Love Letter from Brussels
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Pleasure with Benefit: Part 2 (No.22)
September 30, 2015
Last time I introduced the Belgian Beer Weekend. This time I would like to talk about another event related to “pleasure with benefit”.
Baseball in Belgium?
Last September 5th, I was invited to the opening ceremony of a new baseball field in the city of Brasschaat near Antwerp. In addition, the honor of throwing out the ceremonial first pitch was bestowed on me. My predecessor Ambassador Sakaba also took part in such a ceremony and wrote about Belgium and baseball in his column “The Chat of Ambassador” (02/04/2013).
As he wrote there as well, when you hear Belgium and Baseball, it may not ring the bell, but actually the founding of the Confederation of European Baseball dates back to April 1953 and Belgium was one of the five founding members. In the following year of 1954, Belgium hosted the first European championship (Italy won) and in 1967 it was Belgium that took the first prize.
Currently, there are 38 countries in the Confederation of European Baseball. In the ranking issued in July of this year, Belgium is in the 10th position within Europe and in the 35th position in the world. In this connection, the Netherlands are a powerhouse of baseball, ranking the first in Europe and the 5th in the world. Continuing onwards, we have Italy in the 11th position for the world ranking. Furthermore, at the end of 2014 Japan was ranked the first in the world, followed by the US and Cuba. (*)
(*) Data according to the IBAF World Rankings.。
Brasschaat Braves
In Belgium there are approximately a little less than 3.000 people who play baseball. Currently, about every city has an amateur team, adding up to 37 teams playing in a 3 division system and competing in league matches every year. Last year there were 7 teams playing in the first division which is 1 team less that the days when former Ambassador Sakaba wrote his “Chat of Ambassador” 2 and a half years ago. But this year, 2015, they are back again with 8 teams playing in first division because since last year, while one team demoted to the second division, two teams advanced from the second to the first division. These teams compete in a round-robin league and the top 2 teams then battle it out in a deciding match where winning 3 out of 5 games will decide the winner.
The opening ceremony I attended was that of the “Brasschaat Braves”- team of the municipality of Brasschaat. Last year they ranked an impressive second place in the first division. The “Squirrels” from the nearby municipality of Borgerhout (also in the Antwerp region) were ranked first. The Braves came second with a 2-game difference and in the deciding match they went as far as to the 5th game but unfortunately lost with 1-8. This year’s series are also coming to an end soon; I wonder what the results will be?
FYI, The reason that there are many strong teams around Antwerp is that it has always been a port city and also because after the Second World War US army personnel started to play baseball in Antwerp, which had become one of the centers for the transportation of goods, and baseball spread to the rest of Belgium.
Benefits
Not only I but also the U.S. Ambassador to Belgium Ms. Bauer was invited to the opening ceremony, where she gave a splendid speech, but the main guests were notables with connections to the Brasschaat region. Among them was the Federal Minister for Internal Affairs Mr. Jambon. Minister Jambon is originally from the city of Genk, located to the South East of Antwerp, but now resides in Brasschaat. Like the Federal Minister of Defense Mr. Vandeput, who I met on the Belgian Beer Weekend, he is an influential person belonging to the ruling and the largest party NV-A (New Flemish Alliance. Striving for Flemish independence).
Actually, although I knew Minister Jambon’s name was on the list of attendees, I did not expect him to come considering the seriousness of the current public safety situation and the refugee crisis, as well as the fact that it was a weekend, so it was a pleasant surprise to see him. Then, after the first game got suspended due to the rain I had to leave, but he stayed. It was an unexpected joy to have this opportunity to talk not only about the public safety situation in Belgium and Europe but also about the fun of baseball and about amateur sports in Belgium.
Sports rooted in the area
As you all know, sport costs money. How to raise funds for amateur sports is a universal problem. According to Minister Jambon, the funds that allowed the construction of the new baseball field in Brasschaat came roughly speaking for about 1/3 from the local government, 1/3 from private businesses and the remaining 1/3 from local support. Actually, there is also a splendid hockey field that was used by a Japanese team the other day for the World Championship. The old baseball field next to the hockey court was handed over to the hockey club, also further generating funds.
Former managers and supporters of the team attended the celebration for the newly established baseball field, enthusiastically saying “I am part of the team”. I believe this may be the source of the strength of sports in Belgium.
By the way, during my ceremonial first pitch, I somehow managed to reach the base but I missed the strike zone, because of throwing too high and too much to the right…
