In the past few years, the classification of the several Dutch baseball leagues was rather confusing. In the upcoming season that problem will be solved.
For decades there was the highest league, the hoofdklasse, followed by the overgangsklasse ( literally translated as transition league), the eerste klasse (first league), tweede klasse (second league), etc. down to the vijfde klasse (fifth league).
But a few years ago, there was a new level all of a sudden, called the Topklasse. The name suggests it was the highest level of baseball in the Netherlands but it only came after the overgangsklasse.
To get rid of that confusion, the KNBSB has announced that in 2021, there will be eight leagues, starting with the hoofdklasse followed by the eerste klasse (first league), tweede klasse (second league) down to the zevende klasse (seventh league).
The attentive readers will have noticed that two names are missing: indeed, the overgangsklasse and topklasse. These leagues will now be named eerste klasse and tweede klasse (first and second league).
This decision creates a lot more clarity.
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