The 1964 European Baseball Championship was held in Milan, Italy. The Netherlands was the undefeated champion for the sixth consecutive tournament. Italy finished in second place for the fourth consecutive time. In the decisive match, 6,000 people watched the host Italy lose to the Netherlands, who bested Italian pitcher , 3âÂÂ1. The Dutch and Italians both scored at least 10 runs in every game they played. Sweden, appearing in its second championship, won its first-ever game, beating winless France. The tournament used a mercy rule for the first time, stopping games after the 7th inning if a team led by at least 14 runs. This was used in three games, all Dutch and Italian wins.
The tournament was played at JF Kennedy Sports Center, which was inaugurated by Milan mayor Pietro Bucalossi for the event. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce helped pay for construction of the stadium, named after the recently assassinated U.S. president.
The Dutch team won most of the tournament awards, including most valuable player for first baseman , best pitcher for , best manager for Archie Allen (who left the team after the tournament), and best catcher . Han Urbanus was the captain of the Dutch team, which also had future championship stars , , and Hudson John, all three of whom were born in the Dutch Antilles.
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