BENGALURU: The Covid-19 pandemic has brought life to a temporary halt in all walks of life. Even Major League Baseball (MLB), who launched their first office in India last year in July, plans to popularise and promote the sport in the country hit some sort of a roadblock. However, before the lockdown started in March, they did make some progress. They conducted 320 workshops in schools across Mumbai, Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru as part of its First Pitch Program.
For the second year, they want to reach out to more cities. But that is only possible once the prevailing situation improves. “In the second year, we will continue to do what we did in first year and add on to that. Right now, we have presence in only Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai, but we want to get to other cities too, does not necessarily have to be big metro cities. We want to go to the deeper pockets of India, where there is an already existing baseball community that we have not been able to see," Ryo Takahashi, who heads the business and commercial operations for MLB in India told The New Indian Express.
In the workshops conducted so far, they have already understood how Indian kids are in an advantageous position compared to many around the world due to the popularity of cricket in India. There is a lot of similarity between the two sports, especially both being bat and ball sports, though the rules may be different.
“Kids already know how to swing their bat, catch and throw the ball. It is a unique advantage. They already know how to make a good catch or a good throw,” said David Palese, Head of Baseball Development in India. "I have been to a lot of countries, you are trying to teach these kinds of skills to someone, who is afraid to catch the ball. They have no idea. Here, in India, everyone understands these things, which is really great. It is an easy fix for students in India. As a baseball coach, that is really encouraging for me in India.”
MLB India has helped kids know much more about the sport, including its basic rules. With the sport being a maiden introduction to the school students, they have been conscious to maintain a good balance in theory and practical. Though no baseball fields are available in schools, the football grounds were used. The students were given baseball balls, bats, helmets, gloves and were divided into teams before they were allowed to play.
“We believe in making it fun and informative. It is not too theory based. It is not too technical that it is overwhelming. It is just really good and fun for them, which is something new. We have been successful so far. The kids have loved playing the sport,” said Palese.