by Pim van Nes
In the opening game of the last Olympic baseball tournament Taiwan beats the Netherlands 5-0 and sends one of its 24 players back home for failing a WADA anti-doping control. New speed-up rules for baseball fail to convince Netherlands network NOS, transmitting the game neither on television directly nor on one of 12 internet channels. Netherlands IOC members Crown Prince Willem Alexander and cyclism tycoon Hein Verbruggen attend the game, accompanied by princess Maxima and KLM former PDG Leo van Wijk.
Before the first baseball game is started the stereotype kind of news often harming the Olympic aspirations of IBAF is already spread around the world. Taiwanese player Tai-Shan Chang has used a Chinese cold medication during the preparations in Beijing and consequently failed a WADA anti-doping control. In the early Wednesday morning of the Far East the news is published as to the non-awareness of the player concerning the risk of the so far unknown substance consumed. One player out of the game sometimes has more influence on baseballs future than twenty players in the game.
In six out of nine innings the Netherlands offense consists of three batters only, but the first hit in the game is Dutch. First baseman Sharnol Adriana singles as leadoff in the second inning, but strands in a double play with Sidney de Jong batting. The first Taiwanese hit in the game immediately pays out in the second inning, when Chih-Hsien Chiang doubles and scores from third base upon a sacrifice fly by Kuo-Hui Lo: 1-0 for the Chinese from Taiwan playing home in the People’s Republic of China.
Two strong starting pitchers Wei-Yin Chen and David Bergman speed up the first three innings, but in the fourth Bergman is plagued by an error committed by former Major League outfielder Eugene Kingsale with the bases loaded: 2-0. Rob Cordemans, usually with his club Sparta/Feyenoord the best starter in Netherlands Hoofdklasse, is sent to the mound as first reliever in his fourth Olympic Games since 1996. The inherited runners however score on a single by Che-Hsuan Lin and a sacrifice fly by Chien-Ming Chang: 4-0.
Alike Danny Rombley with a single in the third inning, also Kinheim teammate Bryan Engelhardt doubles with already two outs for the Netherlands in the fifth inning: too late to come back and to reach the scoreboard. On the contrary the double by Chih-Wei Shih is crowned to the fifth run for Taiwan by Chen-Ming Chang’s RBI single in the sixth inning. Cordemans regains control from the mound and also closer Dave Draijer, who arrived from Hoofddorp in Beijing just a few days ago, eliminates three Taiwanese in a row: groundout, strikeout and flyout. Although leadoff pinch hitter Dirk van’t Klooster singles, the last attack from the Netherlands remains scoreless again. The Dutch are downed 5-0 by Taiwan.
NED 000 000 000 0 4 1 TPE 010 301 00X 5 7 0
Pim van Nes
Baseball writer for
www.honkbalsite.com
www.sporttribune.nl
www.baseball.it
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