Amsterdam Pirates

SV Amsterdam Pirates, commonly referred to as Amsterdam Pirates, is a Dutch baseball and softball organization based in Amsterdam that plays in the Honkbal Hoofdklasse. It was founded as an expansion of the football club SV Rap on 17 February 1959 by Loek Loevendie. In the first years it was known as the RAP Pirates, but after a few years the club changed its name according to American tradition (first city name, then franchise name) and became the Amsterdam Pirates.

The club celebrated a Dutch Championship in 1987 and 1990. The next few years it was at the lower end of the League, which is dominated by Neptunus from Rotterdam. In earlier years there was another team in Amsterdam, called Amstel Tijgers (Tigers) and football club AFC Ajax also played baseball, and has been champions a number of times. The club is the second largest baseball club of the Netherlands (after Almere).

For sponsorship reasons, the baseball team plays under the name L&D Amsterdam.

History
Amsterdam Pirates was founded in 1959 by Loek Loevendie and Jaap van der Zee as the baseball department of SV Rap. In 1973, the baseball and softball teams decided to separate from SV Rap and continued as an independent association named SV Amsterdam Pirates starting from 1974.

In 1981, the baseball team was promoted to the Honkbal Hoofdklasse, and a few years later the softball team was also promoted to the Softbal Hoofdklasse. In 1987, the Amsterdam Pirates become national champion for the first time. This was followed by a second title in 1990. In 2000, the Pirates moved to their current stadium in Sportpark Ookmeer in the Osdorp neighborhood.

In 2007 it reached the playoffs of the Dutch Honkbal Hoofdklasse for the first time in 15 years. It almost reached the Holland Series, coming back in a best of five series, after being 2–0 down, in the end they lost.

2008 did saw their third championship (and their 2nd holland series championship). They reached the playoffs by being 3rd in the regular season, then beating Neptunus in the first round and defending champions Kinheim in the 2008 Holland Series. The Holland Series was a clean sweep, with the final game ending 12–0.

In 2011 they were champions again, beating Hoofddorp Pioneers. In 2019 Amsterdam Pirates won its fifth championship, beating Neptunus with 4–3 in the Holland Series after a 3-0 backlog.

In 2016, Amsterdam Pirates won the European Champions Cup defeating A.S.D. Rimini in the championship game 5–4 in extra innings.

After the departure of many veteran players, head coach Ronald Jaarsma and main sponsor L&D, Amsterdam Pirates won its sixth championship in 2023, defeating Neptunus 4–3 in the 2023 Holland Series.

Ballpark
The Pirates play at the Loek Loevendie Ballpark located in Osdorp, in the west of Amsterdam. The Pirates moved to this stadium in 2000. The sports complex has a main and a secondary baseball field, two softball fields and an indoor hall and a restaurant.

The ballpark has hosted the 2005 Baseball World Cup, the 2007 European Softball Championship, the 2023 European Champions Cup.

In May 2019, the ballpark, originally named Sportpark Ookmeer, was renamed to Loek Loevendie Ballpark to honor Loek Loevendie, one of the founders of the Pirates.

Retired numbers
The Amsterdam Pirates have retired the following numbers:
 * 5 – Ronald Stoovelaar
 * 14 – Charles Urbanus Jr.
 * 19 – Rikkert Faneyte
 * 35 – Peter van Erk