Béisbol:
Spanning the Globe
-Amaury Pi-González
March 18, 2008
The Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame, was established in
San Francisco, California in June 1999. Since then, the HHBM HOF has worked
with numerous Major and Minor League Baseball teams as well as community
organizations and local governments across the country.
The vision our our founder and CEO Gabriel (Tito) Avila Jr. is becoming a reality with this 503(c) non-profit organization recognized by Mr. Bud Selig,Commissioner of Major League Baseball, it players, the media and people not only here in the United States of America, but around the world, as baseball has become an international sport.
The Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame has reached the hearts of baseball and non-baseball fans alike with this noble mission of preserving the history and the influence of Hispanic players in baseball. Exhibits, at libraries, Major League Baseball All Star games, State Fair, Fan Fests, regular baseball games and many other community events across the country have made this unique museum one of the most popular attractions. The HHBM HOF is much more than just exhibits of uniforms, bats and other memorabilia but the rich history of Hispanics in baseball. One of our primary objectives is in education. Considered by many the greatest pure hitter of al time, Ted Williams, nicknamed The Kid, The Splendid Splinter, The Thumper and Teddy Ballgame is inducted in our Hall Fame because his mother, Maria Hernández-Benzor was born in Mexico. Yes, the great Ted Williams was of Hispanic Heritage!
The 2008 season opened in Tokyo, Japan, between the champion Boston Red Sox as they take the field as home team (at Tokyo Dome) against the "visiting" Oakland Athletics on Tuesday March 25. The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres played in exhibition the previous week in Beijing, China. Beijing is hosting the 2008 summer Olympics.
Béisbol, Spanish for Baseball, is becoming an international sport. Here in the United States of America, baseball is considered the National Pass Time and is the most historical of sports. More books on baseball are in the Library of Congress in our nation's capital, Washington, D.C. (largest library in the world) that any other sport. While the 2008 Major League Baseball season gets under way, in China, they are celebrating year 4076, the Year of the Rat.
In 2006 the first World Baseball Classic took place as an international tournament sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation and created by Major League Baseball, the Major League Players Association and other professional baseball leagues and their players and associations around the world. It was a complete success as Japan won and Cuba took second place.
The second World Baseball Classic is scheduled to take place in 2009. Currently it is scheduled to be held every four years; however this could change to maybe every two years depending on the continuing success, the media and the response of the world community.
Apart
from Soccer (Fútbol), Baseball is the most widely played sport
in the world today. Baseball is truly a “Love Affair”, something
that you learn since you are a kid and stays with you for the rest of
your life. Many years ago as a broadcaster, when I first visited Wrigley
Field in Chicago, the home of the Chicago Cubs, I noticed a souvenir store
across the street which had written on its awning “Being a Cubs
fans is a lifetime commitment”. With all respect to Cubs fans, this
applies to all real baseball fans. The Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum
and Hall of Fame was founded almost a decade ago with the vision of Mr.
Avila Jr. and a bunch of people that simply share this Love Affair for
the greatest game on earth.
