Arab Classic Was a Success, Pakistan Dominated

[@inter_1097]

Pakistan like: USA beat us in cricket so let's get good at their game.

[@arjunsrinivas7849]

They have been the best in West Asian Baseball for at least 9 years now. The West Asian teams are not good enough to compete with giants like Japan, South Korea, USA, Cuba etc. Pakistan is playing baseball for at least a decade and a half now.

[@flamingfrancis]

Great to see these nations gaining in strength. Pakistan's standard is no surprise given a player or two that played at Asia Cup level contacted us here in Australia re playing over 25 years ago. Many of these nations are cricket playing so many basic skills are there. The ICC (Interntional Cricket Council) has been based in Dubai for decades and established their Academy there with a former great Aussie cricketer as their original head coach. That region is generally becoming very much sports orientated. Let's hope leaders from these nations take note and settle their differences on a sporting field.

[@wizardoferror9942]

Baseball is making a comeback!

[@veryforest3937]

I had no idea this was going on. Those scores are wild, especially since the teams seem to do well in one game and then get trashed in the next with that seems like zero defense. It reminds me of those regular season games in Mexico City in 2023 with the double-digit scores. Regardless, I really hope baseball takes off in the countries where cricket is dominant, as it brings joy and helps kids have new aspirations versus the extremely saturated cricket scene . It would also be great to have something to watch during the MLB post-season doldrums. I have some Indian friends that started going to baseball games (in the US) because they no longer had cricket to watch. They became fans and have replaced cricket with baseball during the regular season.

[@musaabpero5867]

Hey man timing of this event was too good, as pakistan and india drama started in cricket so people especially in pakistan are angry with Indian board😅😅😅

[@JohnnySabu]

Not surprised. Pakistan are a powerhouse of Cricket and the game of baseball naturally lends itself to the Pakistanis who consider it an easier game over cricket. No wonder they dominated. Would love to see the tournaments grow in that region so the level of play can rise as well.

[@syeven376]

Talk about copa América del béisbol

[@haroldaranda8042]

Cricket teams morphing into baseball

[@arjunsrinivas7849]

USA too has a cricket team. We cannot say Baseball teams are morphing into Cricket. USA also has Rugby Union, Rugby League and Aussie Rules teams. We cannot say American Football teams are morphing into Rugby Union, Rugby League and Aussie Rules teams. India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are playing Baseball from a really long time. I don’t know when Bangladesh started. But these 3 have been around for a while now

[@flamingfrancis]

Are you sure you understand the fanaticism of cricket in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal etc.? Baseball should grow because of the difficulty for elite cricketers to crack into their national teams, something evidenced in some other Test status cricket nations already.

[@flamingfrancis]

@@arjunsrinivas7849 A team representing the USA is credited with playing the very first international cricket game ( v. Canada) in 1848 which is around the same time the Rules of Baseball were codified. The occupying English introduced cricket into NE USA before they were tossed out following the American Revolutionary War (around 1780).

[@arjunsrinivas7849]

@ I know that very well. That was the first time 2 teams representing a country played in any sport and not just cricket. But the point I am making here is that Baseball teams have been around for a long time in the sub continent.

[@guyfaux3978]

You'll probably have baseball doing as well there as cricket does in America-- a pleasant diversion for a few weeks, mostly for the expats but with enough local curiosity to keep it going on SOME level. And like Citizen Kane, even if it's not a money-maker, with all that Persian Gulf oil money, that league could go broke in 2100 at this rate.

[@flamingfrancis]

The Asian Baseball Cup has been played for since 1994 and that should tell us the sport of baseball is no flash in the pan there. The region has been hosting several major International events such as the FIFA World Cup playoffs, SailGP, MotoGP and F1 so it stands to reason there is good support...and growing support.

[@zaboog9149]

There have been a couple Saudi expat teams that have made it to the LLWS

[@shawnw3628]

was decent ball! I watched a few games at the new field. Excited to see how my fav sport develops in the country I call home. About your comment at the end about UAE and KSA teams being all expat.... Gulf Arabs generally arent very sporty and baseball is not on the radar at all. The reality is that there is no Emirati baseball talent to build a team. Even the local soccer league is mostly expats. Emiratis are only around 11% of the UAE population. Saudi has much more locals, but again its just not a big sport for them. Most locals only think about soccer if they are into sports at all. If you check out the local cricket teams its same situation.

[@Octavius_DelMonte]

I know its probably going to be divisive but I'm glad to see Palestine represented especially with the current affairs of the day. I would imagine its a lot harder to focus on any sport with what's going on. As for Middle Eastern teams fieldinng players whom are obviously expats, its not really something new. They did the same with Football for many years before the local youth clubs were able to develop talent. In a way, the Expats will hopefully generate interest for the locals but I'm afraid Saudi Arabia will approach it the way they do football which is to poach late-career talents from established leagues to flood their team with big money contracts.

[@Erlov71]

What yt channel were the games on?

[@musaabpero5867]

Baseball united youtube channel

[@arunpnayar]

Not all, but the majority of the games were streamed - www.youtube.com/@baseballunited

[@MrMuppetLover]

No surprise there! Cricket and Baseball have similar rules.

[@inter_1097]

True, but then they smashed India 12-0 who are absolute gods at Cricket

[@nadermilite5652]

Cricket isn't popular in saudi arabia or uae

[@MrMuppetLover]

@ Thanks for the information.

[@MrMuppetLover]

@ But it is in India and Pakistan.

[@arjunsrinivas7849]

This tournament was successful only because it was advertised well. India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have been playing Baseball for quite some time now. Nobody from these countries even cared about it. Cricket, Soccer and Kabaddi are among the top sports in sub continent

[@ricardoguerrero3883]

No Audio?

[@ricardoguerrero3883]

No issues. Problem was on my end