From the church of baseball
Iraqi baseball team finally in uniform, thanks to U.S. donors
By Laith Hammoudi of the McClatchy Newspapers
BAGHDAD — Smiles broke out earlier this week as members of the Iraqi national baseball team tore into boxes filled with brand-new uniforms, courtesy of a Seattle-based company that donated the gear after a profile of the fledgling team by McClatchy and a national appeal by MSNBC.
Six of the team members examined every detail of their new Ebbets Field Flannels duds Tuesday: blue caps printed with Iraqi flags, custom-made jerseys with “Iraq” on the backs, gray pants and old-school stirrup socks.
“I never dreamed we’d have something like this,” said Bashar al Salah, the team’s captain. “Now we’re a real baseball team.”
The 20 uniforms were part of an outpouring of donations that followed a McClatchy news report July 13 that described the struggles of the start-up team, which at the time shared a single softball bat, a few old balls and some worn-out gloves. Uniforms were only a dream. Since the report, which gained a wider audience when MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow picked it up and appealed for help, the team has received cleats, baseballs, gloves, bats, helmets and an official rule book….