It’s Baseball Season
Take a look at how America’s favorite pastime has helped connect the U.S. with other athletes around the globe for six decades.
Downey, California-Guadalajara, Mexico
York, Pennsylvania-Arles, France
Tacoma, Washington-Kitakyushu, Japan
In 1988, two businessmen — one in Tacoma, Washington and the other in Kitakyushu, Japan — agreed to develop a baseball exchange for young men from their two cities. In 2003, this program celebrated its fifteenth exchange.
Playing baseball has been a vehicle to expose youth to people from other cultures, and to help mold their thoughts globally and culturally.
“The games we’ve won and lost are probably even, but the final score of the game is not what’s important,” said Tony Anderson, chairman of the project. “The interaction between our young people, the opportunity to learn more about a different culture and way of life is the key and the focus.”
As of 2003, more than 600 youth from both Japan and Tacoma-Pierce County, Washington participated.
San Mateo, California-Toyonaka, Japan
The San Mateo Toyonaka Sister City Association mixed sports diplomacy and youth exchange in 2015, as the San Mateo Sister City All-Star youth baseball team continued a tradition that started in 1979 of traveling to San Mateo’s sister city of Toyonaka, Japan to play five exhibition baseball games.
Every two years, the All-Star squads from San Mateo and Toyonaka alternate visits to each other’s cities. In a comeback after Toyonaka beat San Mateo five games to zero in 2013, San Mateo won three out of five games. Despite language barrier challenges with their new friends and homestay families, the common language of baseball broke down barriers on the field.
Ashland, Oregon-Guanajuato, Mexico
In 2015, 13 11- and 12-year-old baseball players from Ashland, OR headed to their sister city Guanajuato, Mexico for a Sister City Baseball Classic, a week of fun with a baseball tournament, tours, a clinic with a professional team, and a whole lot of Mexican Food.
“When we started the whole thing that was at the forefront of all the planning,” Ashland Little League president David Johnson said. “We were hoping this would be an event that would go on for generations and that it would be amazing for our community — another collaboration between sister cities that’s different than anything that’s been done in the past. And as it gets momentum, the community would be very supportive of it.”
Fort Worth, Texas-Reggio Emilia, Italy
High school student AJ Johnson took his baseball talents international when he was selected to represent the US baseball team for the Tricolore Sports Games in Fort Worth’s sister city Reggio Emilia, Italy in August 2015. The Tricolore Sports Games are played once every four years and over 100 Fort Worth area young athletes competed in soccer, basketball, volleyball, swimming and baseball throughout late August.
Laredo, Texas-Nuevo Laredo, Mexico
In May 2016, the Laredo Lemurs squared off against the Nuevo Laredo Tecolotes during the third annual Sister Cities Baseball Classic exhibition game. The Lemurs won two years ago 4–2 in the inaugural meeting between the teams. Last year, Laredo picked up a 5–3 victory holding off the Tecolotes, which brought the tying run to second base and loaded the bases in the ninth thanks to four straight walks. Facing their rivals in the third annual game, Laredo defended its home field once again kicking off their 2016 campaign with a 5–1 victory.
