ALL is set for the Harare Metropolitan Provincial Baseball Quadrangular tournament this Saturday and Sunday at the Dream Park baseball field in Harare.
The tournament is the first baseball extravaganza to be held since the Covid-19 pandemic halted all sporting activities in the country.
Rivals Harare and Bulawayo provinces, Mashonaland West province and a Japanese team full of expatriates working in Zimbabwe will battle it out for honours to be crowned champions of the two-day tournament.
Baseball is one of the fasted growing sport in the country. The tournament hosts, Harare province chairman Winmore Mubariri, said they are using the games to develop baseball in the country.
“The main aim is to develop the baseball game as it will be the first time playing at Dream Park baseball field after years, and it’s a welcome back to competitive baseball at the field in Harare, Zimbabwe.”
Dream Park is next to Motor Action Sports Club and has become the home of baseball in the country.
Zimbabwe is currently ranked third in Africa, behind South Africa and Uganda. In the world, they are ranked 38.
The national team has a jam-packed fixture in 2022, and the provincial tournament is part of the preparations for next year’s games.
“There are national assignments next year starting with a tour to South Africa in April, All Africa Games and Olympic qualifiers later,” Mubariri told Entersportnews.
The baseball community is already excited, and most are looking forward to the derby pitting Harare and Bulawayo provinces hosts.
Mubariri chronicled the history of the derby, which Harare province has been bossing since the early days.
“The derby dates back to 2010 when the two biggest provinces first played each other, and the two provinces always want to showcase the best of their skills and mental strength. Between the two, Harare has won six titles against Bulawayo’s two.”
It’s not only the old rivalry between the two foes that should excite baseball fans, but the presence of a Japanese team adds to the excitement.
Baseball has its origins in the United States of America, but Zimbabwe has been fashioning their style of play after the Japanese.
USA type of baseball is built around solid pitchers and big hitters, while the Japanese use speed and guile more because of their small stature.
“We first made the event a triangular series after the Japanese team showed interest in taking part as we were meant to play Bulawayo before we knew it. Mashonaland West province expressed interest in taking part in the tournament.
“The Nippon Japanese team is good. Most of the players have played baseball back in Japan.
These are Japanese people residing in Zimbabwe,” added Mubariri.
The tournament doesn’t have a title sponsor, and Mubariri urged the corporate sponsors to partner with one of the fastest-growing sport in the country and Africa as a whole.
“We have a strong baseball community in the country, tournaments such as these presents corporates and anyone pushing for their brand to be visible, gets a chance to be noticed as baseball is the future and is growing at a breakneck pace,” he told Entersportnews.
