baseball

capitol of the island that shall remain nameless
america's favorite pastime is shared by the islanders. on saturday and sunday, everywhere you go, there are kids playing the best game ever.

abandoned buildings make great diamonds

machete or baseball bat

balls are prohibitively expensive, as one might expect, so the players make do with whatever they can scrape together. i saw a lot of old balls barely stitched together, tennis balls, a few handballs and several spheres of tape, who knows what was inside. i also saw broomsticks, random bits of wood and broken bats being used. these kids will be great ball players one day!

giants fan?

as a huge fan of the game, seriously, a sunny day at pacbell park (or whatever they are calling it these days) watching my Giants play is simply the best, i thought about loading up a spare suitcase with baseballs to bring and hand out. the problem was i didn't know for certain whether or not i was going to get to the island, and in the end i gave up the idea. fortunately i had mentioned it to c, and she had brought a few. the smiles we got in return for a bit of leather and cotton were wonderful.

new ball, new team captain!

the big leagues

i did manage to go to one professional game, though the two teams were so ill matched, it felt a bit more like a minor league team vs goliath, and in the end, with the score 11-1, Industriales smashing La Isla, the losers didn't even get their last at bat. i felt cheated, but everyone else seemed happy.

my new friend Richard

i got lucky, too, because i sat next to a young fella who had the patience of Job and an interest in conversation with the gringa. he helped me figure out who i was watching and gave me the skinny on the retired superstars who were wandering the stands getting mobbed with autograph requests.
lastly, no matter how old you are or where you are from, if you are a fan, when you catch a game ball, there is nothing more thrilling!

foul ball