• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

PASSION. Portraits of people from around the world who love baseball. The strength of any sport can be measured by the passion of its athletes and fans. In this, no sport surpasses baseball. The intensity of the game is mirrored in those who follow it, as is the explosive joy of a home run and the drama of a key strikeout. Just as the Olympic Games are not just a sporting event but an experience, so is baseball. Around the world, the reactions are the same and the emotions strongly felt. Young and old, rich and poor, male and female – in Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe, Australia and the Pacifi c Rim, people who love baseball wear their hearts on their sleeves. They have an emotional connection to the game whether it’s played in a stadium or on a sandy lot, by professionals or children or players with disabilities. It’s the passion and pride every athlete and fan feels when they say, “I am baseball.”™ And it’s the passion and pride baseball will always bring to the Olympic Games. “It begins with two kids, three kids, a group of kids – and a ball. Add a stick – call it a bat – and you have baseball.” Bernard Malamud Courtesy: National Geographic MEXICO UNITED STATES An explosive pitcher, Jesus threw a perfect game in the 2008 Alex began playing baseball at the age of two. Little League World Series. Jesus Sauceda Alex Morton 13-year-old Jesus Sauceda is a pitching ace and multi-position When Alex was two, he began to model his swing after Chipper fi elder for the Matamoros A.C. in Matamoros, Tamaulipas. He made Jones of the MLB Atlanta Braves, his favorite player and team. His international headlines in August of 2008 when he pitched the fi rst favorite position is catcher because, as he says, “I get all the action perfect game in the Little League World Series since 1979. Jesus that way.” Alex plays for the Braves in the Macon, Georgia (USA) struck out all 12 batters he faced in a 12-0 win over Emilia, Italy. Miracle League and his teammates sometimes call him “A-Rod.” The game was shortened due to the Little League “mercy rule” Alex has played on four Miracle League turf fi elds and has played that ends a game if one team builds a ten-run lead. The young in Macon and Conyers, Georgia, as well as at Moody Miracle fastballer also performed heroics at the plate, going 3-for-3 with League fi eld in Alabama and in Kenosha, Wisconsin. a grand slam home run and six runs batted in (RBI). Jesus attends eighth grade at Colegio Don Bosco in Matamoros, and although he also plays basketball competitively, he enjoys baseball more and wants to be a professional baseball player as an adult. Like millions of young players around the world, Jesus is a fan of New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter. NETHERLANDS Sidney DeJong Sidney was chosen ‘best young player’ in the Netherlands in 1996. He was the Most Sidney has been a star of the Dutch Valuable Player of the Dutch Major League in 2002, and he was the batting champion in National Team since 2001 and was an 2005. He won the European Championship with the Dutch National Team in 2001, 2003, IBAF Baseball World Cup All-Star in 2007. 2005 and 2007. DeJong was the starting catcher for the Dutch National Team when they fi nished fourth during the IBAF Baseball World Cup in 2005 and 2007, and when they fi nished second during the Intercontinental Cup in 2006. He was chosen as catcher in the All-Star team of the IBAF Baseball World Cup in 2007. “I started playing Tee-Ball after attending a game one of my friends was playing in. I was seven years old at that time. Once I learned the skills and rules of the game, it became more fun and more interesting for me. My love for baseball grew and grew. Baseball is a great team sport where anybody can pick up someone else, but for certain tasks you, yourself, have to be the one stepping up. There is no better feeling than hitting a ball on the sweet spot or making a great play.” “I hope baseball will grow to become a top-tier sport in every country. And I hope that all the young kids coming up in baseball will have the opportunity to develop to their capacity through great guidance.” Photo by Koji Yamazaki Photo by Koji UNITED STATES Marti Sementelli 15-year-old Marti Sementelli is the only woman to play on Burbank High School’s baseball Marti pitched in the 2008 IBAF WBWC, team. She threw a no-hitter against Burroughs High School and won the team’s MVP allowing only two runs, and is the only award. She also played in the CIF All-Star game, received an academic achievement woman on her high school baseball team. award and was named MVP for the school’s basketball team. Marti has been featured on American television programmes The Jimmy Kimmel Show, The Wayne Brady Show, The Early Morning Show and on the NESN Sports Network in Boston, Massachusetts. More recently, she was named Pitcher of the Tournament at the 2008 IBAF Women’s Baseball World Cup (WBWC) in Matsuyama, Japan. In two appearances at the 2008 WBWC, she surrendered only two runs for a 1.50 earned run average (ERA) and had fi ve strikeouts. Marti was the winning pitcher in the Bronze medal game versus Australia. Photo courtesy The Hochi Shimbun The Hochi Shimbun Photo courtesy GHANA JAPAN Robert attends the Creator School, which develops young players Ryu was a star player on the 2008 Regional Championship team while giving them an excellent education. from South Osaka. Robert Sapari Ryu Hanaski Robert Sapari was born on 22 August 1995, in Tema, Ghana. While Ryu is captain and shortstop of the Izumisano Team, a branch of he has always enjoyed being active, Robert’s interest in baseball the 21,000+ player Japan Boys’ League. Ryu is in sixth grade and has grown over the past three years, and he has been attending has been playing with the team for three years. A gifted athlete, the Creator School in Ghana, a school that supports the sport Ryu was selected as a member of the South Osaka Representative within the academic setting, so that he might develop his talent for Team which won the Regional Championship this year. He always the game. sets high goals for himself and consistently reaches them. He is a fan of Hayato Sakamoto, infi elder, of the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants, and Ghana has a relatively long history with baseball, beginning in he wishes to become a professional ball player when he grows up. the 1960s when the children of U.S. Embassy workers began to play in Ghana. The sport has been developing since then, and Ghana has been able to develop a national Little League team, which competed for a place at the 2008 Little League World Championships, a Senior Men’s team, the Rising Stars, and has been able to push baseball to be included within the National Sports Council, creating the Ghana Baseball and Softball Association (a member of the IBAF’s Member Federations). The Creator School was introduced by another organisation fundamental to baseball’s development in Ghana, the PEAUDA Foundation, which seeks to empower and enlighten Ghanaian children through baseball, softball and education. ITALY Alessandro Maestri Born on 6 January 1985, in Cesena, Alessandro is a right-handed pitcher under contract Alessandro is the fi rst U.S. Minor League with the MLB Chicago Cubs. He is rated by Baseball America as number 23 (with the best AA level player who was born and raised overall slider) among the prospects of the organisation. Alessandro was one of six pitchers in Italy. who entered the Italian Academy in 2003, and he made his Serie A1 debut in 2005 for San Marino. In his rookie season, he pitched in the seven-game Italian Baseball Series. In the 2007 season, he played for the Peoria Chiefs (A level, USA), and in 2008 he was promoted to the AA level Tennessee Smokies. Internationally, he participated in the 2002 World Junior Championship, the AAA European Championships (2003), and made his debut for Team Italy in 2005 in a friendly match against the Torrington Twisters (USA). He played in the 2006 World Baseball Classic, the 2007 European Championship in Barcelona and the 2007 IBAF Baseball World Cup in Chinese Taipei, where he closed the game against Team USA striking out second baseman Jayson Nix on a 94 mph fastball. Alessandro has appeared in 13 games for the Italian National Team. SAUDI ARABIA THAILAND Cameron plans on becoming a professional athlete like his A member of Thailand’s National Team, Teerasak wants to help grandfather and cousin. spread the game thoughout his country. Cameron Durley Teerasak Kongsabai Already 6'1" tall at the age of 12, Cameron Durley has earned the For Teerasak, the sport of baseball is more than just a game. nickname “Big C” from his friends and teammates. This slugging Baseball “is a challenge sport and teaches me that success does fi rst baseman from Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, is an Arabian American not come from one, but everyone.” Teerasak believes the game Little League All-Star and played on the Middle East/Africa team at teaches its players the meaning of mutual understanding, respect, the 2008 Little League World Series.

Load more

  31

Copy Link