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Class of 2016
Among the few comforts of home that I had during the trip was listening to Marty Brennaman calling Cincinnati Reds games in the early morning hours. It was a way to feel connected with the normalcy of home while experiencing a completely foreign environment. To pass the time and to get some exercise during our free-time, Connor and I would often take our baseball gloves and a ball out to the nearest open field to play catch. Such a simple pastime in America was a strange sight in China.
While baseball games from Japan are occasionally televised, the sport has not yet gained significant popularity in China; countless onlookers seemed to have never before seen such a thing in person. There are plenty of photos and videos taken by spectators trying to capture this unusual activity. I am still unsure why anyone would want to keep a record of a couple amateurs simply tossing a baseball but regardless, we would often humor them by smiling, waving, and attempting to throw our fastest for their entertainment.
Many a passersby would stop to ask for us to teach them how to throw and catch, and we often obliged. Toward the end of our stay in Beijing, an intelligent and assertive child of 7 or 8 years old asked to join us in our game. He then ordered us to be either the pitcher, catcher, or umpire. We would switch to the new assignments he gave us after every imaginary batter. To our surprise, his throwing and catching skills were well above average for a child his age, and he threw some impressive fastballs.
He was wearing the red scarf of the “Young Pioneers,” the junior branch of the Chinese Communist Party. Interestingly, I later learned from our guides that if a young child is wearing a scarf, it means that he or she has demonstrated exceptional intelligence on standardized tests; the limited but accurate English spoken by the young baseball fan certainly confirmed this fact. Connor and I both left this encounter pondering if he had yet comprehended the deeper principles which this little piece of cloth represented.
It was a privilege to share a little piece of American culture with a young Chinese student. Hopefully he will continue to follow baseball and pursue academic excellence. Perhaps he will serve as a student guide to future McConnell Scholars about 15 years from now.
Please note, the pitch in the photo was not thrown nearly as hard as that exaggerated delivery would suggest. No Chinese children were harmed in the making of this blog.
Travis Wilson, of Burlington, Ky., is a senior McConnell Scholar studying history and economics.