IBAF president Dr. Harvey Schiller and Major League Baseball invited foreign diplomats to Wednesday’s MLB game between the Nationals and Pirates in Washington, D.C. Frederic J. Frommer of the Associated Press has the story:
An excerpt:
Many of the diplomats in attendance Wednesday night had never been to a baseball game before. Organizers from the State Department and the International Baseball Federation did their best to both explain and extol the sport. (An Associated Press reporter was given exclusive access to the group before and during the game.)
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The diplomats watched the game from three private suites, and were feted with a buffet dinner that included corn on the cob, brisket, wraps, hot dogs, coleslaw, deserts, wine and beer. Harvey Schiller, the baseball federation president, said that his group picked up the roughly $2,000 tab for the food; the Nationals donated the suites.
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Retired major league players, including B.J. Surhoff and Bobby Bonilla, hung out in the suites and signed autographs for the diplomats.
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“It’s important for our youngsters to have that dream to play in the Olympics,” Bonilla said. “It’s a dream of everybody to participate in the Olympics. I wish I’d had the opportunity. It’s a really big deal.”
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The dean of the Washington diplomatic corps, Djibouti ambassador Roble Olhaye, threw out the first pitch. Not only was it his first baseball game, he said, but it was the first time he had ever held a baseball.