Gloves on the Chinese-Taipei Little League team...

[ANNASDAD]

I wish I had a picture of the gloves the Soviets were using when I went to the Soviet Union in 1988 to coach/introduce baseball. I do have one but it is in some box somewhere. Imagine a hockey goalie's glove scaled to baseball. Rawlings gave me a few thousand dollars of equipment to take over including gloves, catcher's equipment, bases, and bats, ... When I got off the plane in Moscow, that equipment was already taken and assigned to go to Lithuania where I was sent to coach. Those players were on top of the world when they got the equipment. They went crazy over the gloves. Naturally, they were not broken in so they still used their hockey gloves for our practices.

Alright CB, we need to hear more specifics on this story, like the why’s and what’s, is this military related?

 

[LEsoftballdad]

Chase Anderson is the SS for the winning Florida team, he was sporting a Rawlings REV1X glove. Heck of a little Shortstop, watching him and the Chinese-Taipei SS was my favorite part of the championship game. Two very smooth players!
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It doesn't look like he made that play, though... Sorry, Pattar made me say that.

 

[ANNASDAD]

It doesn't look like he made that play, though... Sorry, Pattar made me say that.

I saw that ball not in his glove after I posted that pic. That kid played differently than anyone else on the field!

 

[LEsoftballdad]

Peter

I saw that ball not in his glove after I posted that pic. That kid played differently than anyone else on the field!

Peter said to get your stories straight.

 

[Cannonball]

Alright CB, we need to hear more specifics on this story, like the why’s and what’s, is this military related?

I don't want to hijack this thread. In short, I and another HS baseball coach were selected to introduce baseball into the former USSR in order for them to prepare for the Olympics. It was a Good Will Tour. Rawlings pitched in with equipment and set everything up wrt the equipment. I went to Kaunas, Lithuania and the other coach went to Estonia. I cracked up later that year when Sports Illustrated did a feature story on "the first Americans to introduce baseball the USSR. We had been there a full three months before that group. BTW, we were there working with the Lithuanian Team and the "Soviet Union Team" also was there. Naturally, some of the Lithuanian players were on both. We practiced both and played games etc. I have been incredibly Blessed in my life.

 

[ANNASDAD]

I don't want to hijack this thread. In short, I and another HS baseball coach were selected to introduce baseball into the former USSR in order for them to prepare for the Olympics. It was a Good Will Tour. Rawlings pitched in with equipment and set everything up wrt the equipment. I went to Kaunas, Lithuania and the other coach went to Estonia. I cracked up later that year when Sports Illustrated did a feature story on "the first Americans to introduce baseball the USSR. We had been there a full three months before that group. BTW, we were there working with the Lithuanian Team and the "Soviet Union Team" also was there. Naturally, some of the Lithuanian players were on both. We practiced both and played games etc. I have be incredibly Blessed in my life.

Hijack away, it's my thread! That's awesome, and very unforgettable I'm sure. Cool story, thanks for sharing!

 

[Lemond]

I don't want to hijack this thread. In short, I and another HS baseball coach were selected to introduce baseball into the former USSR in order for them to prepare for the Olympics. It was a Good Will Tour. Rawlings pitched in with equipment and set everything up wrt the equipment. I went to Kaunas, Lithuania and the other coach went to Estonia. I cracked up later that year when Sports Illustrated did a feature story on "the first Americans to introduce baseball the USSR. We had been there a full three months before that group. BTW, we were there working with the Lithuanian Team and the "Soviet Union Team" also was there. Naturally, some of the Lithuanian players were on both. We practiced both and played games etc. I have be incredibly Blessed in my life.

How were you selected? Was it Rawlings that picked the coaches?

That must be an awesome memory! .( At least I hope it was not like The Machine!!)

 

[Cannonball]

How were you selected? Was it Rawlings that picked the coaches?

That must be an awesome memory! .( At least I hope it was not like The Machine!!)

I coached in a very successful HS program. Other than that, I don't have any idea. It isn't like I am somebody anyone should know. The other coach was the HC for the HS program I coached in. We were often rated in the top 10 programs in the USA and sometimes were rated #1. We won 64 games in a row in one spell and had a 40-0 season. We won a couple of state titles. We had several HS All-Americans. The HC went to Estonia. Our experiences were totally different. Lithuania had had a history of baseball back in the 1920s and maybe the 30s. They were intense and wanted to learn the game. The Estonians were more laid back. I have been Blessed as I mentioned. My daughter was able to grow up in this type of atmosphere.

Edited to add:

We were given a special passport and "Papers." We were in NYC at the airport waiting for the State Department papers. We were at that last minute when everything showed up. We landed in Moscow and then made it to Kaunus. At the outskirts of Kaunus, there was a sign saying that no foreigners were allowed into Kaunus. I was the first foreigner from the US to enter Kaunus in decades. The Cubans were already there. We were not allowed to talk to the Cubans. I had to do nightly interviews about playing the game so that they had stuff recorded.

 

[ANNASDAD]

I went to the Soviet Union in 1988 to coach/introduce baseball.

So two years after Chernobyl and 360 miles away, and....still during the Cold War! Probably not the best of times, or safest!

The Cold War, for all you kids out there, you might have to look that one up! I think it's called History?

 

[LEsoftballdad]

So two years after Chernobyl and 360 miles away, and....still during the Cold War! Probably not the best of times, or safest!

The Cold War, for all you kids out there, you might have to look that one up! I think it's called History?

I helped my daughter coach a horrible 10U rec team this spring and summer. One girl on the team had a mother who was born in 1996. When I was first introduced to her, I thought it was her sister. She might not remember the Cold War.