(SCREENGRAB: ‘Opposite Field’/Vimeo.com)

At the Wall Street Journal, John W. Miller has a fascinating story about going to coach baseball in Uganda with George Mukhobe, that country’s top baseball administrator. Go read the whole thing. An excerpt:

Like coaches in Brussels, Havana and Chicago, George copes with politics, parents and patrons. He’s had his share of fights and fallouts. “They do their thing, and I do mine,” George said. “I just want to coach.” Parents in impoverished Uganda, if they are still alive, are the opposite of overbearing Americans. George once had eight ballplayers living in his house.

A couple of days later, we drove to Gayaza, a suburb north of Kampala where a Japanese aid agency built a field on land donated by a local Catholic church. The infield is flat. There are mounds in the bullpen.

George had organized three games that day. The first featured top 13- and 14-year-olds. They threw strikes, made plays and hit balls hard.

As Miller details, in 2012, Uganda became the first African country to travel to the Little League World Series. That team’s story, and more about baseball in Uganda, is featured in the documentary film Opposite Field, which screened in New York City last month.

New Dodgers shortstop Jimmy Rollins, an executive producer on the film who has participated in outreach programs in Uganda, narrated a 2012 ABC feature from the same production team. It’s as good as way as any to spend your next 15 minutes:

The Ugandan team at the 2012 Little League World Series (PHOTO: Matt Slocum/AP Photo)