BOK

'Bok' - an informal way of saying hello in Croatian. 'BOK' is also the name of our baseball team in Orahovica - 'Baseball Orahovica Klub'.

I began teaching baseball three years ago in Orahovica. They didn't know a thing. Right handers would swing with their left hand on top. Batters would run to third base after hitting the ball. The second baseman would throw the ball to the center-fielder hoping to get an out. They've never watched a baseball game, played catch or collected baseball cards. Needless to say strategies like a suicide squeeze or double switch haven't been covered yet.

But I'm proud of our team. They've really come along this year. One of our supporters sponsored t-shirts for the team - something each player had to earn with 6 attendences. I forgot to order any extra small t-shirts so the poor guys in the front have to wait until I return from America to get theirs even though they're some of the most faithful and energetic players on the team.

Baseball isn't very common in Europe and even less so in Croatia. But who knows, maybe one of these baseball players will be donning an MLB uniform one day.