Europeans make their mark in American game

TORONTO (Reuters) - Europe has long been considered a baseball wasteland but Europeans are proving they too can play America's national pastime at the highest level, registering shock upsets at the World Baseball Classic (WBC).

Italy and the Netherlands have proved the surprise packages of the WBC, slugging it out with baseball's best to claim some of the biggest scalps at the 16-nation tournament.

The powerhouse Dominican Republic, loaded with Major League talent and tipped as championship contenders, were left reeling when they were stung 3-2 by the Dutch in their Pool D opener and then eliminated by the minnows four days later, 2-1.

Italy, a team of mostly part-timers and minor leaguers with Major League dreams, sent a shudder through the Great White North by eliminating Canada 6-2 in front of their home fans in Toronto.

Venezuela brought the Italians back to earth on Tuesday with a 10-1 thrashing that ended their WBC Cinderella run but not the belief that they belong among baseball's elite.

"Your dream's always to get to the major leagues but wherever the road takes you, you want to play," said American-born Chris Cooper, who pitched for Grosseto in the Italian Baseball League last season. "The league in Italy is great.

"We showed we can play baseball, they can compete at this kind of level."

While baseball has been played in the Netherlands since 1905 and in Italy since 1919 the game remains a niche sport among the members of the European Union, with a small, devoted following.

ANCESTRAL ROOTS

The Italians and Dutch have ruled the European diamonds and can lay claim to some Major League greats.

Dutch pitcher Bert Blyleven, now a coach with the Netherlands, might one day make it to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown and Mike Piazza, a 12-time National League all-star considered one of the greatest offensive catchers of all time, slamming 427 home runs during his Major League career, has also returned to his ancestral roots as batting coach for Italy.

For most players on the two squads their links to the national team have more to do with family heritage and dual American citizenship than the country's development system.

Most players taking part in the WBC, which runs until March 23, have received their baseball education in the United States.

However, the quality of play in the European leagues has improved so much that countries such as Italy and the Netherlands can no longer be overlooked at international events.

The WBC has offered signs that the baseball world has grown more competitive since the inaugural event in 2006, particularly in the Asian market that Major League Baseball covets.

Playing in the same pool as Olympic champions South Korea and WBC champions Japan, China had little chance of advancing but scored a huge moral victory by upsetting rivals Taiwan 4-1.

Australia also pulled off a surprise in the first round, embarrassing Mexico in front of their home fans 17-7 then battling mighty Cuba into the late rounds before falling 5-4 in a riveting contest.

The upsets have boosted the profile of the game in non-traditional markets.

"Hopefully young kids in the Netherlands and Curacao, Aruba, will see that the Netherlands just beat the Dominicans," said Dutch pitcher Sidney Ponson, who tossed for the New York Yankees last season.

EARNED RESPECT

"It's kind of hard because soccer is the main thing in the Netherlands and hopefully this will help to get more kids.

"There probably is a lot of talent in the Netherlands but they don't know it yet because they like soccer."

A trip to the medal round of the WBC may still be well out of reach for Europe's best but they have earned plenty of respect and the gap is closing.

"It's a miracle," said the Dutch team's manager Rod Delmonico. "Our guys came together as a team and miraculously we won.

"Baseball is a game that on any given day anybody can beat anybody. Not that we thought we could beat them or that we knew we were going to beat them but we prepared to beat them.

"It took a team effort collectively to beat these guys twice. We dreamt about that, we talked about it as a team but it took everybody to make it happen.

"When I got the job they said to me: 'Can they play baseball in Holland?'" Delmonico added.

"When you look at the statistics, 38 percent of all Major League Baseball is foreign. It's not America's sport any more, it's the world's sport.

"This tournament here alone will show to you, this baseball game that supposedly was invented in America, it is now the world's sport."

(Editing by Clare Fallon)