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History unfolds in CBL marathon
(China Daily)
Updated: 2004-06-16 06:47
China Baseball League history was made at Fengtai Stadium on Sunday - but not
the kind the Beijing Tigers wanted to be part of.
With both teams fighting for the right to face the league-leading Tianjin
Lions in the CBL Finals starting July 2, the Tigers and visiting Guangdong
Leopards scratched and clawed each other for just over three hours only to wind
up tied 4-4 at the end of a nine-inning marathon.
That prompted league officials to invoke a little-used international rule
that is baseball's answer to the soccer shootout. Never before used in the CBL,
the rule automatically puts a "designated runner" at second base at the start of
each extra inning in order to trigger offense. It's quirky, but exciting.
Both teams advanced their DR to third base in the 10th but couldn't push the
winning run home. In the 11th, however, Guandong's Wang stole third, then raced
for home when Feng Yi squibbed a dribbler up the line. Caught by surprise, the
Beijing infielder could only watch in stunned disappointment as his throw nailed
Wang in the back as the Leopards' speedster crossed the plate with the go-ahead
run.
In the bottom of the 11th, with the game now nearly four hours old, Beijing
had one last chance. Designated runner Lei Li was immediately bunted to third,
bringing power hitter Chen Zhe to the plate. But incredibly, with the infield
drawn way in, Chen opted for a suicide squeeze.
He bunted the ball back to Guangdong pitcher Edwin Manaya, who fielded it
like he was wearing boxing gloves. With Lei racing for home, Manaya underhanded
a throw to the catcher. For a moment it appeared Beijing had again pulled even -
but Lei missed the plate with his foot! With the Dominican Manaya screaming in
his native Spanish, the Leopards' catcher got the message and quickly tagged Lei
to cement Guangdong's 5-4 victory.
The loss was a heartbreaker for the defending CBL champion Tigers, who
pummelled Guangdong 10-0 on Friday and 8-0 on Saturday to temporarily pull into
a tie for second place.
Heading into the final two weeks of the season, the
Leopards (17-13) now have an easier route to the Finals against Tianjin (20-10).
Guangdong will face the cellar-dwelling Shanghai Eagles (7-23) in their last six
games, while Beijing (16-14) must take at least four of six from
Tianjin.
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