Pitching for A Home Run

By Li Qing

When Ma Hu was chosen for a baseball training camp in Beijing， the 12-year-old didnt have the slightest idea how baseball was played or even what a baseball field looked like.

The son of a migrant worker in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region， northwest China， he didnt have enough warmth of family with one parent away working in the city and another having left soon after he was born. At school he was a headache for the teachers， acting up in the class and provoking fights with classmates during break time.

“I was lost at the street crossing and got picked up by the camp people” is how Ma describes how he came to join the training camp run by the Power Baseball Angel project. It was initiated by Sun Lingfeng， former captain of the mens national baseball team， in 2015 to promote baseball and provide professional training to children from impoverished households and remote areas.

Ma， now 15， has become a promising professional baseball player. His story， including his early days when he fought with his teammates and ignored the coaches instructions， is part of an awardwinning documentary on the young basketball players at the camp. Director Xu Huijings Tough Out， released in December 2020， focuses on the team of underprivileged and abandoned children who struggled to learn a new sport and build a new life for themselves while fighting low self-esteem and pursuing their dreams.

To make the documentary， Xu and his crew followed the young players for three years， watching their transformation. “I hope the film can bring more help and care for those children，” Xu wrote on film review website Douban.“It is dedicated to people who work hard silently， seize every opportunity and refuse to admit defeat.”

T o u g h O u t w o n t h e B e s t Documentary award at the 2020 FIRST International Film Festival， a festival promoting emerging filmmakers and held in Xining， capital of Qinghai Province in northwest China.

Many social media platforms including Douban recommended it as one of the best films of 2020， popularizing the camp and children.

Ready for the race

When Ma joined the camp， it had only 16 boys. They were told those who could get into the national top three would qualify for college admission. Other good players could join professional baseball teams. Still others could work at the base， teaching the newcomers.

“We want to create an opportunity for these children，” Sun told Beijing Review. “When my country nurtured me as a player， it spent a lot of money on me. So after I retired in 2010， I wanted to contribute to the development of baseball in the country.”

Niche with promise

Sun regards the sport as a channel to expand the childrens horizons， which will influence their future paths.

“Sports is also a language that children can use to communicate with friends， nature and even their inner worlds，” Qi Kang， chief producer of the documentary from video platform iQiyi， told Beijing Review. “Sports does enrich their lives.”

With nearly 300 years of history， baseball is a popular sport across the world. It was included in the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympic Summer Games. However， according to iResearch， a Chinese consulting company， only about 8.5 million play the game in China.

From a long-term perspective， developing young players and forming a reserve pool is the most critical part for the progress of baseball in China， Qi Dong， Managing Director of Major League Baseball China， said at a screening of the documentary on January 9.

He also said baseball should be introduced in schools as it is a sport based on strategy and teamwork instead of confrontation， and can profoundly influence childrens growth. “Parents can play baseball with their children or watch games with them. Such activities improve the parent-children relationship，”he added.

His other suggestion is to integrate the sport with other trendy elements so that people realize baseball is both entertainment and fashion and young people become interested in it. BR