The 2003 European Baseball Championship was the 38th edition of the European Baseball Championship. The tournament was held in Haarlem, Rotterdam, and Amsterdam, the Netherlands from 11 to 19 July 2003 and included 12 national teams of the Confederation of European Baseball.

Netherlands won its 18th championship, defeating Greece in the final, 2–0. Greece, competing in its first European championship, fielded a team with several Minor League Baseball players, including future major leaguers Nick Markakis and George Kottaras and former major leaguers Erik Pappas, Kevin Pickford, and Sean Spencer.

Spain won the bronze medal, defeating Sweden in the bronze medal game. The tournament served as the qualification for the 2005 Baseball World Cup, with the top four teams qualifying for the championship.

Venues

HaarlemRotterdam
Pim Mulier Stadium[nl]Neptunus Familiestadion
Capacity: 4,500Capacity: 2,200
RotterdamHaarlemAmsterdam
Amsterdam
Sportpark Ookmeer[nl]
Capacity: 2,000

Qualification

The following 12 teams qualified for the 2003 European Baseball Championship.

Pool APool B
Belgium9th, 2001 European Baseball ChampionshipGermany7th, 2001 European Baseball Championship
Croatia8th, 2001 European Baseball ChampionshipGreat Britain10th, 2001 European Baseball Championship
Czech Republic5th, 2001 European Baseball ChampionshipGreeceWinner of Nagykovácsi Pool
France4th, 2001 European Baseball ChampionshipItaly2001 European Baseball Championship
Netherlands2001 European Baseball ChampionshipRussia2001 European Baseball Championship
SwedenWinner of Alby PoolSpain6th, 2001 European Baseball Championship

Opening round

Group A

PosTeamPldWLRFRARDPCTGBQualification
1Netherlands (H)550293+261.000—Advance to Knockout stage
2Czech Republic5321013−3.6002
3Sweden5232120+1.4003
4France5231714+3.4003
5Croatia52316160.4003Advance to 9th–12th place round
6Belgium514532−27.2004
11 July 2003 13:00 (UTC+2)Croatia0 – 4FranceSportpark Ookmeer, Amsterdam
11 July 2003 19:00 (UTC+2)Belgium0 – 7NetherlandsPim Mulier Stadium, Haarlem
11 July 2003 19:00 (UTC+2)Czech Republic1 – 0SwedenNeptunus Familiestadion, Rotterdam
12 July 2003 13:00 (UTC+2)Netherlands6 – 0Czech RepublicPim Mulier Stadium, Haarlem
12 July 2003 13:00 (UTC+2)Sweden4 – 6CroatiaSportpark Ookmeer, Amsterdam
12 July 2003 13:00 (UTC+2)France9 – 1BelgiumNeptunus Familiestadion, Rotterdam
13 July 2003 13:00 (UTC+2)France1 – 7SwedenPim Mulier Stadium, Haarlem
13 July 2003 13:00 (UTC+2)Czech Republic1 – 2BelgiumSportpark Ookmeer, Amsterdam
13 July 2003 13:00 (UTC+2)Netherlands5 – 3CroatiaNeptunus Familiestadion, Rotterdam
14 July 2003 19:00 (UTC+2)Czech Republic3 – 2CroatiaPim Mulier Stadium, Haarlem
14 July 2003 19:00 (UTC+2)Netherlands1 – 0FranceSportpark Ookmeer, Amsterdam
14 July 2003 19:00 (UTC+2)Belgium2 – 10SwedenNeptunus Familiestadion, Rotterdam
15 July 2003 19:00 (UTC+2)Sweden0 – 10 (F/7)NetherlandsPim Mulier Stadium, Haarlem
15 July 2003 19:00 (UTC+2)France3 – 5Czech RepublicSportpark Ookmeer, Amsterdam
15 July 2003 19:00 (UTC+2)Croatia5 – 0BelgiumNeptunus Familiestadion, Rotterdam

Group B

PosTeamPldWLRFRARDPCTGBQualification
1Greece541347+27.800—Advance to Knockout stage
2Italy5412910+19.800—
3Spain5412113+8.800—
4Russia5231929−10.4002
5Great Britain5141433−19.2003Advance to 9th–12th place round
6Germany5051338−25.0004
11 July 2003 13:00 (UTC+2)Great Britain1 – 4RussiaPim Mulier Stadium, Haarlem
11 July 2003 13:00 (UTC+2)Spain1 – 0GreeceNeptunus Familiestadion, Rotterdam
11 July 2003 19:00 (UTC+2)Germany2 – 10ItalySportpark Ookmeer, Amsterdam
12 July 2003 19:00 (UTC+2)Russia4 – 5 (F/10)SpainPim Mulier Stadium, Haarlem
12 July 2003 19:00 (UTC+2)Greece11 – 0 (F/7)GermanySportpark Ookmeer, Amsterdam
12 July 2003 19:00 (UTC+2)Italy7 – 5Great BritainNeptunus Familiestadion, Rotterdam
13 July 2003 19:00 (UTC+2)Italy1 – 2GreecePim Mulier Stadium, Haarlem
13 July 2003 19:00 (UTC+2)Russia7 – 6GermanySportpark Ookmeer, Amsterdam
13 July 2003 19:00 (UTC+2)Spain9 – 2Great BritainNeptunus Familiestadion, Rotterdam
14 July 2003 13:00 (UTC+2)Great Britain1 – 10GreecePim Mulier Stadium, Haarlem
14 July 2003 13:00 (UTC+2)Russia0 – 6ItalySportpark Ookmeer, Amsterdam
14 July 2003 13:00 (UTC+2)Spain5 – 2GermanyNeptunus Familiestadion, Rotterdam
15 July 2003 13:00 (UTC+2)Italy5 – 1SpainPim Mulier Stadium, Haarlem
15 July 2003 13:00 (UTC+2)Germany3 – 5Great BritainSportpark Ookmeer, Amsterdam
15 July 2003 13:00 (UTC+2)Greece11 – 4RussiaNeptunus Familiestadion, Rotterdam

9th–12th place round

PosTeamPldWLRFRARDPCTGB
1Great Britain330165+111.000—
2Croatia3211213−1.6671
3Belgium31286+2.3332
4Germany303618−12.0003
17 July 2003 13:00 (UTC+2)Croatia5 – 3GermanySportpark Ookmeer, Amsterdam
17 July 2003 13:00 (UTC+2)Great Britain1 – 0BelgiumNeptunus Familiestadion, Rotterdam
18 July 2003 13:00 (UTC+2)Germany0 – 8BelgiumPim Mulier Stadium, Haarlem
18 July 2003 13:00 (UTC+2)Croatia2 – 10Great BritainSportpark Ookmeer, Amsterdam

Knockout stage

Bracket

Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
Netherlands8
Russia0
Netherlands21
Sweden0
Italy2
Sweden4
Netherlands2
Greece0
Greece11
France1
Greece10
Spain0Third place
Czech Republic5
Spain9
Sweden2
Spain5
5th–8th placeFifth place
Russia3
Italy9
Italy2
Czech Republic1
France0
Czech Republic2
Seventh place
Russia0
France5

Final standings

PosTeamWL
Netherlands80
Greece62
Spain62
4Sweden35
5Italy62
6Czech Republic44
7France35
8Russia26
9Great Britain44
10Croatia44
11Belgium26
12Germany08

Awards

Tournament Awards
AwardPlayer
Tournament Awards Award Player MVP Spain Xavier Civit Leading hitter Netherlands Sharnol Adriana Best pitcher (ERA) Netherlands Patrick Beljaards Best pitcher (W–L%) Croatia Tetsuhiro Monna Most runs batted in Netherlands Bryan Engelhardt Most home runs Netherlands Vince Rooi Most stolen bases Greece Peter Maestrales Most runs scored Greece Peter Maestrales Outstanding defensive player Netherlands Vince RooiAll-Star Team Position Player Pitchers Netherlands Eelco Jansen Netherlands Patrick Beljaards Catcher Netherlands Chairon Isenia First baseman Spain Xavier Civit Second baseman Greece Chris Demetral Third baseman Netherlands Vince Rooi Shortstop Netherlands Raily Legito Outfielders Netherlands Bryan Engelhardt Italy Giovanni Pantaleoni Greece Cory Harris
MVPSpain Xavier Civit
Leading hitterNetherlands Sharnol Adriana
Best pitcher (ERA)Netherlands Patrick Beljaards
Best pitcher (W–L%)Croatia Tetsuhiro Monna
Most runs batted inNetherlands Bryan Engelhardt
Most home runsNetherlands Vince Rooi
Most stolen basesGreece Peter Maestrales
Most runs scoredGreece Peter Maestrales
Outstanding defensive playerNetherlands Vince Rooi
PositionPlayer
PitchersNetherlands Eelco Jansen
Netherlands Patrick Beljaards
CatcherNetherlands Chairon Isenia
First basemanSpain Xavier Civit
Second basemanGreece Chris Demetral
Third basemanNetherlands Vince Rooi
ShortstopNetherlands Raily Legito
OutfieldersNetherlands Bryan Engelhardt
Italy Giovanni Pantaleoni
Greece Cory Harris