On November 4th to 5th, in Kobe, Japan, four teams from four countries and territories faced off for the first international baseball tournament for to ever be held for physically challenged people. The teams, from Korea, Taiwan, Japan, and the United States, took part in a two-day round-robin series that saw Japan emerge as the first world champion.

This tournament, which was the first of its kind to ever be held at an international level, was organized by the Japan Dream Baseball League. In Japan, the Japan Dream Baseball League has been instrumental at driving the sport forward, organizing national events, taking the lead in writing the rules and regulations for the sport and organizing tournaments at both prefectural and national levels.

The result has been that, in this country, baseball for people with disabilities has blossomed to include 30 teams nationwide, with a total of 750 players. This November 4-5, the Japan Dream Baseball League took yet another step forward, by bringing baseball for the physically challenged onto the international stage.

In terms of public interest, the tournament could only be called a resounding success. An estimated 3,000 spectators attended, including a large number of people with disabilities. Thus, not only was the level of national awareness raised, but dreams were planted in the hearts of many of those in attendance. In addition, nearly 25 news companies, including 11 television companies, came to report on the event, broadcasting the news all over the nation.

As fits any international sporting event, the mood was highly festive, from the teams themselves, to the fans, to the high school baseball team that showed up as a cheer group, cheering all day long, (and for every single team).

The next tournament is scheduled to be held in the United States in 2006, and at this point six teams are on the roster: the four from this first tournament, Columbia and Venezuela. Each country will have a number of hurdles to overcome along the way to that series, but their enthusiasm for holding the event will carry them a long way toward equaling the success of the 2006 games.

As one player from Taiwan stated, "We may have lost, but the wins and losses are not important. The real value lies in the fact of holding this competition." These are men who love their sport for the reasons and with the intensity that it should be loved with.

People interested in finding out more about the Japan Dream Baseball League should visit their website at the link below. The site is in Japanese, but has several good photos from the tournament.


Writer: James Huffman
Photos: Tominaga Natsuko