In Vietnam, America throws the first pitch
In Vietnam, America throws the first pitch
The diamond on the field was more sand than grass, a little uneven in places. The bleachers were rows of wooden chairs borrowed from the adjacent high school.
But it was a recognizable slice of America in the old badlands of central Vietnam. Baseball finally made its national debut in Dong Ha last month, three decades after the fall of Saigon, and nobody wanted to miss the fun.
On the field, several hundred Vietnamese students stood at attention, dressed in brand-new blue and red baseball shirts. Dozens of government and Communist Party officials milled around a lectern, waiting for the ceremony to start. Women dressed in the long, silky-white traditional ao dai lined the path to the field to greet the visitors, each clutching a red rose wrapped in plastic.
Jan Scruggs, a decorated American veteran and founder of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF), smiled as he walked onto the field. Last year, he persuaded Major League Baseball and its suppliers to sponsor a goodwill tour of Vietnam and to inaugurate the country’s first-ever baseball field.
More: csmonitor.com