Greece national baseball team

Last updated

Greece national baseball team
Greece baseball logo.svg
Information
CountryFlag of Greece.svg Greece
Federation Hellenic Baseball and Softball Federation (HBSF)
Confederation WBSC Europe
Manager Chris Demetral
WBSC ranking
Current 39 Steady2.svg (5 August 2025) [1]
Olympic Games
Appearances1 (first in 2004 )
Best result7th
World Cup
Appearances1 (first in 2011 )
Best result16th
European Championship
Appearances6 (first in 2003 )
Best resultSilver medal europe.svg 2nd (1 time, in 2003 )
The Greek team at the 2021 WBSC Europe Lithuania Qualifier Final Team Photo with Trophy.jpg
The Greek team at the 2021 WBSC Europe Lithuania Qualifier

The Greece national baseball team represents Greece in international baseball play. The team are a member of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) and WBSC Europe. The team is managed by Chris Demetral and it is currently ranked 39th in the world by the WBSC. [1]

Contents

History

The first time that Greece put together a national team that got any recognition in the baseball world was ahead of the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics. Greece, as the host country, was faced with the dilemma that the actual baseball talent pool in the country was very small, and what players were available were amateur. However, as a result of lenient citizenship laws, various minor leaguers from the United States were able to play for the Greeks. Among the better known players were Baltimore Orioles prospect Nick Markakis, former major leaguer Clay Bellinger, and various other players of Greek descent. [2] [3]

Greece made its international debut at the 2003 European Championship qualification, contested in Hungary. The team finished the tournament undefeated and qualified to the 2003 European Championship played in the Netherlands. [2] [4] Surprisingly, Greece finished as runners-up in the tournament, losing the final to the host Netherlands team. [5] Second baseman Chris Demetral and outfielder Cory Harris were included in the tournament's All Star Team, while Peter Maestrales finished the championship as the leader in both stolen bases and runs scored. [6]

At the 2004 Summer Olympics, the Greek national team, led by American college baseball coach Dusty Rhodes [7] finished the tournament in 7th-place, with a single win against Italy.

As runners-up of the 2003 European Championship, Greece qualified for the 2005 Baseball World Cup; however, the Greek government curtailed all funding to the Hellenic Baseball and Softball Federation, and the team did not participate, with the Czech Republic taking their place. [2]

International tournament results

Olympic Games

Summer Olympics record Qualification record
YearRoundPositionWLRSRAWLRSRA
Flag of Greece.svg 2004 Preliminary round7th162449Qualified as hosts
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg 2008 Did not qualifyDid not participate
Flag of Japan.svg 2020
Total1/3162449

European Baseball Championship

YearPosition
Netherlands 2003 Silver medal europe.svg 2nd
Czech Republic 2005 9th
Germany 2010 4th
Netherlands 2012 7th
Czech Republic, Germany 2014 10th
Netherlands 2016 11th
Italy 2021 14th
Czech Republic 2023 13th
Italy, Netherlands 2025
Average Finish8th

Baseball World Cup

YearPosition
Panama 2011 16th
Average Finish16th

Current roster

Greece roster – 2023 European Baseball Championship
PlayersCoaching staff
Pitchers
  • 21 Daniel Gosselin
  • 11 Max Gouoren
  • 38 Jonathan Kountis
  • 27 Dimitrios Kourtis
  • 33 Dimitri Lettas
  •  3 Yanni Orfanidis
  •  7 Pete Sykaras
Catchers

Infielders

  • 24 Peter Dudunakis
  • 10 Achilleas Karaiskos
  • 23 Billy Les
  •  5 Peter Maestrales
  • 13 Tom Roulis
  • 25 Ari Sechopoulos

Outfielders

  • 29 Kasey Caras
  •  9 Paul Neophytou
  •  6 Nick Spiliotis
  • 26 Loukas Soukeras
  •  2 Alejandro Torres


Manager

Coaches

Roster


References

  1. 1 2 "The WBSC World Ranking". WBSC. 5 August 2025. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 "History". Greek Baseball. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  3. "European Championship Men". Hellenic Baseball Softball Federation. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  4. "European Championship Seniors - Pool B". Baseball Europe. Archived from the original on 5 August 2004. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  5. "XXVIII European Seniors Championship - "A" Pool". Baseball Europe. Archived from the original on 5 August 2004. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  6. Wedemeijer, Harry. "European Championships, A-Pool 11 - 19 July 2003, Netherlands". wanadoo.nl. Archived from the original on 19 November 2004. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  7. "University of North Florida - 2008 Baseball Coaching Staff". Archived from the original on 11 February 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2009.