Alameda World Tournament Baseball will host a series of baseball games August 3-9, when our Alameda home team will face off against international teams from Japan, Korea, Mexico, and Italy, as well as California teams from Fresno and San Diego.
Games will take place at the College of Alameda. An opening ceremony with an appearance by Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft and a skills competition will kick things off at 10 a.m. on Sunday August 3rd. A full schedule is available online.
The International Boys’ League got its start in 1973, when a team of Japanese 14- and 15-year-old baseball players came to California to play some friendship games. A few years later then-president of the Alameda Babe Ruth League, Bill Dal Porto, offered to host the Japanese students at the homes of Alameda residents, thus creating a homestay program for the young players.
Within a few years, in 1978, California players also were staying at the homes of Japanese families while participating in baseball games overseas. The following year, California families hosted Japanese players during the tournament in California. Over the years, tournaments have also taken place in Brazil, Mexico, and Italy.
The homestay aspect of the program is the heart of the International Boys’ League. Dal Porto explained that he thought of the homestay program when he noticed that the Japanese players were coming to California, staying in hotels, playing baseball, and then leaving. “They’re not seeing America… next time come stay at our home.”
Now when players visit and stay in host homes, they learn about the home country’s culture in addition to playing baseball. Host families can share their life with players and show them around Alameda or Japan. This year, Alameda World Tournament Baseball is taking all the players to a San Francisco Giants baseball game.
Dal Porto told the Alameda Post that any Alameda baseball player between the ages of 13 and 15 can try out in October for the Alameda team that plays the following summer. Zach Pippen, a 17-year-old Alameda baseball player, was on the team back in 2023 and traveled to Japan.
Pippen, who won the Gillman Award that year for his spirit and leadership on the team, had many memorable moments on his trip, such as playing in a professional Japanese stadium and hitting a game-tying double, but he told the Post in an email, “My favorite thing about playing baseball in Japan was just sharing a love for the sport…. we all came from different parts of the world but we can all bond over baseball.”
Of his experience staying with a Japanese host family, Pippen said, “Sure, the house looked different and the food was a little different, but at the end of the day everything was normal. We had meals at the regular times as a family, we played video games, we played baseball, and it was all super fun.”
This year, Alameda families are hosting five baseball teams for a total of almost 100 international players. Pippen’s family is one of 40 Alameda homes receiving players, and he is looking forward to taking his turn as a host.
“I know that I was taken in with open arms and immediately became part of a family for a week and that’s what I would like to do for them,” Pippen said. “I am most excited to just show them around Alameda and all the great things it has to offer.”
Over the past four decades, more than 200 Alameda players have visited other countries to play baseball and stay with host families. For the young players, the homestay and cultural memories outlast who won or lost the games.
Dal Porto recounted, “I was talking to somebody we took to Japan 30 years ago and I asked him, ‘Do you remember how many games you won?’” The player responded, “Hmm. No…” But then Dal Porto asked him, “Do you remember the home stay?” And the answer was a resounding, “Oh yes!”
Learn more about Alameda World Tournament Baseball at the Alameda World Baseball website.
Jean Chen is a contributing writer for the Alameda Post. Contact her via [email protected]. Her writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Jean-Chen.
