Hits Allowed M. Ernst UTR 149 C. van Donkelaar ZOE 133 M. Honshorst DOR 131 E. Mastenbroek ZOE 131 B. Swaneveld LEC 128 Home Runs Allowed H. Veeneman TIL 22 N. Angelbeek SOE 18 A. Redel LEI 15 M. van Gils LEC 14 G. Gil VLI 13 Walks Allowed E. van der Kieft UTR 58 M. van Amersfoort VLI 55 B. Swaneveld LEC 53 J. Struyk HAA 52 J. Groenendaal UTR 49 Walks per 9 IP L. de Waal VLI 0.6 D. Fraters SOE 1.2 J. Baas LEI 1.4 M. van der Woerdt ZOE 1.5 C. van de Linde ALM 1.6 Strikeouts S. Willemsen ROT 128 J. Veldhoen UTR 120 S. Hak ALM 96 A. Talboom ROE 89 F. de Meza LEC 82 Strikeouts per 9 IP J. Veldhoen UTR 9.5 S. Willemsen ROT 8.4 S. Hak ALM 8.0 H. Lamberts SOE 7.8 H. Beerens ROT 7.7 K/BB L. de Waal VLI 9.88 H. Lamberts SOE 4.32 J. Baas LEI 4.21 D. Fraters SOE 4.07 C. van de Linde ALM 3.92 WHIP J. Baas LEI 0.84 S. Willemsen ROT 0.90 H. Lamberts SOE 0.93 D. Fraters SOE 0.97 C. van de Linde ALM 0.97 Hits per 9 IP S. Willemsen ROT 6.0 J. Baas LEI 6.2 L. Steenbergen ROT 6.5 H. Lamberts SOE 6.6 A. Roelands DOR 6.8 Opponents AVG S. Willemsen ROT .183 J. Baas LEI .190 L. Steenbergen ROT .200 H. Lamberts SOE .202 H. Beerens ROT .209 Opponents OBP J. Baas LEI .223 S. Willemsen ROT .234 C. van de Linde ALM .247 H. Lamberts SOE .252 D. Fraters SOE .257 Opponents SLG S. Willemsen ROT .294 J. Baas LEI .306 G. de Koster VLI .314 A. Vervoort ROE .318 A. Roelands DOR .318 Opponents OPS S. Willemsen ROT .527 J. Baas LEI .529 A. Vervoort ROE .590 L. Steenbergen ROT .597 C. van de Linde ALM .599 BABIP J. Baas LEI .214 A. Roelands DOR .218 S. Willemsen ROT .221 L. Steenbergen ROT .225 H. Lamberts SOE .227 VORP S. Willemsen ROT 48.3 A. Vervoort ROE 32.0 L. Steenbergen ROT 29.5 M. van der Woerdt ZOE 27.7 C. Beyen HAA 27.1