The All American Collegiate Baseball League not only brings players together from across the country, but also from around the globe.  Taishi Terashami of the Caldwell Warriors developed his love for the sport of baseball while growing up in Japan. 
    Terashami was born in Aomori, Japan and began playing baseball at a very young age.  According to him he first started playing the sport over fifteen years ago.  Terashami’s love for baseball brought him thousands of miles from home to play in the U.S. at Herkimer Community College in New York.
    Terashami’s years of experience have paid off as he is a complete player both in the outfield and at bat.  He possesses extreme patience and intelligence at the plate, which has helped him post one of the league’s best batting averages at .481.  “I hate to strikeout so I focus on every pitch,” said Terashami of his success at bat.  
    However, Terashami spends more time refining his defensive skills than his offensive abilities.   “I love to play defense more than hitting in games because I believe that baseball players do not fall into slumps while playing defense.”  In a game where succeeding offensively one out of three times is a good average, Terashami’s words hold wisdom.    
    For the Japanese native, leaving his homeland to come play in the U.S. was a hard decision, but one he is glad he made.  “I knew that a plane ticket from the U.S. to Japan would be very expensive, which means I cannot go home often.  But playing baseball in the U.S. is one of my dreams so I was glad I did it,” he said.  
    According to Terashami, baseball in Japan is very similar to the American style of play.  He said the only difference is that Americans hit harder than Japanese players.  
    The AACBL has enjoyed watching Terashami represent Japan this summer and he said “I am having a lot of fun with great people, especially my teammates.  The only tough thing has been English.” 
    Terashami’s superb performance so far this summer earned him an invitation to the AACBL’s “Pro Workout” last weekend.  If he continues his impressive play, on both defense and offense, Terashami is likely to be spending a lot more time in the U.S. playing America’s pastime.  English shouldn’t be a problem for long.