The game schedule for the 30th Baseball Week Haarlem has been announced. After Team USA and Cuba announced in late February that they were coming to Haarlem, tournament director Léon Ravestein could get to work. The tournament starts Friday, July 8, at 3:30 p.m. with the game between Curaçao and Japan. At 7:30 p.m., the meeting between European rivals Team Kingdom of the Netherlands (Netherlands) and Italy is scheduled.
Compared to previous editions, the 30th edition of Baseball Week Haarlem has several important changes. For example, games during the tournament last seven innings instead of nine, Baseball Week lasts eight days instead of 10, and on four tournament days three games are played in one day. On Friday, July 15, the finals start at 7 p.m.
According to tournament director Léon Ravestein, the organizing committee meets the wishes of the participating teams and the KNBSB with these changes. Ravestein: “The KNBSB will not schedule league games in the first tournament weekend. This stems from the close cooperation between the KNBSB and the organizing committee of the Haarlem Baseball Week. Furthermore, we see that a game length of seven innings is becoming more common internationally. The public wants more speed and variety. Moreover, the participating teams are not ten, but eight days away from home. That also helped a number of teams over the threshold.”