Chut Techalertavornkul stood on the Boshamer Stadium pitcher's mound Tuesday afternoon, about 9,000 miles from home and understandably nervous.
Up until a few months ago, Chut had never thrown a ball of any kind, let alone a baseball. Those are hard to come by in Bangkok, where the sport is far from popular. Yet, there he stood, a ball in his right throwing hand and his favorite North Carolina baseball player, Michael Busch, awaiting the first pitch of the Tar Heels' game against UNC Wilmington.
As Chut toed the rubber in his Carolina Blue Air Jordans, the crowd stood and cheered.