Men After My Own Heart

Anyone who has ever played in a game for a hopelessly outclassed team can appreciate the following story of Ireland's first foray into international baseball:

When Kindle and his band of 30 or so baseball brothers began playing with a hardball in 1995, there were no diamonds in Dublin, no backstops, no tailored lawns and no accounting for the weather. "They play from April to September; those are the only times that are warm and dry enough to play," Fitzgerald said. "Even then, the periodic rain can make a warm sunny day a miserably cold day within minutes. The wind is terrible too. The wind just roars off the Atlantic Ocean and crosses the entire country. It's a challenge, to say the least. But they play through almost anything."

Before long, the group thought it could represent Ireland in the 1996 European Championships. And in true Jamaican bobsled style, it did just that. Ireland debuted against the Czech Republic, and after seeing the impressive Czechs in drills, the Irish coaches reached a decision.

"The (Czechs) were just bashing the ball in batting practice, and I turned to one of the coaches and said, 'Oh man, this is nasty, this is a psychological game,'" Kindle said. "I said, 'If we lose, let's not lose our pride.' And he said, 'I agree. Let's not take BP.'"

It's Temple v. Hofstra all over again. (That'll make sense to any Cosby devotees out there.)

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