Five American Batters Hit By Chinese Pitchers In Brutal Olympics Game (VIDEO)

The Chicago Tribune reports on a brutal baseball game between the US and China that featured five American batters getting hit by Chinese pitches:

Our relations with China were nearly broken at the plate.

A near-brawl with our Olympic hosts in a baseball game won 9-1 by the U.S. team Monday night resulted in an unexpected outbreak of tension for the international pastime.

Three members of China's team were ejected from the game.

Two collisions at home plate led to an injury to a Chinese catcher and a confrontation with another.

An American player was then hit in the head with a pitch. He was rushed to a hospital, where he was diagnosed with a concussion.

"That was the last straw," said U.S. center fielder Nate Schierholtz, another of the principals.

Watch the video, courtesy of MSNBC:

Comments

[rh654]

At the end of the day the Chinese folks will still be stuck in China - no wonder they are pissed and throwing crap.

[CyrusBeaucephus]

They will own us soon, due to GOP fiscal irresponsibility. amd unnecessary wars

[steamboat]

Remember, all these one-sided trade treaties came about in the mid-90's, or have you forgot? Have you forgot the Seattle protests/riot? It was NOT a republican in the White House who pushed this all.

[gmlaster]

Never happen, babe. We ALWAYS bounce back. That's what pisses everybody off about us.

[steamboat]

Congrats------your's is the BEST COMMENT !

[CVale]

So funny and to the point.

[Jey]

China has American jobs now they have our medals.

[thefringecenter]

They not only have our medals and our jobs but they have a loyal customer base (us), a loyal legislative body (our Congress) and a loving partnership with "American" corporations.

[malrubius]

I missed the game because I was out purchasing everything that was advertised in the previous 900 hours of Olympic coverage. I'll check it out on my TiVo so I can be sure to buy everything that was advertised during the game.

[wanked]

Who won the game?

[shengirl]

read the article, it's all of 15 short lines

[ZenCrusader]

typical post at HuffPo.

[Clem2]

Well I will weigh in on this ;-)

I'm an American and really enjoying watching.

I DO think the Chinese gymnist falling, but winning the gold, was ridiculous. Something has to be done to improve the judging. Or to enforce the rules, really, that deductions be made for errors. That one was so blatant.

And the baseball team being assaulted stunk. I realize there may be frustration involved, but that is not how you behave in an Olympic event.

Overall I do think the Chinese gymnists, and divers, are remarkable. They do deserve most of their metals.

As for underage kids-- definitely this has to be addressed. Several of the Chinese girls are WAY underage. I think saying some of them are 14 is a stretch. They are so tiny and look so thin I wonder if it isn't child abuse what they are subjected to.

That being said, China is rising, USA is falling. And it is because the USA is stupid and has overextended itself in every way possible-- borrowing recklessly, trying to become an empire.

Of course that is the "leadership" that has done that, not your average American who KNOWS there is something very wrong at the top.

I just hope this doesn't result in a total global depression.

[ChristianEcon.com]

"Of course that is the "leadership" that has done that, not your average American who KNOWS there is something very wrong at the top."

I have serious doubts about that when I see McCain or any other Republican having support in recent polling. A lot of people apparently won't "know" something is wrong until America is a full-fledged third-world economy--and they'll *still* blame the liberals and "socialists."

[shengirl]

third world police state; but at least we'll all be "safe"

[Paralogos]

Some subset of Republican vovers know full well that something is wrong - they just think that left-wing policies wouldn't work, or would have unacceptable side-effects. They vote for what they see as the lesser evil, which the Republicans might well be if you're in the wealthiest few percent of the population.
Assuming the opposition to be stupid is never a good idea.

[screwedrus]

I wonder if it isn't child abuse what damn near every "little olympian" is subjected to by parents living vicariously through their children. I'd bet almost none of these athletes were ever allowed to be a kid for more than a few moments at a time. And for what? So they can jump higher? Swim faster? BFD.

I always think about the pole vaulters or the Hammer Throwers. They train their youth away to be the very best in the world at something that wouldn't qualify you to even pump gas.

The Olympics are useless. A celebration of those who achieve useless goals.

[Schallvain]

What are your personal goals in life?

[CKieffer]

There is a degree of child abuse in almost every competitive youth sports scenario. Parents living vicariously through their children; profressional trainers who only view the child as a commodity; insane amounts of practice on bodies far from the point of development where they can handle the physical strain.... trust me... from soccer to football to baseball -- child abuse is around you - - it is just disguised as the "American dream" or the great "college scholarship" goal.

[Erdgeist]

Word is that McCain is going to act decisively and prepare to attack China showing leadership whereas Obama is not.

[solid]

Not funny...

[thegreatgiginthesky]

The more I think about it the more I am convinced that gymnastics need to be done away with and not be labeled as a sport. It is the one of the few sports where you have no control over the outcome. You have to rely on some judge to score things accurately. To me that isn't a sport. Take for instance the chinese girl who fell on her vault routine but still ended up scoring more than the American who did not fall. I mean WTF? Also, how can you tie a score and still end up 2nd?

[TerryWrist]

The game is hold in China right now, so deal with it.

[thegreatgiginthesky]

Terry, I understand that being the host nation you get a boost, but honestly, a gymnast lands on her butt and she scores more than the one who landed on her feet. I don't have a problem with the host team having a slight advantage, but that wasn't a slight advantage. It does not excuse the judges from not being objective about their scoring.

[whiskeytangofoxtrot451]

Nothing that depends on subjective judging should be considered a sport.

[warnerj5000]

How about boxing? A lot of boxing matches have the outcome dependent on the judges.

[lylo]

Not to mention the fact that the Chinese girl was underage and lied about it....

[Mason]

She got caught trying to buy beer? I didn't hear about that.

[carlgt1]

China is pathetic, look how their 12-year old gymnast "won" with a tie score last night over Nastiya Luikin.

[exPatPatti]

You mean the one that was 14 years old in Sept 2007 and is now miraculously 16?

[TerryWrist]

Deal with it mate, and as a Chinese man please allow me say it loud and proud :" U American suckers!!"

[Mason]

Time is relative.

[bananacannon]

waaaaaaaaa waaaaaaaaaaaa waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

[lylo]

Wow. Hilarious.
It seems that Americans are going to be viewed as whiny for calling out cheaters and complaining about poor sportsmanship and people trying to hurt them.
By the way, I have seen hundreds, if not thousands, of baseball games and have never in my life seen so much violence in one game. Baseball is not supposed to be a contact sport.

[levelshot]

is that sound you make when that banana jammed up your cannon

[exPatPatti]

Why can't I see the video? Can't get it here or on MSNBC... The connection times out. I wonder what happened?

[rwe]

msnbc is too concerned with whining about the cone

[exPatPatti]

I clicked on the Google cache link and got this:
Your search - www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26265836msn.com/id/26265836 msnbc china us baseball - did not match any documents.

Hmmmm.......

[Niceville]

Can you say "hacked"?

[kfdan]

can you say pulled so as not to upset the Chinese!

[LeonBNJ]

Seems to me that the PRC pitchers were about as compentant as a bunch of little leaguers. They probably shouldn't have fielded a team.

[geobushono]

adults....baseball? it is a game for children.

[rascalov]

Then you should have no problem being really good at it. C'mon, I'll get some guys I know and we'll play a game or two. Surely you can do it. C'mon.

Loser

[davesideas]

I know better than to fall into the trap, but I can't help myself...you definitely sound the right age

[screengoddess]

It's very funny to read these comments from Americans. 'their sore losers', 'they cheat', 'typical Chinese; lie about everything'

America is known around the world as liars, thief's and cheats. destroying economies, installing dictators, invading countries, dropping bombs and on and on.

makes me laugh!

[Niceville]

Suggestion to Huffington Post....

I think it would be a good idea for readers to know where posts come from.

I realize in the name of privacy, it would not be appropriate to say what state someone is from in the US (or would that be ok), but at least indicate what country someone is posting from.

I get tired of reading insulting comments about Americans and not knowing which country they represent.

[privatepatriot]

I second that.

[screengoddess]

I'm a Canadian but I live in Thailand. Not sure how that helps you.

[squander123]

Bless! And the rest of the world gets VERY tired of hearing Americans both literally and metaphorically pumping their fists and yelling 'USA! USA!'.

By the way, the point of the internet is that it is a global forum which therefore reflects global views. So sorry they don't always match your blinkered Jingoism. Perhaps you need a special Red State Internet, where they don't let in furriners...

[Pupadup4oBama]

I get your point, however, the Chinese are the HOSTS of these Olympics...they should act as such. As bad as Americans might be...I honestly don't think we would a) try to pass our gymnasts off as older b) purposefully hit people in a game that is supposed to be about good will and good sportsmanlike conduct.

Just my $.02

[PingMama]

If the situation were reversed, you wouldn't make such statements.

[thegreatgiginthesky]

So this is a reason to bean someone on the head?

[Mason]

Excuse me, but I don't understand why everyone is so upset because Chinese boy try to put bean on American boy's head. Were they dating? Is that why everyone is so angry at China?

[ImpalaSuperSport]

Don't care, don't have to.

[indypete]

They should be playing cricket instead.... the bean ball is more or less legal in that game. The reason it's not used much is that if you bean the other team's batters, they will bean yours. The possibility of retaliation in the context of the game rather than "bench clearing brawls" keeps it clean.

[thegreatgiginthesky]

1. Cricket is too time consuming. While the One day games are fun to watch, it takes an entire day.

2. While the bean ball is legal in that game it is never used. The closest thing you see is a yorker that buzzes the bats men. Also throwing a full toss at a batsman in cricket is asking to get smacked out of the park for 6 runs.

[Mason]

I no understand. Why do boys clean their benches to stop other boys from sticking beans on their heads. You earthlings very strange.

[pzdoff]

That type of behavior is typical in american professional baseball. When batters get beaned here, it's "part of the game". When catchers are brutalized in a play at the plate, it's "part of the game" So, why is this such a big deal?

[Doppler]

I don't know where you watch your baseball, but beaning batters is not part of the game. It's cause for ejection and suspension. What nonsense.

[solid]

pzdoff, you really don't know very much about baseball. Throwing at batters is one thing, happens a lot in baseball. Throwing at their heads is not accepted as part of the game. That is dirty, dangerous baseball. And catchers aren't brutalized at the plate. The catcher makes a conscious decision to block the plate or not block the plate. If they do block the plate, they are explicitly inviting the baserunner to hammer them without mercy. After all, the baserunner has a right to home plate in no uncertain terms. If the catcher can block the plate and make the tag, it's worth the risk to get his bell rung.