two of the two usual winners, but these countries have medalled regularly as well. Other countries that are among the top players in Europe are Russia, France and the Czech Republic. Most of the club titles have also been won by Dutch or Italian teams. Italy Italian Baseball League competition did not start until after World War II, as Bologna won the first title in 1948. The Italian team has won 8 European titles, among which the very first title, and the team has fought out many finals with archrival the Netherlands. Because of the large number of Americans of Italian descent, there are always a few players in the national team with double nationality, the most notable of which is catcher Mike Piazza. The Italian national team have competed at all three Olympics, finished 6th twice. Best World Championships showing was a fourth place, in 1998. Netherlands One of the two major European baseball nations, the Netherlands saw baseball for the first time shortly after 1900. A baseball federation (the KNBSB) was founded in 1912, and the Holland Series was established in 1922, the first winner being A.H.C. Quick from Amsterdam. Today, an eight team professional league, the Honkbal Hoofdklasse (Major League Baseball) sends its teams to the Holland Series. The Netherlands have won 15 European Championship titles, one world title, and participated in the Olympics twice, finishing fifth in Summer Olympics after upsetting the Cuban team. Some of the players in the Dutch team are actually from the Netherlands Antilles. Four Dutch players have played in the Major Leagues. Andruw Jones, Jurickson Profar and Jonathan Schoop are from the Netherlands Antilles. The World Port Tournament and the Haarlemse Honkbalweek are biannual international tournaments for national and club teams, organised in the cities of Rotterdam and Haarlem, respectively. Spain Baseball began relatively early in Spain thanks to the descendants of returnee immigrants from Cuba. They brought the sport along with them when Cuba ceased to be a Spanish Colony. The heyday of baseball in Spain was in the 1950s and early 1960s when public interest was high and many teams were created, like Pops CB, a team that included junior teams. But because of the growing mass-interest in football, most baseball clubs didn't survive into the 1970s. The Spanish public's massive shift in focus was triggered fundamentally by the introduction of multiple TV channels that focused mainly on the