New Seoul Ballpark will be a domed stadium outside of Seoul that is currently under construction. The stadium will have a capacity of at least 30,000 people and is scheduled to open in time for the 2011 baseball season.

Below are the current stadiums for each of the eight KBO teams:

• JAMSIL STADIUM
The Doosan Bears and LG Twins are two of three teams based in Seoul, and currently shares Jamsil Stadium (pictured). The facility, which hosted the baseball events during the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, seats 30,265 and opened in 1982.

• DAEJEON STADIUM
The Hanwha Eagles play its home games at Daejon Stadium which seats 10,500.

• MOODEUNG STADIUM
The Kia Tigers play its home games at Moodeung Stadium which has a capacity of 13,872. Opened in 1961, the facility is one of the oldest baseball stadiums in Korea.

• SAJIK STADIUM & MASAN STADIUM
The Lotte Giants are the lone KBO team that has two home stadiums. Sajik Stadium in Busan is the largest stadium in South Korea with a capacity of nearly 30,000, and was built in 1985. It is known as Mecca for Korean Baseball. Masan Stadium west of Busan seats 21,885, and hosts a handful of Lotte games each season as its second home.

• DAEGU STADIUM
The Samsung Lions play its home games at Daegu Stadium, which has a capacity of 13,941 people and was built in 1948.

• MUNHAK STADIUM
SK Wyverns play its home games at Munhak Stadium in Incheon, which is the second-largest facility with a capacity of 28,500, and opened in 2002.

• MOKDONG STADIUM
The Nexen Heroes play its home games at Mokdong Stadium in southwest Seoul which seats around 18,000. The facilty opened in 1987 with natural grass which was replaced by field turf in 2008.

Italy (2-2) came out red-hot and tagged Czech starter David Vohanka for nine runs and six hits in just two frames. However, Italian starter Davide Anselmi surrendered six runs before getting pulled in the second with no outs as the two squads headed to the third knotted at 7-7.

The Italian squad regained the lead with a pair of runs in the third, and nursed the lead until the fifth when the Czech team closed the gap to a run on a single by Tomas Janoud. Coach Jiri Kotek’s talented bunch strung together six hits and a pair of walks the following inning to clinch a spot in the gold medal game.

Tomas Bocek (1-0) allowed a lone run on four hits and fanned six in five stellar relief frames to get credit for the win.

NETHERLANDS 15, BULGARIA 0
The Dutch decided the outcome quickly with 10 runs in the opening frame to post a lopsided victory against Bulgaria. Tim Schaareman went 3-for-4 with a double, triple and two RBIs. Shane Boeree drove in three scores, while Floris Timmer and Rachid Engelhardt collected two RBIs apiece. Timmer (2-0) notched his second win of the week with three shutout relief innings.

GERMANY 10, AUSTRIA 0
Luca Patschke went 4-for-4 and Tarik Jerichow (1-0) tossed a two-hit shutout to lead Germany to an easy victory over Austria. Kevin Konig added three hits and Lukas Dickman drove in a trio of runs for skipper Geor Bull’s squad.

BELGIUM 5, RUSSIA 4
Kenny Dom delivered a key two-run double and Belgium climb out of a three-run hole with five scores in the fourth to pick up their first win of the tourney with a narrow victory against Russia. Dom went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBIs, and Robin van de Wall added two hits for the Belgian squad. Nikita Dyakov collected two RBIs for the Russians. Matthew Permentier (1-0) earn the win and Robin Roevens picked up the save.

TOURNAMENT STANDINGS:
1 – C. Republic (4-0)
2 – Netherlands (4-0)
3 – Italy (2-2)
4 – Bulgaria (2-2)
5 – Germany (2-2)
6 – Belgium (1-3)
7 – Russia (1-3)
8 – Austria (0-4)

Photo courtesy of mg-oldman/FIBS

Source: Confederation of European Baseball (CEB)

The tournament host opened the scoring in the third when first baseman Phillip Caudrado singled home two runs off Venezuelan starter Jesus Yepez. But a two-out single by Jhonnatan Sivira an inning later cut the lead in half, and Venezuela pulled even in the seventh after Luis landaeta doubled, and crossed the plate on Selwin Langaigne’s sacrifice fly.

R.J. Rodriguez (1-0) retired all six batters he faced to to end the game and pick up the win.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 10, NICARAGUA 1
Angel Fermin and Habelito Hernandez collected three hits apiece, and the Dominican Republic scored seven late runs to deal Nicaragua a lopsided loss.

The Dominicans tagged Nicaraguan starter Julio Raudez for a pair of scores in the first inning, and added a run in the second. The home team closed the gap with an RBI hit by Douglas Morales in the third, but the visitors tacked on lone runs in the seventh and eight, and settled the outcome with a five-run ninth.

Roberto Novoa (1-0) allowed one run and five hits in six innings to earn the win.

PANAMA 1, VIRGIN ISLANDS 0
Carlos Munoz singled home Jamie Jaen with the lone score of the game in the sixth inning to help Panama slip past the Virgin Islands in a low-scoring affair that lasted less than two hours.

Munoz, Jaen and Adolfo Rivera tallied six of the Panamanian eight hits, while Mackeel Rodgers went 2-for-4 for the Virgin Islands.

Alberto Acosta (1-0) went the distance with three hits and 12 strikeouts. Geronimo Newton (0-1) suffered the loss despite giving up a run on eight hits and three walks in a complete-game effort.

Wednesday, July 21
Dominican Republic 10, Nicaragua 1
Panama 1, Virgin Islands 0
Puerto Rico 3, Venezuela 2

Source: 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games

The Heroes received a pair of untested youngsters, middle infielder Kim Min-seong and pitcher Kim Su-hwa. The 22-year-old Kim hit .248 a year ago in 114 games, but was used sparingly this season by American skipper Jerry Royster. The other Kim, a 24-year-old right-hander, posted a 1-9 record with a 7.55 ERA in 2006.

PUERTO RICO HONORS 1959 CHAMPIONS
The Puerto Rican Amateur Baseball Federation honored the national team that defeated Cuba to win the gold medal at the 1959 Central America and Caribbean Games Wednesday night at Isidoro Garcia Stadium. Among the honorees were Julio Muñoz, Rafa Ocasio Ventura “Pocholo” Peña, Manuel Meléndez, Jorge Luis Pellot, Luis Guillermo Marrero, José Enrique Premier Marrero, among others.

HIROSHIMA SEEKING VETERAN RELIEVER
The Hiroshima Carp are close to acquiring former Major League reliever Vinnie Chulk. The Carp have lost relief pitchers Katsuhiro Nagakawa, Ryuji Yokoyama and Mike Schultz due to injuries. Chulk, who is currently with the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburg Pirates, went 7-15 with a 4.33 ERA in 252 big league games over parts of seven seasons.

Photo courtesy of Nexen Heroes

World Beat is a BaseballdeWorld feature with news tidbits from around the globe.

“What I see is players of all ages acting in the most uncorrupt ways possible,” Shapiro told MediaGlobal. Shapiro has witnessed and been inspired by many young African children playing baseball while filming his documentary Opposite Field, which follows Uganda’s little league baseball team. Baseball is helping transform the lives of many children in the country. “[Uganda’s] baseball community is giving these players an identity they are proud of that transcends tribalism or even bloodlines.”

Baseball may not be Africa’s pastime, but the sport is improving the lives of many children all over the continent. “They all play for different reasons, some to escape, some to be with friends, some because its new, but they all play because they love it,” said Shapiro. “Their lives are difficult and their challenges are extreme, but between the lines, the excitement of hitting a home run looks the same in Chicago as it does in Kampala.”

The dream the children of Uganda’s under-12 Little League team have is to make it to the Little League World Series in the American city of Williamsport, Penn., no small ambition given the number of obstacles they would have to overcome. However, Shapiro has seen their desire and ability to persevere, “The children want to play, they want to win. They play all day and all night wherever they can.”

Richard Stanley developed Uganda Little League Baseball in 2002, and he has been doing what he can to expand the sport. Since inception, the biggest problem has been getting equipment. He initially got Little League International and Major League Baseball to donate starter kits, which includes gloves, bats, and balls, but Stanley had to pay for the shipping. When the equipment arrived the Ugandan government valued it at $40,000 and wanted Stanley to pay $16,000 in taxes and duties. With help from officials and Francis Wafula at the Ugandan Mission to the United Nations in New York, the equipment finally made it past customs.

Stanley was hoping to hold an African regional tournament in Uganda this year and had prepared for it. “We had the facilities, the dormitories, and the fields,” Stanley told MediaGlobal. But Little League Baseball wouldn’t commit. Stanley believes that if a tournament were held in Africa many countries around the continent would join and expand the sport across the continent.

“Little League Baseball refuses to play in Africa because they say it’s too dangerous.” This forces Uganda’s team to enter the European regional tournament, requiring a $35,000 entry fee, which Stanley calls unrealistic for teams in Africa.

Every kid wants the chance to play kids from other parts of world, said Stanley. “They have the dream of getting to the Little League World Series, whether they get there or not doesn’t matter, that’s the carrot out there.” Stanley pledges to put up the entry fee himself to get the team to Europe and believes in the Ugandan team’s chances of winning.

What was obvious to both Stanley and Shapiro is that the children want to play. Stanley explained that now that Major League Baseball games can be seen on television in Uganda the children are more enthusiastic to play. “After they watch the games all they want to do is go out and practice.”

As Stanley works out the details of putting on the game, the children will keep playing and Shapiro will help tell their story. “It is really a story of generations of baseball in a tough country passing on that passion and drive in the hopes of forging a better future for themselves and more importantly, their country. He added, “The inspiration for the film comes straight from the energy, emotion, and hope that the boys playing exude in circumstances where it would be understandable to give up.”

Did you find this article beneficial? If so, please help MediaGlobal continue to provide you with development news from around the world by making a donation to support our operations.

ABOUT MEDIAGLOBAL
MediaGlobal is an independent international media organization, based in the United Nations, creating awareness in the global media on social justice and development issues in the world’s least developed countries. For more information, please contact us at: www.mediaglobal.org

(This article was written by MediaGlobal writer Kevin James Moore)

Photo courtesy of Uganda Little League Baseball

Source: MediaGlobal

Each of the three teams played each other twice in the pool play tournament, with the winner of the pool advancing directly to the Championship with the top seed. The team from Nassau got off to a rough start, losing their first two games to the Bahamas Area team 18-8 and 9-6.

Determined, the host team managed an exciting 4-3 win over the Panama Champions in the first game of their next set, before dropping the second game 9-3 to Panama.

The team from Nassau waited and recouped as the Bahamas Area and Panama teams battled for the top seed in the Championship game. The Bahamas Area pitching was dominant in the deciding game, and it looked at if Nassau would be playing Panama for a spot in the Championship until the bottom of the seventh, when three runs, all scored on walks, secured Panama’s top seed in the Championship.

The rival Bahamas teams were pitted against each other in the first elimination game of the tournament, which would determine who would go home and who would advance to have another shot at Panama in the Championship. Ian Mayers pitched a perfect game while his Nassau teammates scored eleven runs, sending the host team to the final game with an 11-0 victory.

Nassau made history in the Championship, beating Panama 10-2 to become the country’s first Zone Championship and securing a spot in the PONY-13 World Series for the first time!

The PONY-13 World Series will be held at Ameritage Park in Fullerton, CA from July 30-August 1, 2010.

Source: PONY Baseball

The Reynosa Broncos were hosting the Monterrey Sultanes in a Zona Madero matchup on Sunday, July 11, and the Broncos were batting with a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning when gunfire outside the ballpark broke out after an RBI single by Reynosa’s Domingo Castro off Sultanes reliever Pablo Menchaca. Everyone on the field as well as the crowd of 1,638 instinctively ducked or sought cover and nobody was injured. Plate umpire Jaime Gutierrez then suspended the game.

The game was resumed in Monterrey last Friday as Reynosa went on to a 4-0 win.

Bruce Baskin is the Editor/Producer at the BASEBALL MEXICO website

Gambino, who was an assistant coach for the Eagles from 2003-05, replaces Mik Aoki who resigned to become the head coach at Notre Dame.

“We are very excited to bring back Mike Gambino as our new head coach,” DeFilippo said. “As a former player and assistant coach here, Mike has the experience and passion to bring the baseball program to the next level. He has already hit the ground running.”

Gambino has spent the last four seasons as an assistant coach at Virginia Tech under former BC head coach, Pete Hughes. He served as the Hokies’ recruiting coordinator and also worked with the hitters and infielders. Virginia Tech’s batting average improved 40 points (from .279 to .319) under his direction since the 2006 season.

Mike Gambino’s Career:
2010-2010 – Boston College head coach
2007-2010 – Virginia Tech assistant coach
2006-2007 – Detroit Tigers regional scout
2003-2005 – Boston College assistant coach
2000-2002 – Played in Boston Red Sox minor league system
1995-2000 – Played at Boston College

CALVI NAMED COACH-IN-WAITING
In the three weeks since University of South Alabama head baseball coach Steve Kittrell announced his retirement at the end of the 2011 season, Director of Athletics Dr. Joel Erdmann has received interest from numerous qualified candidates to take over the reins of the program. In the end, Erdmann looked at the kings of the NCAA diamond to find Kittrell’s successor.

Mark Calvi, assistant coach for College World Series champion South Carolina, was named associate head coach/head coach in waiting at South Alabama Thursday. He is scheduled to be introduced Friday at a 1 p.m. press conference at the Mitchell Center, and will become the program’s fifth head coach at the conclusion of the 2011 campaign.

OWENS NAMED BRYANT UNIVERSITY SKIPPER
Bryant University Director of Athletics Bill Smith is pleased to announce the hiring of two-time MAAC Coach of the Year Steve Owens as the next head coach of the Bulldog baseball program.

Owens comes to Bryant from Le Moyne College in Syracuse, N.Y., where he led the Dolphins to 11-straight winning seasons in as many years. Owens boasts a career record of 587-299-1 (.662), averaging nearly 31 wins per season, while his leadership has led to 27 players signing professional contracts.

Owens also brings a long list of accolades to Smithfield. The 2004 and 2006 MAAC Coach of the Year, he has been named the conference Coach of the Year seven times, ABCA NCAA Regional Coach of the Year on five occasions and is a 10-time recipient of the Louisville Slugger Coaching Award.

MIK AOKI TO LEAD NOTRE DAME
Mik Aoki (pronounced A-O-key), the only head baseball coach to lead Boston College to an NCAA Regional since 1967, has been named the 20th head baseball coach in University of Notre Dame program history.

Aoki arrives in South Bend after a four-year stint in as the Eagle head coach in Chestnut Hill, Mass. He brought the Boston College baseball program into the national forefront after leading the Eagles to the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament each of the past two seasons (the only two ACC Tournament appearances in school history) and their first NCAA Regional appearance in 42 years (2009).

In 2009, the Eagles nearly knocked off number-one national seed Texas in an NCAA-record 25-inning game that would have propelled them to the finals of the ’09 Austin Regional and given Boston College a great chance at reaching its first Super Regional in program history.

COPPIN STATE HIRES SHERMAN REED
Former Coppin State assistant coach Sherman Reed was named Friday as the new head coach of the Eagle program announced director of athletics Derrick Ramsey.

Reed replaces Mike Scolinos who left the program in June to pursue other professional opportunities.

Reed was an assistant coach at Coppin State in 2008 under former head coach Harvey Lee and in 2009 working with Scolinos.

Reed played collegiately at Towson from 1979-83 under former Baltimore Orioles and Texas Rangers coach Billy Hunter. He then spent 10 seasons playing independent baseball prior to beginning his coaching career.

Photo courtesy of Boston College Athletics

Adonis Cardona, a powerful 16-year-old right-hander, reportedly set a record for a Venezuelan prospect when the Toronto Blue Jays gave the hard-throwing, front-of-the-rotation pitcher a $2.8 million bonus. Oakland doled out a $2.2 million bonus to third baseman Renato Nunez, while another Venezuelan, outfielder Danry Vasquez, got a $1 million bonus to sign with Detroit.

While the number of signings in the Dominican Republic has definitely been affected by the stain of steroids, the Latin American “hotbed” of future Major Leaguers still managed more than a few noteworthy deals. Houston completed one of the biggest deals when the National League franchise inked 16-year-old outfielder Ariel Ovando for a bonus in the range of $2.6-$2.8 million. Ovando has also cleared the rigorous background checks done by MLB.

Below is a partial list of the Latin American prospects signed recently by MLB clubs.

COLOMBIA:
Jose Torres, RHP, Seattle Mariners ($851,000)

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC:
Phillips Castillo, OF, Seattle Mariners ($2.2 million)
Hector Veloz, 3B, Baltimore Orioles ($300,000)
Ariel Ovando, OF, Houston Astros ($2.6-$2.8 million)
Mauricio Cabrera, RHP, Atlanta Braves
Yoel Araujo, OF, Tampa Bay Rays ($800,000)
Reyson Zoquier, LHP, Minnesota Twins
Daniel Sanchez, SS, Chicago Cubs

VENEZUELA:
Yordyn Calderon, 3B, Seattle Mariners ($477,500)
Ronny Mejias, SS, Arizona Diamondbacks ($300,000)
Yorman Garcia, CF, Arizona Diamondbacks
Vicente Lupo, OF, New York Mets
Gabriel Ceñas, 3B, Toronto Blue Jays ($700,000)
Adonis Cardona, RHP, Toronto Blue Jays ($2.8 million)
Jose Tovar, LHP, Colorado Rockies ($350,000)
Danry Vasquez, OF, Detroit Tigers ($1 million)
Francisco Silva, SS, Philadelphia Phillies ($200,000)
Renato Nunez, 3B, Oakland Athletics ($2.2 million)
Anderson Mata, LHP, Oakland Athletics
Jose Torres, LHP, Oakland Athletics

Source: Baseball America

Owens (3-0), who got off to an eventful start on short rest, dazzled allowing one run on one hit with nine strikeouts in three innings of work. Dillon Maples (West End, N.C.) pitched three efficient innings, rendering just one run, unearned, with three strikeouts.

Right-handers Christian Montgomery (Indianapolis, Ind.) and Lance McCullers (Tampa, Fla.) combine to toss three shutout innings with three strikeouts.

Ragira led Team USA with three of the team’s eight hits. Francisco Lindor (Clermont, Fla.) and Michael Lorenzen (Anaheim, Calif.) each notched one and two RBI, respectively.

“We learned how to grind one out tonight,” said head coach Garye LaFevers. “Canada played hard and we hung in there early. It was not pretty, but we learned how to grind out a ball game tonight.”

Canada stormed out to a 1-0 lead courtesy of a leadoff solo home run off the bat of Emmanuel Forcier. Owens labored early loading the bases with no outs, but wriggled out of the first frame jam with three straight strikeouts.

Owens (pictured) settled in after the eventful first to stymie the Canadian hitters. The towering left-hander recorded all of his nine outs via the strikeout, catching three batters looking at a called third strike and six swinging at strike three.

The U.S. pushed in front 2-1 in the bottom of the third scoring two runs on one hit and three Canadian errors. Lindor provided a RBI single up the middle to knot the score and Nicky Delmonico (Knoxville, Tenn.) scolded a ball through the first baseman to knock in the second run.

USA tacked on another run in the fifth on a balk and one hit to lead 3-1 after five frames. Tony Wolters (Vista, Calif.) reached on an infield single, later swiping second and crossing the plate on the balk.

Canada chipped away at the U.S. lead in the top sixth manufacturing one run on one hit and one USA error. Maples was effective in the middle innings to preserve the 3-2 Red, White and Blue lead.

A two-RBI triple off the bat of Lorenzen stretched the U.S. lead to 5-2 in the bottom of the sixth. Ragira followed suit in the next inning, doubling in two USA base runners in the seventh, to extend the U.S. lead to 7-2 after seven.

The 18U National team will resume exhibition play Saturday night against another international opponent in Chinese Tapei. The U.S. will play four more exhibition games against area all-star teams and international opponents in Minnesota, before embarking on the 2010 IBAF “AAA” (18U) World Junior Championships from July 23-Aug. 1.

The 2010 IBAF World Junior “AAA” (18U) Baseball Championship will host national teams from Australia, Canada, Chinese Taipei, Cuba, Czech Republic, France, Italy, Korea, Netherlands, Panama, Venezuela and the United States. Teams will begin qualifying games on July 23 and the tournament will culminate in the gold medal game on August 1 at Port Arthur Stadium in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. Visit the website at www.worldbaseball2010.com. For tickets, please call toll free at 1-877-422-3201.

Notes
Team USA struck out 14 batters Friday night against Canada, just five shy of the 18U National Team record. The 18U USA record for strikeouts in a game in 19, set Aug. 6, 2002.

Source: USA Baseball