I learned English watching baseball.

I have said this as a joke once or twice in the past, but in some ways, there is some truth to it.

I was a seven-year-old new immigrant when I was exposed to baseball in 1986. My family and I lived temporarily with my aunt, seven people staying in a 10×10 room. It wasn’t the most pleasant experience.

On top of that, my aunt wasn’t the nicest to us. We couldn’t use anything in her house without permission, like watching TV and even cooking in the kitchen. I remember having our rice cooker inside our room. So, I either stayed in the room or played outside by myself.

During the time we stayed with my aunt, my cousin and late uncle watched a lot of sports on TV. The range of emotions from cheers to anger and frustration heard from them elicited interest and curiosity. I stole glimpses of their TV screen as I walked by. The stolen glances then lead to secretly watching by hiding in the stairs mid landing.

I think my uncle caught on, because one day, he asked if I wanted to watch TV with them. (Without my aunt around, of course. I was scared of her at that time.) My uncle was kind, unlike my aunt.

And I fell madly in love with the sport of baseball. Or maybe it was Jose Canseco who I fell in love with first.

But really, I loved the Oakland A’s: Canseco, Mark McGwire, Dave Stewart, Bob Welch, Dennis Eckersley, Rick Honeycutt, Walt Weiss, Terry Steinbsch, Carney Lansford, Dave Henderson, Ricky Henderson, Mike Gallego, Storm Davis, Curt Young, Luis Palonia, Steve Ontiveros, Dave Parker, Ron Hassey, Tony Phillips.

Out of all the teams my uncle and cousin watched (A’s, LA Lakers, and the San Francisco 49ers), it was the A’s who I felt most connected to.

Fast forward a few years later, I went to my first game at the Oakland Coliseum. It would be my only time until I was about 13. Because my family couldn’t afford to attend games, I listened to the voices of Bill King and Lon Simmons on the radio and loved how they story told the games with so much color and theatrical enthusiasm, I had no problem closing my eyes and imagining the games being played in my mind. I would even pretend, at times, to do a play-by-play.

Reading the sports pages became a daily habit for many years. I had the knack for numbers, and I would study stats like crazy. I loved it so much. Queen of useless info, I became.

Fast forward to my college years, specifically 2000 to 2002, I attended many games. I even gained self-confidence sitting alone by the bullpen while enjoying Oakland A’s baseball at the Coliseum.

Now, as I look back at how it all started, I initially viewed America as one scary world to live in as a young immigrant.

But lucky for me, I had a kind uncle who allowed me to watch Oakland A’s baseball on their TV. 

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