Baseball may be America’s national pastime, the number one sport in Cuba, Japan, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, growing rapidly in Australia, Asia, Central America and Europe but it just may be perfect for Malta.
Apart from having the ideal climate for baseball, Malta boasts the luxury of having many returned migrants from North America and Australia, who have played the game at a relatively high level and are working to help it grow.
At the moment, baseball is one of the quickest growing sports in Malta and Gozo as there are three separate leagues for youths organized and run by the Malta Association of Baseball.
There is also a National League which has developed some players who are capable of competing at the highest European levels. The senior league members are very culturally diverse, as there are players with Australian, Canadian, American, German, and Yugoslav and, of course, Maltese backgrounds.
The focus on youth baseball in Malta in recent years has led to the growing popularity of the sport.
The youth leagues, along with the SkolaSport programs, have led to over 100 youths being involved in organized baseball under the watchful eye of the association over the past two years.
Furthermore, this youth baseball is quashing the misconception that baseball is only a game played by returned migrants as over 95 per cent of the youth players are Maltese and have spent their whole lives here.
Evidence of the growth of baseball can be further solidified by the strong showing the national team has put in over the past two years in their annual trip to Italy.
The team returned home with victories in both of their last two trips which saw them beating the Paternò Warriors and San Giorgio. Both sides are semi-professionals and compete at the highest levels of Italian baseball, and are among the elite club teams in Europe.
With the recent success of the Malta rugby and waterpolo national teams, it looks as if yet another relatively new sport has the ability to bloom.
Today, the association will be kicking off its 10th season. An exhibition game will take place in Kercem, Gozo, between 2002 champions Gozo Tornadoes and a ‘Rest of the League’ selection.
Players, officials and friends are then set to meet at Il-Girna Restaurant in Sannat for a social activity during which the senior league awards will be distributed to the various winners.
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