Ten years of baseball development in Ukraine marked by significant progress (PART I) (12/02/01)

Ten years of baseball development in Ukraine marked by significant progress

by Basil Tarasko

PART I

The year 2001 marks the 10th year of a free Ukraine. It also marks the 10th year of my involvement in the development of baseball in Ukraine.

All this started in 1991 when the Soviet Union's Committee of Physical Culture and Sports invited me to travel to Ukraine to work with the Pobutovik Baseball Club in Kyiv. My six-week adventure set the stage for 19 more trips to the homeland of my parents and all my ancestors.

It seems that I have grown up along with Ukraine - so many changes in everyday life. A dark and unwelcome Boryspil airport then has been transformed to a warm and modern facility now. A few Customs agents even smile now and then. Downtown Kyiv and the Kreshchatyk, beautiful then, became even more so, a wider boulevard now closed to traffic on weekends, and European-style shops two levels underground.

I remember that all-night train to Lviv in 1991. Serhii and Hryhorii, my two closest friends in Ukraine, advised me to keep quiet, otherwise the officials would discover that I was a foreigner. My visa permitted me to stay only in Kyiv and not travel anywhere else - problems could arise if I did. We departed from the Central Train Station in Kyiv, where I felt cold and out of place. I walked through dark and dreary halls and felt unsafe. The last few years have seen the Central Station completely renovated. Now it is air-conditioned and modern conveniences are everywhere; restaurants are a pleasure to be in. Now I can travel freely on trains with no restrictions.

In 1991, there were three major centers of baseball in Ukraine: Kyiv, Odesa and Symferopol. There were youth baseball programs in Lyiv and in Kyiv. Now baseball is played in 16 oblasts. There are national teams in four different age categories. There have now been two Ukrainian Little League Country Championships. And this year our Big League team (ages 16-18) from Kirovohrad won the European Baseball Championship and represented Europe at the Big League World Series in South Carolina.

I've made 20 trips to Ukraine in 10 years. What makes me come back is seeing the smiles on the faces of the boys and girls with whom I work. I enjoy making them laugh and watching them as they enjoy the game of baseball that I love.

Little League Conference

The second annual Little League baseball conference was held in Symferopol, Crimea, in February. Over 25 Ukrainian baseball and softball coaches attended the two-day seminar led by this writer as district administrator of the Little Leagues in Ukraine, assisted by Harold Weissman, assistant district administrator (ADA) and Vitaliy Lizogubenko, head of baseball development in Ukraine and also an ADA. Topics included Little League organization and expansion, rule changes, coaching suggestions and the planning of the Little League tournament schedule for the upcoming season. This event was sponsored by the Self-Reliance Federal Credit Union of New York.

Little League World Congress

As district administrator for the Little Leagues in Ukraine I represented Ukraine, one of 104 countries belonging to the LL world organization, at the Little League World Congress in Ottawa on April 20-23. I received one of four worldwide awards for my volunteer work in the European region, namely for contributions in furthering the development of the Little League baseball program in Ukraine and for shipping much-needed baseball equipment to schools and youth organizations throughout Ukraine.

Four administrators were honored for their service throughout the world. But, unfortunately, I was not in attendance. My wife, Alexandra, and I were attending liturgy at St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Church that morning. I had no idea that I was to be one of the four recipients.

Upon returning to the conference and hearing that I had missed the presentation I remarked that I had not come to the congress to win an award. Upon deeper reflection I realized that the true winners of that award are all those individuals who have supported my work in Ukraine: all those people who purchased Ukraine baseball shirts and Ukraine Little League pins, all the Little Leagues throughout the U.S. that have donated baseball equipment to the boys and girls of Ukraine.

But there are also two extraordinary individuals from the Ukrainian community who have given me encouragement and provided financial support to me to carry on my baseball activities in Ukraine. They are: Dr. Bohdan Kekish, president of the Self-Reliance Federal Credit Union of New York, and Myron Stebelsky, president of the Ukrainian Sports Federation of the U.S.A. and Canada (USCAK). Year after year they believed and provided much-needed advice and moral support.

Recently two more members of the Ukrainian community have stepped up to the plate to help my cause: Alex Prociuk, president of the Ukrainian Homestead located in Lehighton, Pa., and Peter Kosciolek, manager of the Ukrainian American Youth Association (SUM) resort located in Ellenville, N.Y. Both gentlemen allowed me to sell Ukrainian sports souvenirs at major events to help raise funds for the development of baseball in Ukraine.

Little League Championship of Ukraine

Six regional winners - Donetsk, Kirovograd, Kyiv, Rivne, Sumy and Symferopol - arrived in the nation's capital to compete in the second annual Ukraine Country Little League Baseball Championship (ages 11-12) on July 1-4. The final game had last year's winning team, Sumy, facing the all stars from Kirovohrad. Championship game result: Kirovohrad 9 and Sumy 5. The Kirovohrad team advanced to the European Little League Championships in Kutno, Poland, to represent Ukraine.

There were a couple of firsts along the way. The team from Symferopol easily defeated Sumy 14-4 to capture first place in group competition and a spot in the finals. At the end of the game the coach of the Sumy team protested the game, citing an infraction against the rule that stipulates that all players must play a minimum of one inning in a game. If every player is not used in a game, a forfeit is the result.

The 10-run rule was invoked when the score reached 14-4 and the game concluded in only four innings, short of the regulation game of six innings. I explained to the Symferopol coach that he indeed did not use all his players in the shortened four-inning game. Dimitry Savelko, coach of the Symferopol team, did not argue, but simply looked down dejectedly and explained that he was about to make his substitutions in the fifth inning. But the game was over. There would be no fifth inning and no opportunity to make the necessary substitutions. I had to award the game to Sumy.

When word of the forfeit spread, there was much disbelief and confusion among the players from the winning, and now losing, team. There were tears - 14 pairs of eyes crying.

One of the mothers from the Symferopol team asked that I speak to the boys, to try to explain. There they sat in their van looking up at me wondering what went wrong. The final score was 14-4, a well-earned victory and yet a loss. I told them it was not their fault, that they did nothing wrong, but there are rules that must be followed by your coaches.

They did not want to hear about any rules from me. I further explained that there will be occasions in the future when they will not agree with some rule, but that they must adhere to it. I did not believe that my talk helped and a disturbing thought came to mind as the van drove off: will the Symferopol team show up on July 4 and compete for third place?

The next morning I arrived at the field an hour before the 9 a.m. start for the third-place game between Donetsk and Symferopol. The team from Donetsk was preparing for the game without an opponent. The start time came and went with only one team. My worst fears from the previous day were coming true. Would there be a third game? Four television crews were to arrive to cover the championship game. How do I explain a missing team? At 9:30 a.m. my worst fears were allayed as the van with the missing team was coming down the road. The game would be played an hour late.

In a very close game the two teams traded leads, with Donetsk holding a 12- 8 lead into the top of the final inning. Three outs and Donetsk, which finished in last place a year ago, would move up to third place. This was not to be as Symferopol scored five runs to take the lead 13-12 and now it was their turn to try to get the final three outs. With three batters up and three batters down, Symferopol captured third place as the entire team rushed to the mound to celebrate.

The events of the previous day were forgotten. Winning an important game can erase all bad memories. I was happy for the boys from Crimea.

But it was not over just yet.

Everyone held their breath as the Donetsk coaches filled a protest, as a new word entered the Ukrainian baseball vocabulary: "protest." The protest centered on the late starting time. The game did indeed start one hour late. I explained to the Donetsk coaches that only violations of playing rules can be a basis for a protest - not the starting time. Victory was now official for the Symferopol team. There were no more tears, just warm smiles and hugs.

The championship game between Sumy and Kirovoghrad was set for noon. James Stopper, chief financial officer of Little League Baseball Inc., threw out the ceremonial first pitch as media representatives recorded the action.

The championship game was well played and a new champion emerged. The team from Kirovohrad defeated last year's winner, Sumy, 9-5. Kirovohrad now had the right to represent Ukraine at the European Little League Championships in Kutno, Poland, in August.

All the funds necessary to house and feed the teams for four days were provided through generous donations from the Self Reliance (N.Y.) Federal Credit Union, the Ukrainian American Youth Association and the Ukrainian Homestead in Lehighton, Pa.

Souvenirs and shirts commemorating this championship were donated by Little League Baseball Inc. and its CFO.

European Little League Championship

On August 3 Ukraine shut out Kenya 10-0 to begin the European Little League Championship tournament on a positive note. Two days later Ukraine lost a tough one-run decision to Georgia 7-6. Georgia eventually finished in second place. Losses to Belgium and Poland followed, preventing Ukraine from reaching the medal round. We closed with a 9-8 victory over Slovakia. I am proud that Ukraine once again sent a team to Kutno. It was not easy. All the funding for the trip came from parents and individuals who wanted to help the team travel and see a part of the baseball world. Ukraine finished with a 2-3 record.

Russia won the European Championship and earned the right to represent Europe in Williamsport, Pa. for the World Series. Russia became the first native team to ever represent Europe at the Little League World Series. Oh, how much I wanted Ukraine to be that first team. Next year it will be Ukraine!

PART I

CONCLUSION

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