Raw herring and homers: Honkbalweek has both

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A man walked by wearing a Yankees cap and a Red Sox jersey. This is the kind of fashion faux pas that could start fights in New York or Boston. But I wasn’t in America: I was at Haarlem Honkbalweek in the Netherlands, the oldest baseball festival in Europe. (Beyond being a delightful word to say, honkbal is the Dutch word for baseball).

But here, in the original Haarlem, this cross-rivalry outfit wasn’t about the Red Sox or the Yankees. Instead, it meant only one thing: “I love baseball.”

While the Netherlands has long been Europe’s baseball powerhouse, winning 25 European Baseball Championships, and its national team – drawing players from across the Kingdom including islands like Curaçao, Aruba and the Dutch Antilles – has reached the semifinals in two World Baseball Classic tournaments, the game is still a minor one in Holland. It trails soccer and field hockey – it may even be behind fierljeppen, or canal vaulting, in the public consciousness.

Though the numbers may be small, for the people who love baseball and devote themselves to the game – whether it be as a player, coach, or volunteer in the Honkbal Hoofdklasse, the top league in Holland – Honkbalweek is the place to be.

“It’s like a big family,” Marleen Zwartkruis, a volunteer at Honkbalweek since 2018, said. “We love the sport, we love the game, we love each other. People know each other from the stands. They see each other once every two years, and they hug each other. It’s like a big family thing and I think that's unique. I never saw it in other places.”

“The atmosphere [is so special],” Seb Visser, the marketing manager for the Royal Dutch Baseball and Softball Federation and the press officer for Team Kingdom of the Netherlands, added. “It’s people coming together as a community, full stands, people having fun, bringing their kids and their families here, and just loving the game of baseball. They root for Team Kingdom of the Netherlands, of course, but they'll root for the other teams, as well.”

Held every other year since 1961 – Rotterdam takes up hosting duties in Haarlem’s off years – the tournament has been a home for global baseball since the very start when a team from the U.K. took the first prize. Since then, it’s seen Cuban teams dominate – it was one of the few places scouts could go to see Cuban players, making it a must-visit for curious Major League squads. Japan won it all in 2024 and U.S. Major Leaguers like Paul Skenes, Trea Turner, Dansby Swanson, and Alex Bregman have all lined up here.

And, of course, there is the Kingdom of the Netherlands fielding its own national team.

“It's a great way for these young kids to get out of the Hoofdklasse and play against international teams,” Visser said. “It’s a really good way to develop talent and see what we have for bigger tournaments like the European Championship, Premier12, or even World Baseball Classic.”

Just like that confused Red Sox/Yankees fan, the people who come out for Honkbalweek are true devotees to the game – from the local volunteers who organize the event to those who take vacation to catch a week of incredible baseball on the continent. It’s why former national team players and coaches can be found in the stands alongside groups like those from the Redditch & Bromsgrove Claykickers – an amateur side in the West Midlands Baseball League in England.

“It's one big party, and the common denominator for everyone at the stadium is that everyone loves baseball,” Jasper Roos, chief media officer for Honkbalweek, said. “Doesn't matter who you play for, do you have Czechia on your chest? Do you have Chinese Taipei on your chest? You have Kingdom on your chest? Everyone will cheer you on equally. Baseball is baseball, and a beautiful play by any player from any team will be rewarded with a roar and loud applause from the fans here.”

That’s not the only unique aspect of the fan culture. Just as Red Sox fans sing “Sweet Caroline,” the Honkbalweek fans sing “De Vlieger,” a crushing number by André Hazes about a child sending a note to his mother in heaven with his kite. It's not nearly as uplifting as Neil Diamond’s “Bah bah bah.”

There’s also one tradition that you won’t find anywhere but Honkbalweek. It’s not used in the Hoofdklasse nor does it make the trip down the road for Rotterdam’s Baseball Week. Whenever a pitching change is made, you’ll find fans rising from their seats and squatting, up and down, arms extended like a zombie hungry for brains.

There’s no name for it beyond calling it “the up and down thing.” Most fans and volunteers had no idea of its origins, simply accepting it as a piece of local baseball culture.

Fortunately, there was Erik Boland, a lifelong baseball fan wearing a Cuban baseball jersey and a cap absolutely overloaded with pins from a lifetime of attending ballgames. Some 40-something years ago, he was in the stands next to the now deceased Marianne van der Klaauw, a former board member of the Royal Dutch Baseball and Softball Federation. It was during one of those summers, with a stomach full of ballpark food, that she decided to do something.

“We were sitting here the whole week. We didn’t miss anything,” Boland said. “So, then [Marianne] said, ‘Hey, let’s move a little a bit.” So, when there was a pitching change, we did this [squat] and then she started with her hands. We started with four or five people, and now …”

“If you do it anywhere else in the Netherlands, at any other baseball game, people will laugh at you or think you're crazy,” Roos said with a laugh. “Here, you better join in. If you don't join in, you're the crazy one.”

The food has its own unique touches as well. Forget hot dogs: At Honkbalweek, you can get specialties like kibbeling – fried chunks of cod with tartar sauce – or the iconic Dutch herring. This dish involves raw herring that's cut, topped with onions and pickles and then, as tradition dictates, lifted above your mouth by the tail before being devoured. I’ve never felt more like an alligator rising from the depths as I did on this day. (As for the taste: I know this sounds bizarre, but it reminded me of eating cheese!)

Of course, the best way to finish each night was to sample the hot, fresh stroopwafel being cooked on the concourse.

While the week is filled with food, friends, and festivities, the on-field action is still Honkbalweek’s calling card. This was the first time that Czechia’s national baseball team was invited to the event – a sign recognizing that the current European bronze medal holders now belong among Europe’s elite teams.

It’s why it was such a big deal for Delano Selassa – who made his World Baseball Classic debut earlier this spring – to be on the roster.

“Honkbalweek is special because it's home,” Selassa said.

It’s why Shairon Martis, the Dutch pitching legend who tossed the first WBC no-hitter and set the record for most innings thrown in tournament history, was out here once again, playing and helping show the upcoming prospects how it’s done.

(One week later, Martis was called out of the bullpen to close out the Prague Baseball Week final against Chinese Taipei -- proving just how important these European tourneys are.)

“It’s the atmosphere,” Martis said. “I mean, the fans – from the first inning to the last inning, they're all together singing. The crowd, and playing with my teammates, playing for the Kingdom – it's all special.”

"It sounds crazy, but it's the people," Roos says about Honkbalweek's greatest legacy. "It's seeing the same people that you've been seeing for 30 years, sitting in the same seats, enjoying the game, having a good time."