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emerging like a mirage on the desert outskirts of DubaiAn unfamiliar scene for the people present there middle east And Asia emerges like a dream in the exact dimensions of the Yankee Stadium field new york,
However, now that it’s built, one question remains: will fans come?
This is the challenge for the inaugural session of baseball United, a four-team, month-long competition that begins Friday at the new Barry Larkin Field, artificially designed for the United Arab Emirates’ scorching sun and named for an investor who is a former Cincinnati Reds shortstop.
The professional league looks to take the sporting rivalry between India and Pakistan forward with its two teams as Mumbai Cobras face Karachi Monarchs on Friday. Each team has Indian and Pakistani players looking to enter the saturated football and cricket broadcasting market in this part of the world.
And while there are no big-name players in Major League Baseball, the league has created some new rules of its own to speed up the game and put more runs on the board — and potentially generate interest for American fans as the regular season there comes to an end.
Baseball United CEO and co-owner Kash Sheikh told The Associated Press, “People here have to learn the rules anyway, so we thought if we have to start on a blank canvas why don’t we introduce some new rules that we believe will get them excited right from the start.”
mound of dreams
All games of the season, which ends in mid-December, will be played at Baseball United’s stadium in an area outside Dubai’s desert called Oud Al-Bayda, about 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building. The stadium is located next to The Sevens Stadium, which hosts an annual rugby sevens tournament known for its drinking and costume-wearing hardcore fans.
As reporters met with Baseball United officials Thursday, two fighter jets and a military cargo plane flew over the landfill before landing at nearby Al Minhad Air Base.
The ground can seat around 3,000 fans and will host games mostly at night, although the weather is starting to get colder in the emirate as the season changes. But environmental concerns have been taken into account – Baseball United decided to move to an artificial field to avoid the challenge of using more than 45 million liters (12 million gallons) of water per year to maintain a natural grass field, said John P. Midreich, league co-founder and executive vice president.
He added, “For the pitcher’s mound we had to airlift soil from the United States, soil from Pakistan”.
Four teams will compete in the inaugural season. Joining the Cobras and Monarchs will be Arabian Wolves, a team from Dubai, and Abu Dhabi’s Mideast Falcons.
Changes have been made to the traditional game in Baseball United, which has brought about a distinct change in the game, just as the Twenty20 format has rapidly augmented traditional cricket. Baseball leagues have introduced a golden “Moneyball”, giving managers three chances in a game to double the runs scored on a home run.
Teams may call for “designated runners” three times during a game. And if a game is tied after nine innings, the teams face off in the Home Run Derby to decide the winner.
“It’s entertainment, and it’s exciting, and it’s helping new fans and younger fans get more involved in the game,” Shaikh said.
America’s pastime has had limited success
Baseball in the Middle East has had mixed success in terms of giving positive spin to the ball. A group of American supporters started the professional Israel Baseball League in 2007, consisting almost entirely of foreign players. However, it closed after only one season. Americans spread the game to pre-revolution Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for decades, although soccer has dwarfed it. Saudi Arabia has sent teams to the Little League World Series in the past through Americans in its oil company Aramco.
But football remains a favorite in the Middle East, which is set to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Then there is cricket, which remains a passion in both India and Pakistan. The International Cricket Council, the world governing body for the sport, is headquartered in Dubai, near the city’s cricket stadium.
The organizers know they have their work cut out for them. At one point during a news conference Thursday they were discussing baseball basics — home runs, organ music and where center field sits.
“The most important part is for fans to have the experience of coming out, eating hot dogs, watching the mascots run, seeing the baseball traditions we all grew up with back home in America – and starting to love the game because we know once they start learning it, they’ll become bigger fans,” Sheikh said.
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AP Sports: https://apnews.com/sports
AP Middle East Sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports-middle-east