Sports blogging, part 1

So if I told you that the boys are in Little League here in China, what would you think? How do you picture a little league field? When I heard that ex-pats were trying to put together a Little League this spring, I thought we would be playing on a converted soccer field, on a lot of dirt/hardpan, with possibly some rebar/nails sticking out of the ground.

I couldn't be more wrong.

Here is a video of the field that the boys play at. The league has rented out the Asia Games baseball stadium every Saturday in the spring (for a fee of 500 RMB/$90 weekly).

I am standing in centerfield; you can see games going on in the left field corner and the right field corner. (Freddie's team is practicing in cetner field; and yes, I throw up a little when I have to wear a red jersey with the words "SOX" on it.)

The fields are immaculate. The grass is always cut, it is perfectly flat (no bad bounces), and we get the use of the locker room (and even the stands, to keep toddlers occupied).

The field is located in the heart of the city- the surroundings are spectacular. The large building right behind us in center field is the Citic building, the 15th largest building in the world. You can also see the Soccer stadium behind the right field line.

These kids have no idea how good they have it. It is 10,000% better than the field I grew up on - the field down the hill behind Sparks elementary that flooded every time we got 1/4" of rain, or the field for Freddie's 1st grade league that was hidden behind the Lakota school bus depot......

(as an aside, I never really knew how hard it is to "teach" baseball until now. Let's say you have a bunch of kids that know nothing about sports. Nothing. They are a blank slate. What's easiest to teach?

1. Soccer - kick the ball in the net, don't use your hands.
2. Basketball - put the ball in the hoop, try to dribble every once in a while, don't hold on defense.
3. Baseball. I don't think we Americans realize how many basic rules there are that has to be taught before even having a semi-competitive game. The rules on force plays alone confuse the non-American kids (and the adults). Why can I overrun first base but not 2nd? What happens on a fly ball that's caught?