Ukrainian baseball team welcomes Florida distraction away from war at home

FOX 13's Mark Skol, Jr. reports.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - There have been a few scrimmages at the Baseball City complex in St. Petersburg this week.

However, it has only been the same team in the home dugout. They wear blue and yellow and play with as much pride as possible.

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"It is super cool just to play baseball, to distract ourselves from what is going on," pitcher Andrii Boyko said.

That team is the Ukrainian National Baseball team.

What they're saying:

"It has always been the greatest honor for a player to represent his national team," Andrii Boyko said.

However, right now, sporting those colors with Ukraine written across the chest is an extra special feeling.

"We have just one mission – represent Ukraine properly and as much as possible," Ukrainian national team head coach Oleg Boyko said.

The team is filled with young men impacted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine that has killed tens of thousands of people over the last three years. Some members of the team have fought in the war, some will do so soon and others know somebody who has been on the battlefield that has changed their home.

"To be honest, a little scared, but you've got to do what you've got to do," Andrii Boyko said.

The backstory:

Dimitry Sagalchik, a Brooklyn native and founder of the baseball program in Belarus, knew what he had to do. He flew out the team to the United States to escape the horror back home to play baseball.

He first flew the team to New York. Then, with the help of Kevin Smith of OnPoint Sports Strategies over an 18-month process, he was able to get the team down to Florida to play baseball.

"My heart is melting," Sagalchik said. "I know how difficult the life for them is day in and day out. Seeing them focusing on the game, hitting a fastball or even striking out. I am on cloud nine."

The team shares that feeling.

"I can die now, because everything is done," Oleg Boyko said. "I see so many happy people. We just enjoy. Now, I understand where I want to live for the rest of my life."

Being in Florida has provided a type of peace that they haven't felt in a long time.

"We can't get used to the calmness of this place," Andrii Boyko said. "[To] see people not worried, not ducking when they hear the plane flying around. But it is a pleasure to be in such a calm place to see people living their lives and just have some fun."

However, the feeling of having the team here is bittersweet.

"It is great to see them forgetting for a little bit to experience a little bit of normalcy and their life, but also knowing that they need to go back in a couple of days and get back to that drastic life-changing [place]," Sagalchik said. "I just want to keep them safe there."

While being in Florida has been a welcome distraction, what's happening at home is still fresh on the mind.

"It's impossible to fully distract yourself from it but to remind yourself that life keeps going and we need to keep going," Andrii Boyko said. "We are still fighting. There is still a war going on. We are going to win."

Winning and ending this fight is all that is on their minds.

"War is what takes our smiles away," Oleg Boyko said. "Stop the war. Baseball is key to that for us."

And, the key through this tough fight is to stick together.

"Ukrainians are strong," Andrii Boyko said. "We are going to keep fighting until we win."

What's next:

The team will throw out the first pitch at the Rays game on Thursday night before flying back to Ukraine over the weekend.

The Source: The information in this story was gathered by FOX 13's Mark Skol, Jr.

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