The baseball world is in shock. The Netherlands baseball team beat the highly esteemed Dominican Republic team twice in four days to advance to the second round of the World Baseball Classic.
The Dominican Republic is often referred to as the "The Republic of Baseball." Not Tuesday night. Not this year. The Dominican team, which was a pre-tournament favorite to win it all, went home in shame.
The 2-1 extra inning victory and elimination of the Dominicians is being hailed as the biggest upset in baseball history! Consider the following:
- 23 members of the Dominician team are on a major league roster, compared to only two from the Dutch team
- The major league salaries of the Dominican team total $84 million compared to $400,000 for the Dutch team
"I don't have big names, but I've got some long names," Netherlands coach Rod Delmonico joked. Names like Van Klooster, Duursma, and Stuifbergen. Good grief, I can't even pronounce them.
“It’s a miracle,” Delmonico exclaimed. “That’s all I can tell you. Our guys came together as a team, and miraculously we won. It’s not because we’re better than they are. They’re one of the best teams in the world. Collectively we just played hard, and it happened. I can’t tell you. Other than it’s a miracle.”
"I've been in this game for so many years and in so many leagues, and just when you think you've seen it all, you're proven wrong," said Dominican Republic manager Felipe Alou. "We've seen something happen we never could have imagined."
Something that could never be imagined happened Tuesday night. A miracle was witnessed by an entire stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The ecstatic Dutch players, who are known as honkballers in their home country, piled onto the field to celebrate the stunning win. For one brief moment in time, the team from the Netherlands was world champs!
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