Be honest: How many of you out there had heard of Baseball United? I hadn’t until it popped up today in my Google search.
According to the very well-produced BU website, “With a footprint of 2 billion people – 1 billion of whom are cricket fans – the Middle East and South Asia is the Bat and Ball epicenter of the world (my emphasis). It’s also home to some of the most diverse communities and fastest-growing economies on the earth, making it a hotbed for sports growth and innovation. At Baseball United, we believe professional baseball will be the region’s next great sport.”
I can’t say I totally understand the set-up. Apparently there are four franchises — the Mumbai Cobras, managed by Chris Sabo with Barry Larkin as the “honorary GM”; the Karachi Monarchs (Miguel Tejada/Adrian Beltre); the Dubai Wolves (John McLaren/Felix Hernandez); and the Abu Dhabi Falcons (Dennis Cook/Nick Swisher). There’s also an East and West All-Star Team which had its “showcase” Nov. 24-25.
Among the more recognizable names in the endeavor are Pablo Sandoval (Falcons); Didi Gregorious, Robinson Cano, and Dwight Smith, Jr. (Wolves); Andrelton Simmons (Cobras); and 50-year-old Bartolo Colon, who will no doubt be very entertaining, if not a little bit confusing, to Monarchs fans.
The rules are a bit different. For example, Sandoval apparently hit the first-ever six-run home run on Saturday. You can watch the entire game via that link; the announcers will explain all.
In this video, Kash Shaikh, Chairman, CEO, and Majority Owner of BU, describes the origin story.
It’s very pretty to think so, and goodness knows they have the financial resources, but it does bring to mind the Israel Baseball League which lasted only one season. You can read more about it here. as well as my review of Holy Land Hardball, a documentary about the IBL here.
It also reminded me of the movie Million Dollar Arm — “based on a true story” — starring Jon Hamm as sports agent JB Bernstein who “stages an unconventional recruitment strategy to get talented Indian cricket players to play Major League Baseball.”
I may just have to break my own rules about getting team merch only if I’m in the area where the they play.
is available on Amazon.com,
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