The North American Liberty Belles were very strong in our performances at the 2009 Hong Kong Phoenix Cup International Women's Baseball Tournament in Kowloon, Hong Kong, China from February 14-17, and thus, we were undefeated in all of our games leading up to the championship match. We had a very solid team, and everyone fit very well into their spot in the lineup. Strong team chemistry played a very important role in our success, along with a lot of talent and skill and very strong coaching and training from our manager, Philipe Yan.
We topped the solid Korean team in our first game by a score of 10-5. We then defeated the Hong Kong contingent, 18-5, later that same day. Those 2 victories gave us the 1st place seed in our pool, sending our team to a playoff game vs. a very tough, solid hitting, and improved Taiwanese team. This playoff game would determine who would advance to play for the gold medal and who would battle it our for the bronze the next day. Unfortunately, we didn't get a chance to play our great and jovial friends, the Aussies, at all in this tourney.
In a weird array of events, we were only able to play 1/2 inning in the playoff game vs. Taiwan. We had a very solid pitching and defensive 1st inning to find that we wouldn't be allowed to bat in the 2nd half of the inning. I was the starting pitcher for this game, and my performance was very solid. 3 of my 4 pitches were working beautifully (I hadn't tried the 4th one yet), and my command and control were top-notch. Things were falling into place wonderfully for us, and we got out of the 1st inning easily.
Then, it all was ripped away. A Taiwanese coach was questioning some of the home plate umpire's calls, to which the umpire responded unhappily. After the Belles sent Taiwan down in the 1st inning, a disagreement occurred between the coach and the umpire, the coach was ejected from the game, and then the coach pulled his team off the field in protest. What would've been a very exciting and competitive game turned into a jaw-dropping event. Nonetheless, the North American team respects Taiwan's decision and continues to have a close and friendly relationship with it and looks forward to seeing the team again next year.
It's very hard for a pitcher who's on top of their game and who's helping their team advance to the gold medal match have that ripped out of their hands, especially when they're playing in an international competition of this magnitude. Also, we wanted to play the game out and not have it given to us in a protest. Even though I'm frustrated about it, I have to let it go and respect Taiwan's decision.
By default, the Belles won the protested game by a score of 7-0, sending us to the gold medal match vs. a very tough Japan. Even though North America played a good game against the Far East Bloomers, we failed to score a single run in the game. Nervousness, no doubt, played a role in our loss, but we make no excuses and know we can improve and give Japan more of a run for its money next year!
So, the North American Liberty Belles walked away with silver medals and a 2nd place trophy at the 2009 Hong Kong Phoenix Cup International Women's Baseball Tournament (Oh... and we also had a terrific time). Not too shabby!
On a personal note, I received the win vs. Taiwan, and I went 2 for 4 with a BB, 1 run scored, and an RBI at the dish.
In addition to this wonderful playing experience and meeting new friends and reuniting with old ones, we were able to do some great sight seeing in the Hong Kong Region. Many of us made it to see the Big Buddha (the largest Buddha in the world) on beautiful Lantau Island. I also went to Stanley Market (very cool place) on Hong Kong Island, up to Victoria's Peak at night (incredibly awesome train ride up the mountainside and the most breathtaking view I've ever experienced) to see the whole cityscape and beyond, and to Bride's Pool waterfall out in the New Territories countryside with Kat, my Detroit Danger and Liberty Belles teammate. The Hong Kong countryside is absolutely gorgeous, peaceful, and inspiring. I can't wait to spend more time there next year!
All of us did plenty of touring through the City of Kowloon and Hong Kong City in addition to the sight seeing... visiting the famous markets, trying several traditional Chinese restaurants, and taking in many of the sights and sounds of this highly active place.
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Shawna, the descriptions of your experiences in Hong Kong are priceless, and the baseball parts of your travels are equally fascinating.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I have to wonder why you feel compelled to "respect" the coach's decision to pull his players off the field, leaving the unhappy umpire no choice but to forfeit the game. The coach showed no respect for the rules of the game, his player's feelings, or yours, and committed the worst act a coach could possibly commit in international competition. Forfeiting a ball game is serious business, and should be done only in the most dire of circumstances when SAFETY becomes an overriding issue. The coach had no business disrupting everybody else's good time in order to express his childish contempt for the plate umpire (who was obviously not out there trying to make mistakes on purpose,) and your "respect" for his indefensible actions indicates that you agree with what he did. I don't think this is the case, and I urge you to reconsider your charitable attitude towards him. If he is not held accountable and punished appropriately - he, not his players, just he alone, should be banned from international competition for at least one full year - his players (and opponents, including you) will get the message that what he did is perfectly okay, when it absolutely is not. The proper time and place to address a grievance about a game or an umpire is AFTERWARDS, not while a half inning is in progress. It's too bad his players didn't stand up to him and let him know what he was doing was wrong, but I don't fault them for his bad act. Forgiveness is a beautiful thing, Shawna, but it should be offered only after the injuring party has made proper amends, otherwise it's meaningless. The coach must be held accountable by both the governing body of the tournament (whose members, I suspect, were not happy with his behavior) as well as the opponents, including you, who were so unfairly robbed of the chance to play winning baseball by his selfish, self-absorbed reaction to what he wrongly perceived as the injustice of it all. Baloney! Baseball may be a kids' game, but if its coaches and teachers behave like unruly, bratty children, the kids who play it will suffer immeasurably rather than become enriched by the experience of playing on a team, and being challenged by worthy opponents. Please don't let your better nature get in the way of recognizing the immaturity and selfishness of that coach's actions. That's not what baseball is all about! As a matter of fact, it's about the opposite: taking responsibility, backing up your teammates, learning from your mistakes, and having fun. NOT potentially causing an international incident!
Kudos to you and your team for playing the game for love, not money or glory. That's truly what baseball is all about, and thank you for writing so illuminatingly about your life in and around the game to which we both have devoted ourselves with such passion.
Perry,
ReplyDeleteThanks a bunch for your comments. It's not that I agree with what the coach did and think it's OK. I agree that he should've put his team, our team, and the whole tournament first. However, the respect part comes in a way of us not protesting his protest, if that makes any sense... even if we didn't agree with it and were not happy that it happened that way.
One thing that I learned from this experience is how things that we are used to here are handled very differently in other cultures. I've heard that international politics could've played a role in this somehow, and if that's true, it's a shame that those politics were allowed to seep into our game... especially when all of us players from each country get along so well and have become friends. There are many things that are done very differently in China and other Asian countries, and sometimes they are political.
One thing that is very different in Asian culture is how they react when they lose a game. Here in the States, the team that gets beat will shake your hand in the end, but there is a tension that exists within its players from losing. When the Asians get beat, they humbly congratulate you in a very respectful way, and they smile and laugh and celebrate your victory with you. It was quite a different experience for me and really opened my eyes.
Because of the different way things are handled there, we weren't about to rock the boat and create any chaos. I think Americans get too caught up into things sometimes, and they react in an aggressive way to them. This is not the way in Asia, they are very humble people, and we respect that. We were on their turf in an international competition. We weren't interested in creating any animosity towards anyone, even in this case where we were let down.
You would most likely understand more if you were there. Sometimes you just have to let things go.