Clare children go batty for US sport

IN the US, Tony Graffanino and Bob Howry are household names but when they came to Clare last week, recognition was one problem the former Major League baseball stars didn’t have to deal with.
They were at Lees Road, where they gave a coaching camp in association with West Clare Dolphins. The club’s chairman, Ger Troy, was at Lees Road and explained how the game has developed here.
“It started up about three years ago, a couple of kids wanted to try it so myself, Andrew Marsh and Tom Halpin decided to give it a go. We set up a kids’ team and an adult team and it’s been going since.”
They hope to have their own playing pitch soon. “We play our adult games on the GAA field in Killimer and we play the kids’ games in Kilrush, sometimes, in the secondary school field. We have to travel a lot, to Cavan, Galway, Dublin, different places like that, for the games. We have our own field bought, we’re trying to raise money and we’re in the process of going for planning for a proper baseball field.”
While baseball might be a bit of a mystery to many people here, it’s worth getting familiar with, Ger says. “It’s brilliant. To be honest, I knew nothing about it up to three years ago, even if I saw it on TV I would have had no interest. Once I knew what was happening I could sit down and watch it. Like anything, if you give it a go, you’ll get into it.”
The terrible July weather was continuing last Friday as Bob Howry spoke to The Clare Champion, but he wasn’t complaining. “It’s very green here. I’m from Phoenix, Arizona, it’s all desert, all dry. It’s been nice, I’ve seen maybe two or three days of rain in the last six months but there’s been more than that since we’ve been here but it’s a nice change.”
He said he didn’t know what Ireland’s relationship with baseball is like. “I really didn’t know how much they knew about baseball over here, I didn’t know if there were leagues or if the kids played or not. What did we watch the other day, is it hurley?  The swinging is similar, kind of, a lot of their kids have the grip and trying to get them to switch for the baseball has been a bit of a challenge.”
He played for six clubs in his career and finished up two years ago. Being part of a team is what he misses most from his playing days. “I miss the relationships with the team mates more than anything. Playing was fun, I loved playing but the relationships you build with the other guys and the time you spend with them is what I miss most. I don’t miss having to get ready for spring training.”
He was reluctant to pick out any particular moments from his career. “I don’t know what the highlights were, just making it there and being able to play for 11 years was one big highlight. Just a childhood dream come true.”
Tony Graffanino saw his first hurling match when Clare overcame Dublin. He was quite impressed with it. “I’d never seen that before but it was pretty interesting, it could be a pretty popular game in the States.”
He said it’s easier for children to pick up America’s national game if they make an early start.
“There are a lot of finer points to it and even some of the skills to it are very fine and there are a lot of rules. It can be a hard game to pick up but the kids do pick it up rather quickly, even the rules. It just takes practice. As they play it, the better they’ll get and the more they’ll understand.”