It’s on: Five Americans hit by pitches, three Chinese ejected in baseball showdown
posted at 11:05 am on August 19, 2008 by Allahpundit
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Did I mention two home-plate collisions, one of which knocked China’s catcher out of the tournament? NBC’s highlight reel very stupidly doesn’t show all five HBPs, but it’s painfully clear that the one that sent Matt LaPorta to the hospital with a concussion was intentional. HuffPo captured a brief clip from MSNBC showing another HBP from earlier in the game, too. Square in the back.
International-incident-generating bench-clearing brawl? Narrowly avoided. Heart-ache. Click the image to watch.
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Aw, c’mon…just a few short weeks ago, they were training at the grenade range and on the commando course. Cut ‘em some slack.
coldwarrior on August 19, 2008 at 11:07 AM
This shows the idiocy of the Chinese pitcher. How can you hit a player in the head intentionally? This idiot, if he wanted to retaliate, hit the guy on the butt or back. You think the American manager for the Chinese team would have taught him that.
This is hard nose baseball, but not to the point of ridiculousness.
jencab on August 19, 2008 at 11:09 AM
If the ChiComs wanted to play bean ball, then the officials should have been willing to allow the ChiComs to have been introduced to bench clearings and beat downs. IMHO.
MNDavenotPC on August 19, 2008 at 11:11 AM
Anyone else having trouble installing that plug in from NBC?
SoulGlo on August 19, 2008 at 11:13 AM
Do you (or NBC) really expect people to install yet another piece of Mickeysoft crapware just to watch their lousy videos?
corona on August 19, 2008 at 11:13 AM
I don’t really care for the fact that the Chinese team has an American manager.
CP on August 19, 2008 at 11:14 AM
I am not installing anything from NBC or Microsoft on this PC .. is it on YouTube ???
redrock on August 19, 2008 at 11:15 AM
We let the ChiComms get away with this? We need to get some pitchers over there that can throw some chin music at around 100mph! This will dust off the ChiComms…
sabbott on August 19, 2008 at 11:15 AM
I watched it without the plug-in. Quality was good enough.
backwoods conservative on August 19, 2008 at 11:15 AM
Why is an American managing the Chicoms? Is he that desperate for money?
Blake on August 19, 2008 at 11:18 AM
What I see is two US players knocking down a catcher who was blocking the plate. No?
PattyJ on August 19, 2008 at 11:19 AM
I have my ABP on , thought about disabling it, then thought….nah…. wasn’t worth it.
MNDavenotPC on August 19, 2008 at 11:19 AM
“Chin music” never sounded so personal.
NoDonkey on August 19, 2008 at 11:20 AM
Yeah, the plug-in pissed me off, all to see NBC blame the US for playing baseball.
I’ve seen that kind of play in C-League Softball and not get called. You block the plate, you pay the price. That’s why catchers get to wear armor.
Nethicus on August 19, 2008 at 11:21 AM
During the second play he could easily have slid around the catcher and scored, but the catcher was blocking the plate. It was legitimate, but I don’t think I would have done the same.
drjohn on August 19, 2008 at 11:21 AM
The plug-in was for those of us using Firefox. I didn’t bother, plus the stupid thing resized my window. I had to close out and open a new window.
Connie on August 19, 2008 at 11:21 AM
Blake on August 19, 2008 at 11:18 AM –
The Nationals already had a manager.
coldwarrior on August 19, 2008 at 11:23 AM
NoDonkey on August 19, 2008 at 11:20 AM –
That’d be Qin music.
coldwarrior on August 19, 2008 at 11:23 AM
Good thing for the Chinese that Roger Clemens is not on the US olympic team.
wildweasel on August 19, 2008 at 11:32 AM
Not only do they have an American manager. They trained in the United States, going around the country playing minor league American teams, and accepting America’s small town hospitality. I imagine, when they got home, government minders put their minds “right” again.
RBMN on August 19, 2008 at 11:36 AM
I don’t believe it was very stupidly; I think it was very intentionally. NBC is trying like heck to paint the ChiComs as all nice and fuzzy. They seem to believe occasional negative remarks ensure their journalistic integrity.
flyfisher on August 19, 2008 at 11:36 AM
Poor sports, crooked judges, underage competitors…….best Olympics evah!
Dr.Cwac.Cwac on August 19, 2008 at 11:37 AM
How many days left in this olympic? Can we get through it without it breaking down into open warfare?
How badly did the US Women’s softball team beat the Chinese? Last I saw it was 9-0.
rockhauler on August 19, 2008 at 11:39 AM
And we killed them 9-0.
Esthier on August 19, 2008 at 11:39 AM
Certainly possible.
Allahpundit on August 19, 2008 at 11:40 AM
Take a good look. It’s the last you’ll see of baseball at the Olympics. Unless they get re-instated, both men’s baseball, and women’s softball will be gone in the future. The IOC just HAD to get rid of those sports because the U.S. always dominates them (to the point of embarrassment for the teams from the other nations).
So. Will that make me give-up being a baseball fan? Hardly. I am delighted that the rest of world has admitted that they simply can’t compete. It makes baseball all that much more uniquely American.
My collie says:
CyberCipher on August 19, 2008 at 11:44 AM
NBC has truly slathered the ChiComs in a tongue bath. From the ooing and ahhing over the opening ceremonies to this, NBC has provided the perfect exemplar of the modern American journalist: not only are they only too eager to show a lack of attachment to the US, but they are also entranced and won over by shameless, amoral assertions of power by foreign governments.
Muswell Hillbilly on August 19, 2008 at 11:45 AM
Block the plate, get the rundown.
Johan Klaus on August 19, 2008 at 11:45 AM
hey, if you are blocking the plate, you are are asking for it. I was a catcher, so I know the drill.
Knock them on their ass
jdsmith0021 on August 19, 2008 at 11:50 AM
Baseball must be banned by the IOC! There is simply no easy way to cheat because there are no crooked IOC judges involved! We need to get rid of any sports that award medals on the basis of pure achievement and go with only those that involve judges! That will be sweet…
sabbott on August 19, 2008 at 11:52 AM
The Russian womens’ basketball team has an American playing for them, Becky Hammon. Just a good ‘ol gal from South Dakota who plays in the WNBA. She just wanted her Olympic moment and I guess she has no problem with what Russia is doing in GA.
Just A Grunt on August 19, 2008 at 11:53 AM
The collisions were clean. But there is no excuse for throwing at a batter’s head. That was pure escalation, and had this been an MLB game, that pitcher would have been suspended or totally banned.
But in the place where 12 year old girls can pass for 16, and a tie can actually happen in gymnastics, this is par for the course.
budorob on August 19, 2008 at 11:58 AM
Joba, Joba, Joba!
a capella on August 19, 2008 at 11:58 AM
At least she waited until the US had passed on her.
I get bothered by all the NBA stars who make their money here, get practice and training here, only to compete against us in the Olympics.
I understand it, but it still bothers me.
Esthier on August 19, 2008 at 12:04 PM
In retrospect, the apologia by NBC following the totally SCHWEET home plate clearing, hard core baseball tutorial dispensed to the Chinese catcher who was a) close enough to the base-path to make himself a target, and b) preparing to catch the relay throw to make the tag attempt was pretty lame. I lost track of how many times I heard the exclamation “and he didn’t even have the BALL!”
Also got a chuckle that the ChiCom’s
mercenarymanager got tossed in less than a minute for whining about something he helped set the stage for by tolerating his pitcher playing that sandlot beanball bs.Heaven forbid the US team get into the situation of breaking up a developing double play near second base. We’ll be branded as barbaric, unsportsmanlike thugs, while our own media invites the rest of the world to condemn us for our rude and churlish behaviour. </sarc>
Wind Rider on August 19, 2008 at 12:06 PM
CyberCipher:
Baseball became an official sport in 1992. Cuba won gold in both 1992 and 1996. The United States won gold in 2000 (Cuba got the Silver). Then Cuba won gold again in 2004. So far in 2008 Cuba is 5-1, and Cuba has already beat the US.
But it is the US that dominates baseball?
dave742 on August 19, 2008 at 12:07 PM
Not excusing what Hammon did (as far as I know, she’s an American citizen), but a lot of the NBA stars are foreign nationals. Look at the San Antonio Spurs, they have Manu Ginobili (Argentina), Tony Parker (France), Ian Mahinmi (France)and Fabricio Oberto(Argentina). Ginobili, Parker and Oberto have played for their respective countries in the Olympics. In 2004, Argentina won the gold.
john1schn on August 19, 2008 at 12:11 PM
Is it over yet?
oldleprechaun on August 19, 2008 at 12:13 PM
I must be older than a lot of you. When it comes to sportsmanship and integrity, I always think back to Eastern Bloc behemoths that competed in Track & Field events at least until the ‘56 games. They were monsters who competed as “women”, but when certain, ahem, “standards”, were required to be adhered to the “ladies” stopped showing up.
The modern Olympics has always been predominately about politics and extolling the virtues of Marxism.
oldleprechaun on August 19, 2008 at 12:20 PM
That event’s over. You missed it. Russia beat Georgia for the gold. (I liked the parts where they profiled the tank commanders sick grandmothers back home. It was touching.)
JiangxiDad on August 19, 2008 at 12:22 PM
PattyJ-
That’s not against the rules and is part of the game.
Bad Penny on August 19, 2008 at 12:23 PM
American manager of the Chinese team? What? Is he a commie now?
indythinker on August 19, 2008 at 12:24 PM
According to the schedule, they played Taiwan, not ChiComs. I think GE communits don’t want to draw the distinction.
Buddahpundit on August 19, 2008 at 12:26 PM
I would actually love to go and coach up a foreign national basketball team like China. America really needs to learn a lesson about playing FOR THE GAME and not FOR THE HYPE. Americans can’t see the game for all the advertisements. Basketball is a beautiful game, but America doesn’t play it right anymore (that’s why we have been losing). There is only one guy who plays right and he get ZERO press - Chris Paul.
Underneath the hype there is a simple but beautiful game that anyone can play. Most people here don’t think I know what I’m talking about because I don’t sing along with all they hype. That’s why I’d like to show the American hypsters a thing or two by beating them at ‘their own game’.
ThackerAgency on August 19, 2008 at 12:32 PM
Folks, MLB is trying to grow baseball in China. Nothing to get worried about with an American managing their team, they don’t know much about the sport at this level, they need an American to teach them. Though apparently Lefebvre didn’t teach not throwing at the head.
I just wonder how many of the Cuban players are going to come back here for a shot at the majors.
rbj on August 19, 2008 at 12:33 PM
You and I both know that if the Cubans weren’t prevented from doing so, all of their great players would be playing in the U.S. - just like all the players from the Dominican Republic. Even the Japanese greats are coming to the U.S. these days.
My collie says:
CyberCipher on August 19, 2008 at 12:34 PM
Lefevre’s son is one of the color commentators for the KC Royals along with Paul Splittorf. Be interesting to see what he says about it.
a capella on August 19, 2008 at 12:44 PM
Cybercipher:
So your position is that even though it is Cuba that dominates baseball, this is because the Cuban players are not allowed to defect to the US and play for us. If they were allowed to defect to the US, they would do so, and then the US would dominate baseball. This is obvious, therefore, we can leave all of that unsaid and simply claim that the US dominates baseball, because they would if the Cuban players played for the US. So even though it is Cuba that wins the gold medals, it is the US dominates baseball.
Got it.
dave742 on August 19, 2008 at 12:51 PM
BTW, as for women’s softball, the U.S. team has won the gold medal in every Olympics since the games inception — if I am not mistaken.
CyberCipher on August 19, 2008 at 12:51 PM
Not just NBC (to paint ChiComm as nice and fuzzy).
Since the James Bond movie, other subtle imagery, it has been going on for years: ChiComms are good, only a few renegate generals were the bad guys. And ChiComms were doing their best to help the world (007) to root out thos bad seeds.
Sounds familiar?
Sir Napsalot on August 19, 2008 at 12:53 PM
Bean ball, huh?
Where’s Rollie Fingers when ya need him?
mojo on August 19, 2008 at 12:54 PM
Cybercipher:
Guess what? The US dominates table tennis as well! Technically, China wins most of the medals in table tennis, but we know that, if they could, they would all be playing for the US instead. Therefore, the US dominates table tennis! Awesome!
dave742 on August 19, 2008 at 1:00 PM
I’m just surprised that the ChiComms are allowing Taiwan to compete on their soil.
bikermailman on August 19, 2008 at 1:05 PM
If there is any wrestling, mud or uniforms being ripped off, I immediately begin watching.
Hening on August 19, 2008 at 1:07 PM
I know that, which is why I said that it’s understandable. That doesn’t make me any less annoyed.
If the Olympics are a mini war, then players like Dirk are out-in-the-open spies.
After your earlier comments on the cheating Chinese, I would have thought you’d keep from making a comment like that.
Esthier on August 19, 2008 at 1:07 PM
The Chinese catchers were foolish. If you stand on the basepath you will get run over. If you want to make a close play you have to dig in to block the plate.
gabriel sutherland on August 19, 2008 at 1:11 PM
Most people don’t think you know what you are talking about because, one, you don’t, and two, you’re a jerk.
Blake on August 19, 2008 at 1:13 PM
Okay, okay, I get your point.
But if you tell me that we have to rename the World Series because it doesn’t include teams from other countries, then I’ll know for sure that you’re only pretending to be a conservative.
CyberCipher on August 19, 2008 at 1:20 PM
In order to get approval by China to compete, the Taiwan team had to agree to officially compete as Chinese Taipei and they are competing under a generic olympic flag instead of the flag of Taiwan.
JadeNYU on August 19, 2008 at 1:22 PM
Women’s beach volleyball is the next best thing. There’s sand, they dive in it, and they wear next to nothing. Even the President can’t stay away from it.
fossten on August 19, 2008 at 1:26 PM
Does that rule also forbid NBC ( and, I guess, HotAir.com ) from referring to them as Taiwan?
Buddahpundit on August 19, 2008 at 1:27 PM
Anyone else having trouble installing that plug in from NBC?
SoulGlo on August 19, 2008 at 11:13 AM
Yes, but I guess i don’t need to see it.
Christine on August 19, 2008 at 1:32 PM
Brazil dominates beach volleyball.
dave742 on August 19, 2008 at 1:34 PM
Who among us would have shown dubya’s resolve and opted for a slight brush on the back when the sweaty, sand covered, bikini clad cutie bent over, offered him her backside for the traditional swat, and said, “Mr. President. Want to?”
a capella on August 19, 2008 at 1:52 PM
a capella on August 19, 2008 at 1:52 PM –
…….just can’t say anything right now……
coldwarrior on August 19, 2008 at 2:00 PM
I’m a woman, so maybe that explains my response, but up close, falling out of their bottoms, it only makes them look fat to me.
Esthier on August 19, 2008 at 2:23 PM
Wife looking over your shoulder?
Esthier on August 19, 2008 at 2:24 PM
Esthier:
I thought they were on the skinny side. No hips. Don’t get sucked in by the skinny model ideal. It’s not attractive.
dave742 on August 19, 2008 at 2:39 PM
Esthier on August 19, 2008 at 2:24 PM –
No. Happily single. Previously
owned.married.coldwarrior on August 19, 2008 at 2:51 PM
Esthier:
This is what makes Brazil famous.
dave742 on August 19, 2008 at 2:51 PM
I’m not saying they are fat. They’re Olympic athletes. Of course they’re not fat. It’s just the close up and the way the bottoms wear on them, which is why I prefaced it with all of that.
Esthier on August 19, 2008 at 2:55 PM
“bandwidth exceeded”
Esthier on August 19, 2008 at 2:56 PM
Stupid comment! The NBA or any corporation can hire someone from another country if they have qualifications that exceed those available in the USA. That’s how that started happening. Those very players you list go back to their OWN countries and represent them in the Olympics because that’s what the Olympics is all about. The Olympics has now degenerated into a capitalistic whorehouse for totalitarian states.
Sultry Beauty on August 19, 2008 at 3:08 PM
BTW~ They only show 2 Americans getting hit anywhere. Where are the other 3? How did this play out. It seems the MSM is trying to make this out to be that both had equally as much to blame, but I’m getting the vibe that there’s more here. Why can’t you get any video fed or information on the other 3 that got hit, when, and how that played out? Seems to me that the ChiComs were playing a little to loose with the pitches and when the catcher decided to straddle the plate, the Americans decided to return the favor and give them something to think about. A bruised leg is FAR different than a bruised skull!
Sultry Beauty on August 19, 2008 at 3:15 PM
Wow. You need to turn that down a notch. I pointed out that foreign nationals are playing here for the NBA, and play for their own countries during the Olympics.
I don’t have a problem with the NBA going looking for talent.
john1schn on August 19, 2008 at 3:27 PM
Two companies I never trust: NBC and Microsoft!!! Our virus software has been instructed to reject anything from either one of them.
…and the LAST thing the world needs is another bug-filled, limited usefulness, virus magnet video viewer…
So I’ll just close my eyes and imagine the carnage!!!
landlines on August 19, 2008 at 3:33 PM
Uh for anyone who says the second catcher was blocking the plate needs to watch the video again. They had a shot from overhead and it clearly shows he was blocking the path with 4 strides to go but then he moved forward and out of the runners path. You could also see the USA guy clearly move towards the inside so he could hit him. Not that I have a problem with beating someone or running into the Chicoms but when your up 8 runs???? Now if the USA guy did this after the USA got beaned in the head that I’m all for it. Run him over and then back up and do it again!
PS don’t install the plug in for NBC. It just gives NBC the chance to make you watch 4 commercials in the middle of the clip your trying to watch. Screw Microsoft-NBC.
titleist123 on August 19, 2008 at 3:42 PM
Sure, the second one was unnecessary. But they hit us 5 times.
One, unnecessary but perfect legal move is nothing compared to that.
Esthier on August 19, 2008 at 3:43 PM
You kids are making me giggle with all the poindexter outrage at a Microsoft “plugin”. Before any of you could watch anything from YouTube you had to install a flash plugin from Adobe which I doubt anyone whined about.
Landlines, so what is your virus software running on? Linux?, OSX?, beos? or maybe you run some version of windows.
ClassicCon on August 19, 2008 at 3:43 PM
This is like the Sox/Yanks, or should I say Sox/Rays, rivals involved in an intense baseball game. While I agree he should not have thrown at his head, however this happens all the time in MLB. You can’t throw “chin music” at the batters hip. As long as this is an accepted part of the game there is not much you can do.
chief on August 19, 2008 at 3:50 PM
Somebody once said that to make baseball really interesting, the rules would need to be changed to allow defensive players to thrown the ball at runners, and also to allow the runners to bring their bats with them.
jackmac on August 19, 2008 at 4:11 PM
Is this game available online? I’d love to watch it, but I can’t make sense of MSNBC’s goofy Olympics site.
Bugler on August 19, 2008 at 4:27 PM
Women in bikinis, men in jockstraps. That way you get sexy and funny in the same game.
john1schn on August 19, 2008 at 4:29 PM
OK, it’s available online here.
Chinese-American beanball, here I come!
Bugler on August 19, 2008 at 4:53 PM
N B C =
Non-intelligent Butt-kissing of Chi-coms
National emBarassment Crap
Nothing Broadcasted Competently
( this could go on forever…….)
Janos Hunyadi on August 19, 2008 at 5:31 PM
Bill, Bill Gates…is that you?
Apparently you don’t distinguish between “adware/spyware” and “software”: we do here.
We use Linux for servers and all the heavy lifting, and they also support a few terminals running carefully-configured Windows (with all of the dangerous and unnecessary stuff completely removed). Our anti-virus software is multi-platform and watches our network collectively and our workstations individually. Around here, even after a program is installed, it doesn’t get access to a URL or a port just because it asks for it: we vet the connection and block anything we don’t feel it needs.
I guess that’s why we haven’t been infected or lost any files from our network since it went on-line in 1995.
Happy downloading! Enjoy your BSOD.
landlines on August 19, 2008 at 5:52 PM
Ugh, enough with the browser resizing, plugin installing crap.
Midas on August 19, 2008 at 7:34 PM
STOP (yes I’m yelling)doing that! at least give us a warning or something please?
Bob
Bobnormal on August 19, 2008 at 9:34 PM
Badpenny,
I know–that’s why it surprised me that NBC is portraying it like some kind of unfair hit.
Oh, wait, it’s NBC….
PattyJ on August 19, 2008 at 10:16 PM
Quit griping about installing Silverlight and just do it. It is the future.
(Did I mention I develop websites using Silverlight?)
-tl
tlynch001 on August 19, 2008 at 11:26 PM
Does anyone else find it ironic that the Chinese catcher has the same name as the fighter pilot who hit that US ELINT plane back in 2001?
Wang Wei (pronounced Wong Way).
Members of the Wang clan might want to avoid that name. It seems to be bad luck.
Random Numbers (Brian Epps) on August 19, 2008 at 11:28 PM