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Greece national baseball team
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Greece national baseball team represents Greece in international baseball play. The team are a member of the World Baseball Softball Confederation and WBSC Europe. The team is managed by Chris Demetral and it is currently ranked 37th in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation, behind Guam and ahead of the Pakistan.[1]
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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 Baseball Championship qualification, contested in Hungary. The team finished the tournament undefeated and qualified to the 2003 European Baseball Championship played in the Netherlands.[2][4] Surprisingly, Greece finished as runners-up in the European Championship, losing the final to the host nation, the Netherlands.[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 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 to 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]
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International tournament results
Olympic Games
European Baseball Championship
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Current roster
References
External links
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