the Cuban team 6-2 before facing two-time defending champion Japan and earned a humiliating loss 16-4 at the end of 7th inning due to mercy rule and faced off against Cuba once again. They narrowly clinched their win against the Cuban team 7-6 to secure their position in the semi-finals where they lost against the Japanese team again 10-6. They faced off against the Dominican Republic where they lost 4-1. The Netherlands finished 4th overall. 2017 Team Netherlands, ranked 9th in the world, included major league stars, many of whom were raised in islands in the Caribbean that are part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The players included All Star shortstop Xander Bogaerts (Boston Red Sox; from Aruba), 20-home-run-hitter shortstop Didi Gregorius (New York Yankees; raised in Curaçao, which is part of the former Netherlands Antilles which have since been dissolved), 20-home-run-hitter second baseman Jonathan Schoop (Baltimore Orioles; born in Curaçao), Gold-Glover shortstop Andrelton Simmons (Los Angeles Angels; born in Curaçao), and infielder/outfielder Jurickson Profar (Texas Rangers; born in Curaçao). Sports Illustrated opined that the Dutch team "boasts arguably the most talented infield in the entire tournament." The Netherlands was defeated by Team Israel (4-2). It then beat South Korea (5-0) and Taiwan (6-5), in the first round of the 2017 World Baseball Classic. Along with Israel, which came in ahead of it in the pool, it qualified for the next round, in Japan. In what NBC reported was thought to be the tallest batter-pitcher matchup in baseball history, the Dutch team’s pitcher Loek van Mil walked Israel's first baseman Nate Freiman. In the second round an extra innings loss against Japan was followed by two mercy rule wins against Israel and Cuba. Together with Japan which had finished top of the pool the Netherlands advanced to the championship round. 2016 All Star and NL Reliever of the Year Kenley Jansen joined the Dutch team for the championship round. The Netherlands semifinal match against Puerto Rico ended with an 11th inning walk-off sac fly by Eddie Rosario. The final score was 3-4. Dutch outfielder Wladimir Balentien was chosen in the All-WBC team. Olympics The Dutch best finish in an Olympics is fifth place, which they did in both 1996 & 2000. The first time the Netherlands participated in the baseball tournament at the Summer Olympics was in . Netherlands finished with a 1-2 record, with its only victory coming