Pioniers is a

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

and

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

team based in

Hoofddorp Hoofddorp (; ) is the main town of the Haarlemmermeer municipality in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands. In 2021, the population was 77,885. The town was founded in 1853, immediately after the Haarlemmermeer had been drained. Hist ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. The club is currently sponsored by Raamsdonkveer-based construction company ''Vaessen BV'' and the team is officially known as the Vaessen Pioniers. Pioniers baseball team plays in the

Honkbal Hoofdklasse The Honkbal Hoofdklasse ( Dutch for ''Major League Baseball'') is the highest level of professional baseball in the Netherlands. It is an eight-team league that plays a 42-game schedule and is overseen by the Royal Netherlands Baseball and Softba ...

, the top level of professional baseball in the Netherlands. The club's most successful year was 1997 they reached the

Holland Series The Holland Series has been the annual championship series of the highest level of professional baseball in the Netherlands since 1987, concluding the postseason of Honkbal Hoofdklasse. It is played between the two winners of the playoffs. The Ho ...

for the first time in the club's history by beating reigning champions

DOOR Neptunus Neptunus is a baseball and softball club in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Following its 2014 championship season, the club signed a sponsorship contract for the 2015, 2016 and 2017 seasons with Curaçao and competes under the name Curaçao Neptun ...

in the play-offs. In the Holland Series they claimed a 3-2 victory over Mr. Cocker HCAW, making them Dutch champions. In 2006 Pioniers finished third in the Honkbal Hoofdklasse and were just like in 1997 able to upset Neptunus in the play-offs, gaining themselves entrance to the 2006 Holland Series.2006 Holland Series
, at honkbalsite.com In those series they twice took the lead, to eventually lose to Corendon Kinheim 3-2. The team is attempting to attract three

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

regular season games for the opening of its new stadium in 2014. The stadium will be capable of expanding to temporarily accommodate 30,000.

2015 roster

Source: KNBSBStats.nl

References

External links

Official website
Baseball teams in the Netherlands Softball teams in the Netherlands Sports clubs in North Holland Sport in Haarlemmermeer {{Netherlands-sport-stub