The body of the China article was written by Chris Lindsay.
ChinaIBAF Ranking (out of 74) 18th2013 Pool JapanCubaBrazil2013 Players of Note Ray Chang, 3BJiangang Lu, SPKun Chen, RPWei Wang, C2009 Record 1-2, Round 12006 Record 0-3, Round 1
China's rapid economic growth since 1980 has turned it into
a major player in just about every field. This has certainly held true for
sport, but baseball in China, although growing, is still in its infancy.
China's economic power and enormous population give it great potential, but
baseball there lags far behind sports such as badminton, ping pong, and
basketball.
China's baseball history actually dates back to the
nineteenth century, when a group of Chinese students studying at Yale
University formed a team, and upon their return to China introduced the game to
their home country. The game also was spread in many provinces by American
missionaries. In fact, the only major league player to have been born in China
is Harry Kingman, the son of one of these missionaries, who was born in
Tientsin in 1892 and played four games for the Yankees during the 1914 season.
Baseball continued to be played in the country during the first half of the
twentieth century, and enjoyed considerable popularity within the People's
Liberation Army.
However, in 1965 the government banned the sport, as it was
seen as an American game not in keeping with communist and Chinese values.
(Conversely, basketball, although clearly American in origin, was not subjected
to such a ban, and is now a huge sport in China, with an estimated 300 million
Chinese playing basketball, compared to 4 million playing baseball.) In 1974
with the relaxing of restrictions following the Cultural Revolution, baseball
in China was again permitted. Since that time, it has been slowly expanding,
with the formation of school and amateur teams.
In the leadup to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the government
aggressively developed athletics of all sorts, with a view to winning
international prestige by an impressive showing at the Games. Baseball benefited from this drive, with the building of new stadiums and increased
media attention. (However, the Wukesong baseball stadium built for the Olympics
was always envisioned as a temporary stadium and was demolished after the
Games.)
International Competition
For political reasons, the Chinese national team have always
been considered rivals of Taiwan (or Chinese Taipei, if you prefer). Generally,
however, the baseball rivalry between Taiwan and China has resembled a baseball
rivalry between a minor league team and a little league team. With a
well-established baseball culture, Taiwan has historically been dominant in
these contests.
The Chinese team has competed internationally in the Asian
Baseball Championship since 1985. This tournament is held every other year
between the top national teams in Asia and not surprisingly has historically
been dominated by Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea. China's best performance to
date came in 2005, when they finished third.
In the 2006 World Baseball Classic, China competed in Pool A
with Japan, South Korea, and Chinese Taipei. The Chinese team was
soundly defeated by all three opponents, with two of the games ending early due
to the mercy rule. They were outscored by a total of 40-6 and committed eight
errors.
Beijing hosted the final Olympic baseball tournament in
2008, allowing the Chinese team to compete in the tournament under the Olympic
host's automatic qualification. The Chinese team's performance overall was not
impressive, as they lost six of their seven games and were outscored 60-14.
However, the other game was psychologically important for China, as they
succeeded in defeating Chinese Taipei 5-4 in 12 innings.
In the 2009 World Baseball Classic, China seemed to show
some marked improvement from 2006. Most impressively, they were able to repeat
their Olympic feat and defeat Chinese Taipei 4-1, and although they
lost 14-0 to South Korea, they lost to Japan by a more respectable score of
4-0. This represented a combined score of 22-4, with only four errors. Of
course these numbers are all in small samples, but nevertheless they represent
the kind of rapid improvement that China has demonstrated in many fields of
endeavor.
The China Baseball League
In 2002, a professional baseball league, the China Baseball
League, was established with the participation of foreign businessmen.
Consisting initially of four teams playing a one-month season, the league has
since expanded to seven teams and the playing season has been lengthened. Each team may include up to three foreign
players.
Major League Baseball has been working hard to try to build
up the game in China. MLB now runs two baseball academies in the country and
has a program to introduce baseball into the athletic programs of 120
elementary schools. Several teams have signed contracts with Chinese players,
but no Chinese player has yet reached the majors. Commentators have expressed
the hope that China will sometime produce a baseball Yao Ming who can achieve
prominence abroad and thereby build the popularity of the sport at home. But
judging from the small numbers of Chinese who have made it into the minor
leagues, it may be a while.
Nippon Professional Baseball has also been very active; it
has partnered with the China Baseball League, each team in the CBL being
assigned an NPB team as a sponsor. Under this arrangement, Japanese players may
play in China, and Chinese teams may be able to train at Japanese facilities.
It seems conceivable that this could at some point develop into a more
formalised farm arrangement, with Chinese players being regularly recruited for
NPB teams.
Current Players and Outlook
Since there are no Chinese-born major league players and
very few minor leaguers, the Chinese WBC team is pretty much composed of
unknowns. In fact, even people who closely followed the 2009 squad would be
unfamiliar with this year's roster, as only seven of the 2009 players are
returning this year. However, there are a couple exceptions.
Former Oriole and current Royal Bruce Chen, a Panamanian of
Chinese descent, was expected to play for China following Panama's failure to
qualify, but has withdrawn in order to concentrate on spring training.
Ray Chang, a 29-year-old Chinese-American third baseman now
in the Reds' organization, played last year at AAA Rochester, batting an
unimpressive .241/.304/.271. Chang was China's best batter in the 2009 WBC,
when he was 5 for 11 with the team's only home run.
Another returning player is Jiangang Lu, 34, a starter for
the Tianjin Lions who recorded China's lone victory in the 2009 WBC by pitching
5.1 innings of one-run ball. Reliever Kun Chen, 32, recorded the save in the
same game.
Catcher Wei Wang, 34, who played in 2006 but not 2009, hit
the first home run of the World Baseball Classic against Japan.
China is slated to compete with Japan, Cuba, and Brazil.
It's tough to imagine them advancing, and it will be challenging enough for
them to win a game this year. Baseball in China certainly benefits from plenty
of interest, determined effort, and great potential. International success will
have to wait.
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