With basketball played everywhere across the country and table tennis enjoying a long history of glory, who would expect to see a group of Chinese boys swinging their bats and running for bases?

But the Tigers' 2-0 victory over the Yankees proved me wrong in so many ways.

Only these are not the vintage Tigers of Al Kaline, the near-perfect Armando Galarraga or the Yankees of Mantle, DiMaggio or Jeter. The teams were the Beijing Xidan Yankees and the Beijing Wanquan Tigers in this year's MLB Play Ball! Diamond Cup final game.