Major League Baseball had the audacity to call its championship a “world” series more than 100 years ago, long before the sport truly could be called an international pastime. Just how and when it took root and exists in so many diverse cultures is the focus of “Baseball Beyond Our Borders.” This collection of essays sheds light on how varied baseball’s penetration into these cultures has been, from the full-out embrace by Japan to its battle for respect in Great Britain’s land of cricket, rugby, and soccer. Altogether, readers are taken on a hardball literary tour that visits 19 countries and one US territory, Puerto Rico.
Here’s an excerpt of an essay by Joseph A. Reaves from Baseball Beyond Our Borders:
“The 2008 Beijing Olympics were supposed to be a coming-out party for baseball in China. The Chinese government, Major League Baseball (MLB), and Japan’s professional baseball league, Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), had worked hand in glove for more than seven years to promote the game by fielding a competitive team under the five-star red flag. For a while it seemed the exhaustive push would pay off. The baseball competition was played in a beautiful new venue, Wukesong Stadium, built on prime real estate in the heart of Beijing. The Chinese national team, competing in its first Olympics, stunned longtime political rival and baseball powerhouse Taiwan (Chinese Taipei) with a remarkable 8-7 come-from-behind, extra-inning win. And before the first pitch was thrown, five Chinese players had signed Minor League contracts with the New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners, each hoping to be the first player from the People’s Republic to make it to the U.S. Major Leagues.
“But as one die-hard yet realistic baseball fan in China later bemoaned, it was all a ‘fastball to nowhere.’ Within months Wukesong Stadium was torn down to make room for a mall. The Chinese national team was outscored 43-6 in losing the final five games of the Olympics. And none of the five players signed to professional contracts ever made it past rookie ball.”
