The Royal Dutch Baseball and Softball Federation (KNBSB, Koninklijke Nederlandse Baseball en Softball Bond) has rendered a decision that neither the baseball Hoofdsklasse (Major League) nor the women's softball Golden League will have a 2020 champion.
The baseball Hoofdklasse had already played two games of the Holland Series when the Dutch Government shut down the season last week amid a second wave of COVID-19 infections. Defending champions Amsterdam Pirates won the first two games of the Dutch championship series with Neptunus Rotterdam.
A press release by KNBSB stated: "There was a lead, but Amsterdam proved themselves last year to be a team that could come back [to win the series after being down early]."
The Pirates were down three games to none in the 2019 Holland Series against then defending champs Neptunus Rotterdam, before Amsterdam won four straight to capture the national title.
The Dutch softball Golden League was stopped before a championship game could be played. Two teams, ROEF! Moegerstel and Sparks Haarlem, finished the regular season with the same record (17 wins and 5 losses) and a 'winner-take-all' game was planned to determine the champions. The impossibility to schedule one more game forced KNBSB's decision not to name a 2020 national champion in softball.
Cover picture by Jane Verhoeven
