MLB - China Series

PLAYBALL!

Beneath the headlines of college basketball & unrest in another part of China beginning with the letter "T" (we don't want our blog censored) there was a major sporting event in Beijing last weekend. Oh yeah, the title gave it away, the MLB played their first ever game in China. And being die hard baseball and Tigers fans, we were there to catch the action. When I say "catch" I mean that quite literally. During the second inning, the Dodgers were up to bat with the Padres minor leaguers in the outfield who had to make the trip to Beijing for a shot at the starting day roster. It was a windy, brisk yet sunny day.... alright, enough of the build up, I caught a foul ball! Beer and baseball, the American pastimes

It was fun, an exhibition game ending in a tie. There were beers, hot dogs and peanuts, but the lines to the two concession stands for the entire Olympic venue were innings long, almost as long as the line at the only entrance to the stadium due to the post 9/11 level of heighten security, just short of a cavity search. I finally scored a beer in the 9th, when the vendor got wise and starting sending the staff into the stands with cases of beer and boxes of chips.

Sporting our Tigers, Ordonez & Granderson, OBVIOUSLY!

My overall impression of the experience was positive. In between innings fans participated in a contest trying to guess the name of the play shown on the jumbotron. So, it was also an opportunity to educate the Chinese on a sport that was banned during the cultural revolution of Mao's reign. The thunder sticks sucked, as well as the nonsensical cheering for pop outs. However, I doubt one expat would complain, and I know that the 9-year-old baseball freak from MI, decked out in his Tiger gear, sitting with his family behind us, would not trade the experience for anything in Beijing.

Here is a link to another article about the game created by a Beijing Expat magazine City Weekend.

http://www.cityweekend.com.cn/beijing/articles/blogs-beijing/cw-blog/mlb-comes-to-china-cw-drinks-beer/