They call baseball America’s pastime, but a growing number of players from other countries are starting to make their mark in the United States, including Major League Baseball and Little League.
America’s passion for baseball began with Abner Doubleday, who is known as the father of baseball, despite some conflicting accounts that have refuted this status. Still, the story continues that Doubleday invented the sport – including coining the term “baseball”, devising the diamond and developing numerous rules – while in Cooperstown, New York, in 1839. In 1945, Jackie Robinson made his debut as a as baseball’s first black major league. player.
Baseball is an American tradition – from the cornfields of Iowa in “Field of Dreams” to late-night ball games in small-town American communities, baseball belongs as much to rural America as it does to the big arenas of big cities. cities.
Now, however, the rural can also include the campaign of international sites.
On Opening Day in 2022, 275 MLB players were born outside of the 50 US states, according to MLB.com. The Dominican Republic led the countries and territories with nearly 100 players. It was followed by Venezuela with 67 players, while Cuba ranked third with 23 players (tied with 2016 and 2017 for most).
Recently, global baseball talent was in the spotlight at the Little League World Series, a baseball competition for young players aged around 10-12.
There have been 28 different countries that have sent local little league programs to compete in the Little League Baseball World Series, along with teams from 42 states. According to LittleLeague.org, countries that have won the Little League Baseball World Series in the past include Curacao, South Korea, Mexico, Venezuela, Japan, Chinese Taipei, and the United States.
This year, Hawaii beat Curacao 13-3.
After the defeat, the head of the Curaçao Baseball Federation spoke to the Daily Yonder.
Jedrek Magdalena said that although the team lost, making it to the finals was confirmation that they were on the right track.
“Just to give you a glimpse of the past…we’ve made great progress,” he told the Daily Yonder in an interview in a field in Willemstad, Curacao. “We’ve been in the final a few times, but over the last three years, with me at the helm, … we’ve revamped some things about how we prepare our kids, the advice we give them. It was a reassuring process to see that everything that we want to implement and that we are implementing is in the right direction.
He said he was satisfied with the result, but it also motivates him to make improvements to the program.
One statistic that shows Curacao’s dominance is that it has the most MLB players per capita of any country.
Magdalena said he thought there was a reason the Curacao players were going deep in the game.
“I think it’s just a combination of everything because we don’t just outperform in baseball, we outperform in every sport that we play.” he said. “And just I think the weather, the body type of people we have here – we have the combination of being Caribbean, African and European.”
Magdalena said it was amazing to see how much the programs are accomplishing without the same financial support seen in other countries and territories.
“Take me for example, I got an athletic scholarship,” he said. “When I was younger I went to the United States and all the facilities I had at my school were just amazing. And then if we can have maybe 50% of what the best facilities or the best countries have…I don’t think anyone can beat us.
For Hawaii, the dominance was evident in the Little League World Series. It was their fourth win in 17 years for the state. Former President Barack Obama congratulated the team on Twitter.
A parade is held for the Hawaii team on September 8 to celebrate the victory.
“It’s just amazing what they’ve accomplished. They have sacrificed a lot. They have worked very hard this summer. I just couldn’t be happier and more proud of them,” coach Gerald Oda said as quoted by HawaiiNewsNow.
“No matter the scores, every game was very tough, I mean it was tough, but I’m just proud of the way these youngsters are performing.”
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They call baseball America’s pastime, but a growing number of players from other countries are beginning to make their mark in the United States, including Major League Baseball and Little League.
America’s passion for baseball began with Abner Doubleday, who is known as the father of baseball, despite some conflicting accounts that have disproved this status. However, the story tells that Doubleday invented the sport – including coining the term “baseball”, devising the diamond and developing numerous rules – while living in Cooperstown, New York, in 1839. In 1945, Jackie Robinson made his debut as a first major league black baseball player.
Baseball is an American tradition – from the cornfields of Iowa in “Field of Dreams” to late-night ball games in small-town American communities, baseball belongs as much to rural America as it does to the big arenas of big cities. cities.
Now, however, the rural setting can also include the campaign of international sites.
On Opening Day in 2022, 275 MLB players were born outside of the 50 US states, according to MLB.com. The Dominican Republic led the countries and territories with nearly 100 players. It was followed by Venezuela with 67 players, while Cuba ranked third with 23 players (tied with 2016 and 2017 for its record).
Recently, global baseball talent was in the spotlight at the Little League World Series, a baseball competition for young players aged around 10-12.
There were 28 different countries that sent local Little League programs to compete in the Little League Baseball World Series, as well as teams from 42 states. Countries that have won the Little League Baseball World Series in the past include Curacao, South Korea, Mexico, Venezuela, Japan, Chinese Taipei and the United States, according to LittleLeague.org.
This year, Hawaii beat Curacao 13-3.
After the defeat, the head of the Curaçao Baseball Federation spoke to the Daily Yonder.
Jedrek Magdalena said that although the team lost, making it to the finals was confirmation that they were on the right track.
“Just to give you a glimpse of the past…we’ve made great progress,” he told the Daily Yonder in an interview in a field in Willemstad, Curacao. “We’ve been in the final a few times, but over the last three years, with me at the helm, … we’ve revamped some things about how we prepare our kids, the advice we give them. It was a reassuring process to see that everything we want to implement and are implementing is in the right way. »
He said he was satisfied with the result, but it also motivates him to make improvements to the program.
One statistic that shows Curacao’s dominance is that it has the most MLB players per capita of any country.
Magdalena said he believed there was a reason Curacao players were faring well in the game.
“I think it’s just a combination of everything because we don’t just outperform in baseball, we outperform in every sport that we play.” he said. “And just I think the weather, the body type of people we have here – we have the combination of being Caribbean, African and European.”
Magdalena said it’s amazing how successful the programs are without the same financial support as in other countries and territories.
“Take me for example, I got an athletic scholarship,” he said. “When I was younger I went to the United States and all the facilities I had at my school were just amazing. And then if we can have maybe 50% of what the best facilities or the best countries have…I don’t think anyone can beat us. »
For Hawaii, the dominance was evident during the Little League World Series. It was their fourth win in 17 years for the state. Former President Barack Obama congratulated the team on Twitter.
A parade is planned for the Hawaii team on September 8 to celebrate the victory.
“It’s just amazing what they’ve accomplished. They have sacrificed a lot. They have worked very hard this summer. I just couldn’t be happier and more proud of them,” coach Gerald Oda said as quoted by HawaiiNewsNow.
“No matter the scores, every game was very tough, I mean it was tough, but I’m just proud of the way these kids are doing. »
Ce l’article first appeared on The Daily Yonder and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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