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 BEIJING (AP) - China's red flag with its yellow stars blew in a stiff breeze in deep left field alongside the U.S. Stars and Stripes. Except for this, the first Major League Baseball game in China mostly looked like any afternoon at the ballpark in America.
The Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres played to a 3-3 tie on a near-perfect Saturday in Beijing, with clear blue skies replacing the city's usual smog, and 50-degree temperatures making it a glorious debut for baseball. The second game is set for Sunday. Both teams are using only a half dozen players who will be on the opening day 25-man roster.
The game at the new Olympic venue drew an announced crowd of 12,224 — a near sellout — and had many of the touches of home: vendors selling peanuts, hot dogs, beer, soft drinks or — and this is China — plastic bottles of tea. The concessions were cheaper than the U.S. — about $1.50 for a soft drink or a beer, and $3 for a bag of peanuts.
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