Fast Pitch, Soft Power

Baseball in Iraq.

Even so, Madlool says he loves the game "because it is more enthusiastic than any other." His family was delighted with his new sport and encouraged him to go on. Eventually, he wound up coaching a women's softball team, which won a championship. "I felt as if I were the No. 1 man in the world," he beams.

To watch a major league game, he has to go to the home of a friend who has subscription-only channels. He likes the Los Angeles baseball team, though he's not sure of its name. (Probably the Dodgers , but it could be the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim , according to Angels owner Arte Moreno .)

"There is one player on the L.A. team that made me love the whole team," Bashar says. "I don't even know his full name. I think his name is James." So it's not Manny just being Manny.

At one practice last week, the players — most of whom had just finished university exams — spent their time on drills. The sandstorm that had hung over Baghdad for days had cleared off. Under blue skies, in 110 degree heat, they ran laps around the field, then tossed their three balls back and forth in an Arabic version of a pepper warm-up.

None of the players owns a pair of spikes, so they all wear Chinese-made, off-the-rack running shoes.

Before a game, the team gathers in a circle, clasps hands, chants a verse from the Koran and shouts " Baghdad !"