It was full house last Tuesday, Feb. 4, at the Haarlem 2020 Baseball Week partner meeting at Villa-Westend. While enjoying a delicious snack and drink, the (future) partners received an update from the organizing committee on the current state of affairs as well as plans for the anniversary edition to be held from Friday, June 26 to Sunday, July 5, 2020.
Cuba comes to Haarlem
The organization announced that Cuba has been added to the field of participants for the anniversary edition. In addition to Cuba, defending champion Japan, Germany, Taiwan and the Netherlands make up the tournament’s strong lineup. Negotiations are still underway with several U.S. college teams to complete the field of participants in the 30th edition with six teams.
Baseball Hall of Famers to Speak
There were a lot of familiar faces who have made past commitments as loyal sponsors and partners of Baseball Week, and we also welcomed many new faces and hopefully future partners and sponsors. The evening was graced by interviews in their own unique way by Frank Snoeks (known from NOS) and Simon Zwartkruis (Voetbal International, author of biography of Seedorf and Memphis Depay). The two renowned journalists had three special guests at the table: baseball stars Robert Eenhoorn (general manager of AZ, former player of the Yankees and former manager and TD of Team NL), Jan Hijzelendoorn (former international, and now consultant for companies and organizations) and Robin van Doornspeek (former international, now pitching coach of Team NL). They told of their impressive careers and the role of Baseball Week in their baseball lives. Said Unicorn, “When you’re a little boy sitting in the stands during Baseball Week, you only want one thing: to be on that field someday, too.
Camping Baseball Week
A new initiative was also unveiled during the presentation. During Baseball Week, there should be camping on the Ice Rink grounds. That way, baseball fans from far away can stay present throughout the week. There should be room for forty tents and five campers. The permit for this is pending.
Would you also like to become a sponsor/partner of the Haarlem Baseball Week with your company or organization? Then contact Paul Louman at paul@honkbalweek.nl or call 0621 111935 to discuss all possibilities.