 Iraq Iraq, located in Southwest Asia has been the site of a number of ancient Mesopotamian civilizations. Located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, Iraq is part of the "Fertile Cresent." Much of the Bible tells tales about this region as a succession of cultures waded over the land. The word "Iraq" which became an independent kingdom in 1921 and a republic in 1958 may be related to the Sumerian word "araco" which means "sun."
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 Korea The idea of Korea began, according to some accounts, in the year 2333 BC when King Tan-gun established the first Kingdom of Korea (Choson). The word "Choson" means "land of the morning calm." Tan-gun himself was the son of the mating of Heaven and a woman from a bear-totem tribe.
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A Personal Cosmic Baseball Game
This cosmic baseball game is a contest between legendary and historical figures from the pages of the past of these two troublesome nations. Perhaps a brief preoccupation on the fields of cosmic baseball will give us all a moment to catch our breaths.
Team Rosters Boxscores
Scorecard
Game Notes
Other Games
At the moment, both Iraq and (North) Korea are troublesome members of the global community. Powerful nations like the United States, Japan, Russia and China have had difficulty keeping these rogues from accumulating weapons of mass destruction. Calls for disarmament, regime change and other diplomatic and military options have not created a consensus among the international community. Echoing science fiction movies of the past, perhaps we need an external, extra-planetary menace to get us together. Is it going to take an invasion by the Borg to give the world community a greater desire to come together? We are, sadly, well beyond the "give peace a chance" chants of the past.
Team Lineups & Rosters
#
Iraqi Player
Pos
Description
1
Abu al Abbas
1B
First Abbasid caliph of Baghdad (c. 750)
2
Abu jafar al-Mansur
2B
Second Abbasid caliph of Baghdad (754-775)
3
Mustansir Billah
LF
37th Abbasid caliph of Baghdad (c. 1200)
4
al-Razi
CF
Iraqi physician (930)
5
al-Khawarizmi
C
Iraqi mathematician; possible inventor of "0" (680-750)
6
al-Muqtadir
RF
Last independent Abbasid caliph of Baghdad (908-932)
7
abu Hamid al-Ghazzali
SS
Iraq intellectual and muslim reformer (c. 1060)
8
Midhat Pasha
3B
Ottoman governor of Iraq (1869)
9
Faisal ibn Hussain
P
Hashemite King of Iraq (1921-1933)
King Ghazi I
P
Hashemite King of Iraq, Faisal's son (1933-1939)
Abdul Karim Qassem
P
Iraqi political leader (1958)
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Korean Player
Pos
Description
1
King Tan-Gun
CF
Legendary first king of Korea (Choson) (c. 2333 BC)
2
Wonhyo
1B
Korean Buddhist monk (617-686)
3
Chang Po-go
C
Korean merchant and businessman (c. 780)
4
Ch'oe Ch'I-won
3B
Korean intellectual and scholar (c. 780)
5
Kyon Hwon
LF
Rebel leader (900)
6
King Sejong
2B
King of Korea who introduced Confucian humanism (1418-1450)
7
King Injo
RF
King of Korea (1623-1649)
8
Ho Jyun
SS
Novelist who wrote Hong kil-tong chon (1569-1618)
9
Chon Pong-jun
P
Leader of the Tonghak (1834-1895)
Queen Min
P
Queen of Korea (1851-1895)
Boxscores
Iraq Wins Game, 4-1
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Game Time: 2 hours, 25 minutes Game Weather: Cloudy, 55o F. Attendance: Undisclosed Simulation: 818v1
Umpires: France, Russia, China Official Scorer: Hans Blix In reality the Koreans, especially those from the south, have considerably more experience playing baseball than the Iraqis. But this is cosmic baseball and in this one game between these two nations, it was the Iraqi team that won, hands down, 4-1. In the Iraqi sixth, a double, single and a triple put the game out of reach of the team from Korea, who demonstrated little or no serious offense. |
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