MLB China Series 2008: Dodgers, Padres Tie in Game One

The baseball gods were smiling on Beijing on March 15.

The skies were clear and blue, which is a lot to ask from China’s capital city. Besides running out of hot dogs in the bottom of the second inning, the first game of the China Series went off without a hitch.

Fans witnessed the first MLB home run, pickle, and broken bat in Chinese history as the Dodgers and Padres battled to a 3-3 tie.

The Gwynn twins

While Matt Kemp and Andruw Jones launched batting practice balls over the right field bleachers, fans started to file into the park as early as possible. The line outside the gate bent down the street—and in a clear effort to practice for the Summer Olympics, a time-consuming security check caused hundreds of fans to miss the first inning after an hour wait.

Frank and Barbara Glenski have been to every Padres game since 1978. As they entered Wukesong Stadium in matching Tony Gwynn jerseys, it was clear that a trip to Beijing wasn't going to stop the streak.

But they seemed less concerned with the historic significance of the first MLB game in China than just seeing their Padres play baseball.

In addition to these San Diego diehards, fans ranged from Japanese and South Korean baseball enthusiasts to Beijing Little League and high school teams in full uniform, plus a number of Americans wearing an array of NL and AL caps.

Chinese people are great baseball fans. When the American ambassador to the People’s Republic of China, accompanied by the VP of the Beijing Olympic Committee, threw out the first pitch, the crowd went crazy. When Padres right fielder Drew Macias threw a ball into the bleachers between innings, they cheered. The first ball lifted into the air was a sky-high pop foul down the left field line—and they cheered louder.

Chinese fans might not understand all the intricate rules of baseball yet, but for the most part, they watch every pitch and applaud, well, everything.

Plus, they have fun translations for baseball lingo, including “double murder,” meaning double play.

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Bud Black was right when he admitted that Beijing might favor the Dodgers because of their three Asian players. Every time Taiwanese shortstop Chin-Lung Hu came to bat, he received hearty support from the bleachers.

He also committed the first-ever MLB error in China and lined into a bases-loaded double play—but Beijing was proud to have a Taiwanese brother on the field with the mighty Dodgers.

In the top of the third inning, fans were given a real opportunity to cheer. Justin Germano surrendered a solo bomb to George Lombard that sailed into the right field bleachers—where it was caught by the same guy who caught the ball tossed by Macias earlier in the game.

Of the 12,000 people in attendance, he was one of a handful who'd brought a glove—and it paid off for him. The crowd loved it.

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