Day 9: Korea vs Chinese Taipei

The final day of the tournament! I went out to buy some more souvenirs in the morning at the place we shopped at before. Queenie came over for lunch and wanted to eat in the downstairs restaurant. I had not been there before; in fact, did not even know it was there. The staff was not as well-versed in English, so it was a good thing I was with someone who speaks Mandarin. They brought us about 10-12 different dishes. Many of them had to be explained to me, but I tried as many as I could. One of them was chicken feet. The Taiwanese love these, but they seem like a lot of work for not much return. After lunch I returned to the room and caught up on yesterday's blog info and before I knew it it was time to get ready for the ball game.

I was assigned second base for the Korea vs Chinese Taipei game this evening. Paul Hyham (from Australia) was on the plate, Dale (Canada) was at first, and Carlos (Puerto Rico) worked third. Although both teams have already qualified for the Olympics, the game was a complete sellout (over 20,000). The combination of the facts that these two teams don't like each other, that it was a Friday night, and that closing ceremonies immediately followed the game made for quite a festive atmosphere. I had forgotten how vocal the local people are in supporting their team...you couldn't hear anything when they were cheering, which was often. The teams seemed a little nervous and made several miscues in the field. Korea got off to a 4-1 start and managed to hold on for a 4-3 win.

Paul had a very good game behind the plate. He is confident and crisp in his mechanics, and seemed in control throughout. He has been selected to represent Australia in the Olympics and I'm sure he will do an outstanding job. Dale had most of the action on the bases. Carlos and I didn't end up with a whole lot to do.

After the game, all the umpires came onto the field for the closing ceremonies. We took tons of pictures as the three top teams (Canada, Korea and Chinese Taipei) were awarded trophies for their accomplishments. At the ceremony's conclusion, the umpires all went out near the outfield wall to get a good group picture. Many fans were still in the outfield bleachers and waved and posed for pictures. Many of the guys (me included) had their cameras and broke off for some shots with their favorite guys. We returned to the locker room, where Runch complimented everyone on a job well done.

We met back one last time in the front hotel bar to have a meal and cocktail. People started filtering out a few at a time to pack. Some are leaving very early. I have a flight about 11:00 AM and have to be downstairs for a 6:00 AM departure. I'll recap the tournament once I return home and get a day or two to catch up on my sleep and collect my thoughts.