1962 European Baseball Championship

1962 European Baseball Championship

The Netherlands team celebrating a home run during the championship
Tournament details
Country	Netherlands
City	Amsterdam
Dates	21–29 July
Teams	7
Defending champions	Netherlands
Final positions
Champions	Netherlands (5th title)
Runners-up	Italy
Third place	Spain
Fourth place	Belgium
Tournament statistics
Games played	15
Best BA	Licesio Fernández (.636)
Awards
MVP	Leo Kops
←  1960 1964  →

The 1962 European Baseball Championship was held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands at the end of July. The Netherlands, for the fifth consecutive tournament, was the undefeated champion. Italy finished second for the third consecutive tournament. The tournament had seven teams, the most in the tournament's history and not surpassed until 1971. ^{[1] [2]}

Ron Fraser, future U.S. college baseball and Dutch baseball hall of famer, managed the Netherlands and was named the best manager of the tournament. ^{[3] [4]}

The Netherlands had to come from behind to defeat Italy, 9–4, with Rob Hoffmann  [ nl ], later named the best pitcher of the tournament, replacing starter Herman Beidschat  [ nl ], who suffered from the flu leading up to the game. ^[5]

France suffered the first forfeit in tournament history, when a French player left the game following a disagreement with the team's captain, leaving the team with only 8 players. France had been trailing West Germany 30–0, with the forfeit lowering the margin of defeat to 9–0. Sweden made its debut in the tournament, losing all four games. ^[2]

The Dutch baseball federation said the tournament cost 500,000 guilder but was profitable enough to fund two future tournaments. ^[6]

Format

Seven teams competed in two groups, which both competed in a round-robin tournament. The top two teams in each group advanced to the final round while the remaining three teams faced off in a classification group. These two groups again competed in a round-robin tournament to determine the final standings. ^[7]

Standings

Pos.	Team	Record	RS	RA
1	Netherlands	5–0	65	11
2	Italy	3–1	58	11
3	Spain	3–2	51	36
4	Belgium	1–3	25	52
5	West Germany	2–2	49	34
6	France	1–3	35	71
7	Sweden	0–4	27	69

Sources ^{[2] [7] [1]}

Awards

Leo Kopps was the most valuable player of the tournament

• Most valuable player: Leo Kops
• Best pitcher: Rob Hoffmann  [ nl ]
• Best batting average: Licesio Fernández, .636 ^[8]
• Best catcher: Gigi Camaroni  [ it ]
• Best manager: Ron Fraser ^{[4] [9]}
• Best umpire: Umberto Scirman ^[10]

References

1. "Archief Europees kampioenschap". Honkbalsite archief (in Dutch). Retrieved 2026-02-05.
2. Chetwynd, Josh (2008). Baseball in Europe : a country by country history . McFarland. p. 239. ISBN   978-0-7864-3724-5.
3. Wulf, Steve (July 22, 1992). "A Last Hurrah: Ron Fraser's final coaching mission is to take Team USA to the gold medal". Sports Illustrated . Archived from the original on 2021-11-30. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
4. "Prijzen voor de beste spelers". Honkbal-nieuws (in Dutch). 29 (20). Koninklijke Nederlandse Honkbal Bond: 4. 1962-07-30.
5. "Nederland voor vijfde maal Europees kampioen". Leidse Courant (in Dutch). 1962-07-30. p. 7. Retrieved 2026-02-05.
6. "Feiten en cijfers" [Facts and figures]. Honkbal-nieuws (in Dutch). 29 (20). Koninklijke Nederlandse Honkbal Bond: 6. 1962-07-30.
7. "Baseball - European Championships 1962 - Standings / Rankings". the-sports.org. Retrieved 2026-02-05.
8. "Fernández Licesio". Béisbol y Sófbol español (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-02-05.
9. "Prijzenregen" (in Dutch). Leidsch Dagblad. 1962-07-30. p. 5. Retrieved 2026-02-05.
10. "Scirman Umberto". Museo del baseball (in Italian). Retrieved 2026-02-05.