Shanghai Saturdays

Everyone knows about pingpong diplomacy. Even if you think you've never heard about, think back to Forrest Gump. Remember when he played ping pong in China? He was part of a series of good will ping pong exhibitions designed to help open up U.S.-Sino relations during the late 1970s. The chinese term for this occurence is "pingpang waijiao," or ping pong diplomacy.

You also probably know about the World Classic of Baseball this coming March. Regardless of what you think about Bud Selig and this event, no one can deny that Major League Baseball is becoming more and more of an international game every season. Although China has yet to really embrace baseball, Chinese people clearly know about the game, and it's pretty easy to buy baseball equipment here in Beijing. Although I only know of one ethnic Han Chinese in the Majors, Baltimore Pitcher Bruce Chen (and he's Panamanian in Nationality) one could argue that China is poised to follow its neighbors Japan and South Korea and adopt the game.

During my time in China I have tried to meld the spirt of ping pong diplomacy and the growing international love for baseball. Two friends and I have made it a point to play catch in every city to which we travel. Everytime a crowd of locals, usually older people that frequent parks and their grandchildren, gathers round to watch us throw it around.

The highlight of this tour came in the Tibetan city of Shigatse. The Tibetan combination of an incredibly rural society and constant marshal control from the PRC has little access to the outside, non-Chinese world. When my friends and I began to toss the ball around in the town common area, a group of about 20 children gathered around completely mistified by are ball and gloves. We spent 3 hours that afternoon teaching the boys the proper technique to throw and catch.

The next day, we went back to the common area with a sock and broom and taught them the game. They had a little trouble understanding the concepts of the strike zone and pitch count, but they took to the game well. My prediction: in about 15 years we'll see a group of 3 young Tibetans patroling left field in some major league. These kids are strong, fast, and tough. Long live baseball, and may the joys of the game spread to all corners (or quarters if your name is Brett Cantrell) of the globe.