Republican Rep. Jamie Flick of South Williamsport hosted Taiwanese diplomat Tom Chih-Chan Lee for his team's opening game Wednesday night.
Flick has a long history in the sport, having played for 11 years, from the age of seven to 18.
“I'm a baseball fanatic,” said Flick, who is co-owner of the Sydney Blue Sox with Adam Dobb, manager of this year's Australian baseball team.
“I started going to games when I was about 9 or 10 years old and have never missed a World Series since then,” Flick said.
“I played as a player, I umpired, I coached and I was president of South Williamsport Little League for 10 years,” he explained.
Flick continues his dedication to Little League while serving as a state legislator on the Children and Youth Committee and the Tourism Committee.
“It's perfect for me to welcome players and their families from all over the world to the Little League World Series,” Flick said.
Four years ago, Flick was assigned to Chinese Taipei and became a host family.
“I am also a member of the Taiwan Caucus in the House of Representatives, and am close to Ambassador Lee and his office in New York, and was fortunate to meet the president of Taiwan when he visited the United States last year,” the congressman said.
The island nation, commonly known as Taiwan, is legally recognised as part of the People's Republic of China, with its capital in Beijing, under the US's “One China” policy.
Lee has never played in a World Series, but he is familiar with America's past game having attended at local level for 10 years.
“When I was a kid, when I was their age, I played second base and sometimes pitched,” Lee said.
The matchup between the local team and Canada will mark Lee's first visit to the Williamsport area.
“It's so beautiful here and everyone in Taiwan knows Williamsport. We get up early to watch the games,” he said.
Knowing well the competition facing Taoyuan City's Guishan Little League team, Lee is optimistic about his team's chances of victory.
“It's not easy to get to the World Series, especially now with all the teams getting stronger,” he said.
“We used to be dominant, but that's not the case anymore. That's why I'm glad there are so many spectators who come to support Taiwan.”
During his visit, Lee also toured Pennsylvania College of Technology, describing the campus as “impressive.”
“In the future, we hope to establish a cooperative relationship between the university and Taiwan so that more students from Taiwan can enroll,” he said.
“I am a graduate and former professor at the University of Pennsylvania and it was an honor to host and show Ambassador Lee around yesterday,” Frick said.
“I am confident that we will be able to work with Ambassador Lee on the university program,” he said.
This is Lee's first visit to the area, but he hopes to return soon.
“Hopefully I can win today and get into the final. I'll be back when I play in the final,” he said.
Lee's hopes moved one step closer to reality as Chinese Taipei shut out Canada, 8-0.
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