And now, finally, some uplifting baseball news :
This week, the Kingdom of the Netherlands defeated the Republic of Baseball. Not once, but twice. Tuesday night, in extra innings and three days after their first improbable victory, the Dutch bounced the Dominicans out of the World Baseball Classic, 2-1.
Even without injured Alex Rodriguez, of recent steroid fame, the Dominican Republic fielded Pedro Martinez, David Ortiz and 21 other major leaguers, among them four All-Stars. The Dominican team’s combined MLB payroll is $83.4 million. The Dutch have a single pro in the show who earns $400,000. Their players are like backup catcher Stefan de Jong, who works in business and moonlights in the Dutch league. In the bottom of the 11th, De Jong pinch hit against Cubs All-Star Carlos Marmol, blasted a breakthrough double and scored the tying run.
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