And Now, Pitching for the Pirates, Dinesh Patel?!!
Tue, 12/02/2008 - 22:46 — avaish
That’s right, Dinesh Patel. Forget cricket – some in the U.S. are bettimg that desi’s can cotton onto baseball by the millions!
Dinesh Patel with a fast ball clocked at 93 mph
(from: Pittsburgh Pirates’ website)
It all started with a wild whim from a promoter of offbeat business ideas, called J.B. Bernstein, to see what type of baseball talent could be found in India. He developed the idea for a contest for young men between the ages of 16 and 21 to see who could throw a baseball faster than 85 mph, with a huge prize for the winner as a lure.
37,000 people from across India tried out. The winner of the contest was Rinku Singh who is set to receive a $100,000 prize and the opportunity to train for Major League Baseball. Rinku Singh, along with the runner-up, Dinesh Patel, a 19 year old with a 93 mph fast ball, were invited to train in the US for six months and have now signed up with the Piitsburgh Pirates as free agents! If they can fully develop their god given athletic talents they have a chance to become major league baseball superstars and this, Bernstein thinks, will be a step toward getting Indian audiences hooked on the American National pastime and potentially 300 - 400 million new fans and TV viewers.
To read this fascinating story go here. (Pittsburgh Pirates’ website)