 Viktor Pianikh, A Baseball Man by Glen Willard |
Viktor Pianikh has been associated with baseball in Ukraine almost from the beginning. He's a retired colonel from the military. He had been a successful head trainer for Olympic sports, primarily handball, when some 20 years ago the American game of baseball became his assignment.
Now retired, looking fit, he attended most of the 2004 Little League championships in Kyiv. I watched the rapt attention he paid to play on the field. Clearly from no knowledge years ago to the present he has transformed into a "baseball man." Now primarily a spectator, I watched the old coach in him come to the fore. Intently he watched, watched with a coach's eye these small people play what was now his game. He couldn't help himself as he called out muted instructions and gave encouragement.
Later, through a translator, I had a brief conversation with him. In that short time I could only catch glimpses of his past and the stories that could be told. He learned much baseball in Cuba, where Fidel Castro became more than an acquaintance. His travels were many in Europe, the United States, Japan and elsewhere as he and his teams learned baseball. He's visited the White House (the one in Washington D.C.). He's won a European championship. Much more.
Soon, I hope to visit with him for a longer spell. Talk a little baseball, maybe.
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More in the section:
Old America
Little League catching on across Ukraine
Read also previous issue' articles:
THE EAR: Time to Stop Traffic Terror
The USSR: What was it?
Socialist Realism From One Collector's Viewpoint
Weak Laws Make Ukraine Europe's Dumping Ground
Social Entrepreneurship Expands in Ukraine
Lenin and Ukraine
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