Baseball's growth around the world continues to impress with new countries and regions embracing the game, while others are taking giant steps onto the global stage with the likes of Pakistan, Palestine and Thailand in action at this week's XXX BFA Asian Championship in Taiwan.
All three countries are ranked outside the top 40 in the WBSC Men's Baseball World Rankings with Pakistan, currently 1-2 in Group B of the tournament, saying their main goal in Taiwan is to learn.
After winning the title of the West Asian Baseball Cup at the beginning of 2023, Pakistan advanced to the XXX Asian Baseball Championship, which sees the top three finishers qualify for the V WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup.
Ranked 49 in the world (28 positions below its previous high of 21 in 2018), Pakistan have lost against Japan (14-0) and the Philippines (4-2) before defeating world No. 43 Thailand (4-1; Musharaf Khan, cover picture, earned the win).
Pakistan Baseball Federation President Syed Fakhar Ali Shah exudes a deep passion for the game whilst hoping to see Pakistan men's baseball return to it's previous highs of five years ago.
“I think in the very beginning [of the game], not many people were cheering for us,” Shah, who is also the delegation leader, said about the opening game. “But after [our starter] Musharaf [Khan] started to strike out some Japanese batters, the crowd started to get excited about our team and root for us.”
Musharaf (6'7") and closer Amaan Jan Khan (6'5") are the twin towers of the Pakistan national team participating in the championship. Musharaf gave up three runs in two innings and fanned two, while Amaan Jan struck out two in one and two-thirds innings. Pakistan's pitching staff struck out Japanese batters seven times and committed no errors.
Although Pakistan lost the game in seven innings, fans in Taipei Dome never hesitated to support the team in green and white. “It was awesome. The fans are great. I’ve never had an experience like this before,” said Amaan Jan. Fans cheered for his strikeout pitch that was clocked at 146km/hr., and he was swarmed by hundreds of fans after the game for selfies and autographs.
“Normally, we would leave the stadium quickly after the game, but I can see the passion of Taiwan fans, so I asked my team to hold and recognize the fans,” said Shah. “I want to express my appreciation to Taiwan fans. They love us, and we love them too.”
Baseball Development in Pakistan
“It is not easy to develop baseball in Pakistan,” said Shah, “We don’t have enough funding, we don’t have a standard baseball ground, and we don’t have professional coaches. Most of the time, I pay everything from my pocket.”
Shah's father, Syed Khawar Shah, is widely regarded as the “Father of Baseball in Pakistan,”
“He spent 30 years promoting baseball in Pakistan, and I have been doing so for the last 15 years. I cannot give up. If I give up, then everything is gone.”
In addition to Asian events and a WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup appearance in 2013, Pakistan has also participated in the World Baseball Classic Qualifiers in 2016 and 2022 where Muhammad Amjad Aslam, Syed Muhammad Shah, Amaan Jan Khan, Umair Imdad Bhatti, and Muhammad Hussain were named to represent Pakistan. Both Amaan Jan Khan and Muhammad Amjad Aslam appeared in the game against Argentina.
“We are here to learn.”
“We do know that our playing level is still distant from many other teams. We are No. 49 in WBSC World Rankings, the Philippines are No. 23, Chinese Taipei No. 5, and Japan is No. 1. But we are here to learn.”
“People may know Pakistan for cricket, but baseball has very similar mechanics to cricket. We know how to throw, and we know how to swing. All we need is the resources to push us to go to the next level, and the next, and the next.”
Shah also expressed his appreciation to the Baseball Federation of Asia (BFA) & Chinese Taipei Baseball Association (CTBA) President Jefferey Koo Jr. and the teams he led for their support during the Asian Baseball Championship. “To me, that’s a lot of love Jefferey and his people show. We are grateful for their love.”
It may be a distant future for Pakistan to be a frequent participant in the Super Rounds of tournaments shortly, but the hope is there in Shah’s mind. “At this point, we are eager to seek help from all over the world to continue our grassroots programmes and make baseball more popular in Pakistan and stronger on the international stage. I strongly believe that we Pakistan athletes have the genes of baseball, and all we need is a little push.
