Sun Lingfeng.
"I am a person who is not suitable for sports. I am not good in size, strength, or speed. I can get to that point, why can't these children? My dream is to send them out and one day create the Yao Ming in the field of baseball. ."
Sun Lingfeng was talking eloquently in front of him, with determination in his eyes.
Many people are not familiar with this stocky Beijing man, but to baseball insiders, the name Sun Lingfeng is well known. He is the three-time stolen base champion of the Chinese Baseball League and the former captain of the national team. In 1998, he was also selected by the American Major League Baseball MLBSeattle Mariners...
Although the 39-year-old Sun Lingfeng has put down the bat, his life The trajectory has not deviated. His baseball heart is entirely focused on a group of 10-year-old kids.
This is the baseball home he built for left-behind children, poor children, and orphans.
Kids on the baseball team.
is in charge of food and housing? Take your children away
Love Baseball Base was established in 2015. For Sun Lingfeng, this is a place to continue his dream.
"I still remember when I was a child, my coach came to me and asked me if I liked going abroad. I thought it would be great, so I joined the baseball team in a daze... I went from being an ordinary kid from a poor family to a Now, baseball has given me everything. Since baseball can change my destiny, why canât I use baseball to change the destiny of other children?â
has been established for two years since I brought my first child on New Yearâs Day in 2016. The young players of the Love Baseball Base not only swept all domestic teams of the same age group, but also won the championship of the development group in the Asia-Pacific Championship held in Japan. However, few people know that this winning team is basically composed of orphans and left-behind children.
Kids in training.
"The children all come from rural areas and mountainous areas, and are children from poor families. (The reason why these children were chosen) is that on the one hand they can endure hardship, and on the other hand, they are people who really need help."
Brings together orphans and left-behind children Practicing baseball together sounds beautiful, but Sun Lingfeng chokes up every time he recalls the recruitment process.
"Some of our children are orphans, and some are 'de facto orphans'. For example, there is a child whose mother passed away and his father is in prison. Although he has a family, he is still an orphan. Some families are simply too poor. One is called Xiaoshuang. He is actually a twin. When he was 5 years old, his brother was sold to someone else by his mother for several thousand yuan. "
"When I found him, he was taken care of by the elderly at home. At that time, he asked me, 'take care of food and housing. Are you going to get medical treatment if you are sick? 'I said, 'No!' He said, 'Take him away. Genetic diseases and children between the ages of 7 and 9 are all within Sun Lingfengâs field of vision. Therefore, the age span of the young players is very large, the youngest is 6 years old, and the oldest is more than 10 years old. Sun Lingfeng also has a lot of troubles in team formation, "often cannot get together a team of the same age group."
works hard on himself, and also has to Let children have meat in every meal
Sun Lingfeng still remembers the discomfort when the children first arrived.
Because the children had almost never eaten meat, their stomachs could not adapt to it and would vomit after eating it. Some children were also afraid of seafood. However, under Sun Lingfengâs careful care, the children began to gradually become strong and strong, and the base could also Hear the carefree laughter unique to children.
"Some of them want to call me Dad Sun, but I request that they can only call me Coach Sun. Since it is a sports team, there must be rules. In my heart, in my growth experience, the coach is the person closest to me."
Sun Lingfeng said that he stipulated that "every meal must have meat, and there must be milk every morning."
The children cleaned their bedrooms. Chengdu Business News Picture
At the Love Baseball Base, in addition to training, Sun Lingfeng did not neglect the children's studies. They reached cooperation with nearby schools, studying in the morning, training in the afternoon, and making up classes after six o'clock in the evening.
"They have to learn at this age. Since I brought them out, I have to be responsible for them."
Behind Sun Lingfeng's earnest words is a huge personal comeback, not only energy, time, but also money. People who are familiar with him know that Sun Lingfeng's own family has been hollowed out in the past two years. Speaking of this, this stocky man The Beijing man seems to be very open-minded.
"Maybe he is a sports person. He likes to do everything on his own and doesn't like to reach out to the society. And now when it comes to love and charity, many people have misunderstandings... Baseball gave me I will treat everything as a donation now, and many people in our base do not get paid. For example, my coach at the time, Zhang Jinxin, was still working hard at his age. "
It is reported that each child in the base spends at least 50,000 yuan a year. In addition to food and accommodation, training and competitions are even more expensive.
Sun Lingfeng, who is short of money, has been "suffering from himself" since the establishment of the base. "These houses I built it all myself and painted it myself, so I saved money.
Sun Lingfeng at the press conference. The Paper reporter Zhang Xinyan picture
Yao Mingâs
Sun Lingfeng and the childrenâs story moved the society.
Recently, Sun Lingfengâs project âStrong Baseball Unitedâ (mainly engaged in baseball training and event IP and stadium operations) have received investment from Fosun and Black Butterfly Capital, which is undoubtedly a boost for the hard-working Sun Lingfeng, so will the Love Baseball Base also receive patronage?
In this regard, the sincere Sun Lingfeng said frankly that the Love Baseball Base still has a lot to offer. It has not yet reached the stage of attracting capital. "I am very grateful to the investors. The business of 'Strong Stick United' and the professionalism of our team can allow the capital side to see prospects and hopes, but as far as the Love Baseball Base is concerned, it does not have it now." possibility of output. "
" After all, baseball is not yet popular in China. This requires a long-term hard work process, and it will not come to fruition until 10 years later. "In other words, at present, Sun Lingfeng is still prepared to shoulder the responsibility for the Love Baseball Base.
From the perspective of the sports industry, Sun Lingfeng has always had his own judgment on short-term output and long-term development.
"If I want to make quick money, I simply It would be nice to have two baseball training schools, but that's not what I want to do the most. "
According to him, the most critical thing is to create a top-down industrial chain and ecological system in the field of Chinese baseball. Through this series of layouts and long-term cultivation, baseball will have a qualitative development in the country. There will definitely be an outbreak.
"Now China's baseball population is only one million, the United States has 100 million, Japan has tens of millions, and South Korea has more than 10 million, which is almost 1/3. The way China wants to go. Itâs still a long way off, but thereâs a lot of room for development. "
As for the future development direction of the Love Baseball Base, Sun Lingfeng has a bigger heart.
"Half of this group of people will enter the national team in the future. I also hope to cultivate a Yao Ming on the baseball field. Of course, creating such a superstar requires a combination of strength and opportunity, as well as some fate. "
" In 1998, I had been selected by the Seattle Mariners of MLB, but it was not easy for domestic players to go abroad at that time. Baseball is a sport that is particularly suitable for Asians. Currently, among the top rankings in the world, apart from the United States, Japan and South Korea are all Asian countries. "Sun Lingfeng said.
"China is the center of Asia. Why can't China do baseball well? "
"Behind Sun Lingfeng's earnest words is a huge personal comeback, not only energy, time, but also money. People who are familiar with him know that Sun Lingfeng's own family has been hollowed out in the past two years. Speaking of this, this stocky man The Beijing man seems to be very open-minded.
"Maybe he is a sports person. He likes to do everything on his own and doesn't like to reach out to the society. And now when it comes to love and charity, many people have misunderstandings... Baseball gave me I will treat everything as a donation now, and many people in our base do not get paid. For example, my coach at the time, Zhang Jinxin, was still working hard at his age. "
It is reported that each child in the base spends at least 50,000 yuan a year. In addition to food and accommodation, training and competitions are even more expensive.
Sun Lingfeng, who is short of money, has been "suffering from himself" since the establishment of the base. "These houses I built it all myself and painted it myself, so I saved money.
Sun Lingfeng at the press conference. The Paper reporter Zhang Xinyan picture
Yao Mingâs
Sun Lingfeng and the childrenâs story moved the society.
Recently, Sun Lingfengâs project âStrong Baseball Unitedâ (mainly engaged in baseball training and event IP and stadium operations) have received investment from Fosun and Black Butterfly Capital, which is undoubtedly a boost for the hard-working Sun Lingfeng, so will the Love Baseball Base also receive patronage?
In this regard, the sincere Sun Lingfeng said frankly that the Love Baseball Base still has a lot to offer. It has not yet reached the stage of attracting capital. "I am very grateful to the investors. The business of 'Strong Stick United' and the professionalism of our team can allow the capital side to see prospects and hopes, but as far as the Love Baseball Base is concerned, it does not have it now." possibility of output. "
" After all, baseball is not yet popular in China. This requires a long-term hard work process, and it will not come to fruition until 10 years later. "In other words, at present, Sun Lingfeng is still prepared to shoulder the responsibility for the Love Baseball Base.
From the perspective of the sports industry, Sun Lingfeng has always had his own judgment on short-term output and long-term development.
"If I want to make quick money, I simply It would be nice to have two baseball training schools, but that's not what I want to do the most. "
According to him, the most critical thing is to create a top-down industrial chain and ecological system in the field of Chinese baseball. Through this series of layouts and long-term cultivation, baseball will have a qualitative development in the country. There will definitely be an outbreak.
"Now China's baseball population is only one million, the United States has 100 million, Japan has tens of millions, and South Korea has more than 10 million, which is almost 1/3. The way China wants to go. Itâs still a long way off, but thereâs a lot of room for development. "
As for the future development direction of the Love Baseball Base, Sun Lingfeng has a bigger heart.
"Half of this group of people will enter the national team in the future. I also hope to cultivate a Yao Ming on the baseball field. Of course, creating such a superstar requires a combination of strength and opportunity, as well as some fate. "
" In 1998, I had been selected by the Seattle Mariners of MLB, but it was not easy for domestic players to go abroad at that time. Baseball is a sport that is particularly suitable for Asians. Currently, among the top rankings in the world, apart from the United States, Japan and South Korea are all Asian countries. "Sun Lingfeng said.
"China is the center of Asia. Why can't China do baseball well? "
