Baseball Seeds Continue to Grow in China

Written by: Jerry Milani on 11th April 2009

Baseball Seeds Continue to Grow in China | read this item

china1 It is now spring in many parts of the world, and with the coming of spring begins the ebb and flow of outdoor sports, especially baseball. The success of the Beijing Olympics, the funding in development by Major League Baseball and the professional leagues in Korea and Japan, the surprising success of the Women’s World Cup in Japan in 2008, followed by the growth of the World Baseball Classic in March has seemed to jump-start the global interest in a sport which most experts believe trails only basketball and soccer in global participation. Adding in the effects of the global recession, which has actually fueled double-digit growth in grassroots baseball participation because of the simplicity and low cost of baseball, means the sport could be poised for another boost in places where it has not been popular before.

Those areas include South American countries like Brazil, where academies have opened to teach the game, Africa, where the sport is now being played more in inner cities, and in Asian countries like Cambodia, India and China.

Yes, China. While the NBA has developed interest in basketball in the country through its business partnerships and the mega-success of Yao Ming, baseball is now taking root at the grassroots level. All around the country, new programs began play in early March, many with the help of Major League Baseball’s continued investment in the sport. In Guangzhou, on March 28, over 600 players took the field at Er Shiyi Middle School, while another 450 suited up at the Olympic complex at Feng Tai. On March 14, in Shanghai, another 450 young people began their season at Hua Mu Zhongxin Elementary School, while in Jiangsu Province six universities now offer baseball as part of the PE curriculum, with almost 2,500 students actively participating.

china2 While not yet at the level of interest that basketball has now, this is tremendous progress in a country that had first introduced baseball in the early part of the 20th century and then eliminated it as part of its Cultural Revolution. Now, ironically, it is the cerebral part of baseball, the fact that the game provides not just physical but mental challenges and teaches strategy and teamwork as well as patience that has compelled educators in China to review the game after decades of thinking of baseball as too foreign.

So can baseball in China find its version of Yao Ming, that will suddenly take the sport to new heights? Not so fast, cautions Rick Dell, Major League Baseball’s liaison tasked with growing the game in many parts of Asia.

“Baseball is different from basketball or even American football in its development, and that will take time, but as we are seeing it is time well spent,” Dell said. “Yao is a one of a kind athlete who came along after basketball was well entrenched in China and he was able to move it from good development to great, just like Tiger Woods did for golf and Michael Jordan did for the NBA in most of the world. What baseball is doing in China is building the system that will someday get us that player, and by doing it this way we are creating young fans who grew up with the game and understand the game and see it as a path to be more global in action and athletic in body.

“Recently, I went to see the world class Chinese pianist Lang Lang in concert in Hong Kong,” he added. “As a preface to his performance a brief video was shown of Lang Lang as a young boy playing the piano. Lang Lang did not start playing at fifteen years old – he was accomplished at fifteen years old. It is the same way with baseball. We will get there by the path we are taking, not by forcing one star right now, and it’s exciting to be a part of.”

While the grassroots development does take place, the Chinese have already achieved surprising success on the international level. A pair of upsets of Chinese Taipei, one in the Olympics and another in the World Baseball Classic, drove media interest in the sport, and helped give the development of the national team a much needed push for more immediate success. The other element fanning the flames of baseball interest is the success of other Asian countries on a global scale.

china4 “The wins over respected baseball teams like Chinese Taipei further demonstrate the potential that China has for playing on a high level,” Dell added. “To take it even further, the success of Korea in the Beijing Olympics and the all Asian Final in the WBC with Japan and Korea, show that the region is capable of producing world class baseball teams and players. All of these factors – China’s wins in the Olympics and WBC along with the outstanding play of Asian teams – are good indicators that China can be a top level baseball country which can compete with anyone, and seeing that baseball is willing to develop the young talent where other sports won’t is encouraging to all those involved in the game in the country.”

There is already a growing number of young Chinese players who are moving in the professional ranks in North America and Japan. One, Pittsburgh Pirates farmhand Ray Chang, became an overnight sensation in the country when his home run helped beat Chinese Taipei in the WBC. However, for now, the development of Chinese baseball will take time. Patience is essential in baseball, and has always been part of the development of culture in Asia. Unfortunately, patience is not a Western trait, especially in today’s 24/7 media-driven, results-oriented society. However with a little patience, a game which many thought as being too western – baseball – may actually produce some big dividends in one of the fastest-growing Asian countries. All one has to do is look at the sport through the eyes of those who are teaching and playing it in China to see the progress being made, one young person at a time.