Yankees Claws into Chinese Baseball
07.07.07

This is a magnificent day. The date is 7-7-07. You don't see it often. I need to write something to commemorate this day. Let me think of a reason.

I can just treat this as the day that Chinese steps into the major league baseball.

Today the New York Yankees, arguably the most well known American sports franchise because of their sales of hats that bare their logo, signed two Chinese baseball players to minor league contracts. (For those who don't know the American baseball system well, young baseball players don't play in the major league right away. They, also known as prospects, play and develop their skills in the minor leagues until they are good enough to be called to play in the major league club)

They are left-handed pitcher Liu Kei and catcher Zhenwang Zhang (left and right in the picture), both 19. The Yankees has developed this relationship with the Chinese Baseball Association (CBA). With the CBA permission, the two prospects are allowed to sign with the Yankees. (Earlier in the year, Seattle Mariners, which is owned by Nintendo and one of the most international out-reaching clubs in the MLB, signed two Chinese players to minor league contracts) In return, Yankees will help develop the game of baseball in China, such as organizing baseball camps for teenagers, and sending a video pitching machine (I wonder what it actually does) as a gift to the CBA as a training tool. On a business and competition standpoint, Yankees has nothing to lose. They can establish their name as the prominent baseball club. Of course, in the future they would have the best chance of landing the best Chinese baseball players if they will ever be good enough to become commodities. Better yet, they can sell more (authentic) Yankees hats in China, more merchandise, and maybe even television rights.

Every American money-driven sports entities see China as a growing market. NBA were first to establish their presence in China, and has been hugely successful with the emergence of Yao Ming and now Yi Jianlian.  Now many kids in China play basketball and dream about becoming an NBA player someday. With NBA player to grab their attention, the booming Chinese middle class and riches are buying NBA products more than ever. Television stations are paying dollars to broadcast NBA games. NBA are bring teams to China for preseason games almost every year. With the NBA as an example, major league baseball wants to do the same, if not more.

But to get the Chinese to like the sports to a point where they are willing to spend money, baseball knows that they need to have Chinese playing in the America to work. Baseball is looking for the Yao of baseball. MLB sent coaches to train the Chinese national team, knowing that the Chinese want to have a better baseball team on display to avoid embarrassment when playing in the olympics in front of a home crowd in Beijing.

The American football league the NFL also has something similar in mind. They want to train several young Chinese to become kickers (the least respected position in the sport) to play in the NFL. One prospect was training with the Seattle Seahawks and another with the New England Patriots to prepare for the supposedly China Bowl, an exhibition preseason game, when the two teams meet in Beijing this summer. They want to bring the American football product with a Chinese ingredients. Chinese are just simply not built to play any other position than kickers. And kicker is probably the best position to train to play in a short time. However, citing concentration of global resources for the regular season game between the New York Giants and Miami Dolphins in London, the China Bowl was called off, with a tentative date set in 2009. (American football in China can be a topic for another day)

MLB thinks that the competitiveness of Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan in the international stage and in the major league will prompt China to develop the sport quickly to catch up with the rivals in the region. (For the record, China went 18-2, 10-1, 12-3 against those three teams in the world baseball classic last year) Good luck, baseball. The Chinese have been working really hard to field a good enough soccer team to not let their supporters down for many years. I doubt Chinese baseball can excel overnight. Baseball was once popular in China before the communist wiped it out during the cultural revolution in 1966. Before that I believe the Chinese had a decent exposure to baseball. Even Premier Wen Jiabao said he played baseball 50 years ago.

I doubt that these two players will ever make it to the major league. But they will forever be remembered as the pioneers. MLB better be patient with development of baseball in China. For China to adopt a sport into their culture, it will probably take 10 years. To produce the Yao Ming of baseball, it will probably take 5 more years.

DERBY COUNTY RAMS
www.therams.co.uk
Preseason
Signed (St) Robert Earnshaw for £3.5m; signed (D) Claude Davis for £3m; signed (D) Tyrone Mears permanent for £1m; signed (D)Andy Todd for undisclosed fee.

PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
www.oregonlive.com/blazers
Summer Leagues
Lost first summer league game (Oden's debut) 74-66 to Boston

HOUSTON ASTROS
www.chron.com/sports/astros
38-50, 5nd in NL Central
No hope in sight. They suck.

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