Baseball in Africa

This man spends most of his time coaching 12 and 13 years olds, who says are the real future of baseball and are doing well considering the limitations, such as having no opportunity to watch anyone play. The coach says most of the boys have been playing the sport for only a year or two, and baseball is new to Ghana, were it was introduced by American ex-patriots only in the 1980s. Today there are several hundred players in the country, where this soccer field doubles as a baseball field. There isn’t a single African-born player in the Major Leagues but some in the baseball world are trying to change that. Delegations of players have come to Ghana twice in recent years to cultivate interest, including former player David Winfield. This Major League Baseball official has come to Ghana as a site of recruiting new talent and develop the region in the way MLB has for Latin America. He says it’s unlikely today’s youngsters will ever play pro ball in America because the gap is too wide. He says more likely is the development of a relationship between Africa and MLB. This African official talks about the planning a 5,000-seat stadium for the University of Ghana, which will finally give baseball a proper home here. He figures the stadium will cost money and he doesn’t have that financial support. The baseball coach says the sport doesn’t get a lot of support in Ghana, but that could change if even one Ghana player made the pros.