China: Yankee Territory

The China Baseball League was put together by Major League Baseball. The China All-Star team that played in the 2006 World Baseball Classic and both the 2005 and 2006 Konami Cup Asia Series was managed by Jim Lefebre who is paid by MLB.

NPB and Japanese amateur baseball have been involved in the development of Chinese baseball throughout the years.

The rewards of any great talent coming out of mainland China is at least a decade away. MLB started investing in Russian baseball over 20 years ago, still without much fruit. Baseball in some form reached almost every country in world a century ago.

I've written this before, and this will probably not be the last time: Baseball grows from the bottom up not from the top down. It has to take hold at the grassroots level first no matter how much money is thrown at it. This is true wherever baseball has become a passion, not just a game.

If MLB is so involved, how do the Yankees steal the spotlight? I would think that the NPB would sponsor a team in the league, for potential players who may move up to NPB talent level.

As for the comparison with Russian baseball, most athletes there are moving toward hockey and basketball. The Little League program (baseball) is increasing yearly, so as with the U.S.A., many young kids play baseball then drop out around 16-18 years old.

I also thought Jim Lefebre was paid by a China transport and ship building company.

- If MLB is so involved, how do the Yankees steal the spotlight? I would think that the NPB would sponsor a team in the league, for potential players who may move up to NPB talent level.

MLB is the one who helped start up the CBA (China Baseball League), gave funds for training, facilities, equipment, fields, etc. They sent coaches to help teach baseball (as in the Konami Cup and WBC). MLB is trying to globalize baseball, because of the vast amount of people in China. There's 1.3 billion people, they're hoping they can find the Yao Ming of baseball.

As for the Yankees, they're there for the same reason. They want to eventually find a player of that caliber, a Chinese star MLB player. Also, they want to further their name into China. This is all part of the Yankees marketing and further down the road player development.

- I also thought Jim Lefebre was paid by a China transport and ship building company.

No, he and Bruce Hurst were sent by MLB to help coach Chinese baseball players. MLB sent them there to help train China for the 2008 Olympics and to further development of baseball.

- What I don't understand is why wouldn't NPB get involved? Surely there would be rewards for involvement.

Like Westbay-san pointed out some NPB teams are involved already in China. Yomiuri for example has a working agreement in place, and Softbank has been sponsoring the league for a while. Though the NPB is seeing it's problems in trying to market itself internationally.

A coordinated effort from all sides (NPB and MLB) is what I hope for, and that baseball can one day flourish in China. The same for baseball everywhere else, that is my biggest wish.

What were you referring to when you stated "MLB started investing in Russian baseball over 20 years ago"?

This is very much related to this thread from last week, and I'd strongly recommend reading Jim Allen's article that it refers to while it's still available.

I would like to point out that NPB isn't ignoring China in the least. The Yomiuri Giants have been working in China for a number of years, and Softbank is also helping to sponsor the league. But I agree that a more coordinated effort, rather than a couple of teams vying for territory, is what NPB needs to do.

I agree with Westbay that NPB could have a more coordinated and concentrated effort in China.

My main point is that just because China has a big population and someone "throws a lot of money" to develop baseball there is no guarantee that any great talent will come out of mainland China for decades.

As basketball and hockey are the focus of team athletes in Russia; soccer and basketball are the favored team sports in China.

My hope is that professional baseball will flourish everywhere. I have been a student of Asian and international baseball since 1977; the passion for baseball always comes from the people.

I am still trying to find out what the Yankees' investment is other than expertise and the use of their name. The advantage to them is in building their brand and hopefully gaining an edge when it comes to signing free agent talent in Asia.

SoftBank owner Masayoshi Son - according to Itaru Kobayashi, the head of the Hawks' marketing corporation - "owns" the CBA, while other NPB teams (certainly the Dragons, Marines, and Giants) are looking at China as a potential source of players. Son is probably looking at his IT business there more than baseball, but there are synergies to be had and he is trying to have them all.

It is very likely China will never become a hotbed of baseball. But MLB is banking on

1. China's historic passion to be considered the best in the world at everything and
2. because of China's staggering growth potential the rewards of moderate success there dwarf every other opportunity in the world.

Jim Allen, your reply is the right one.

10 years ago nobody thought the China ice skating program was anything of concern, but look at it now. I feel that with its population and their ability to learn things that baseball will be just like anything else they have undertaken.

How many years has NPB been in existence? How long did it take for NPB players to go to MLB?

- How many years has NPB been in existence? How long did it take for NPB players to go to MLB?

That's not really a good example, seeing as how for a long time after the Murakami affair in the '60s, both leagues didn't see any Japanese players move to the U.S. until Hideo Nomo made the jump in 1995.

It was a question about NPB, nothing else. I know that the person who founded Japanese baseball lived down the street from my family compound. I am talking about information.

According to Wikipedia, .

Again according to Wikipedia, professional baseball in Japan started in 1920.

The articles say, "Jimmy Bonna, Kiyomi Hirakawa, Jimmy Horio, Kazuyoshi Matsuura, Harrison McGalliard, Herbert North, Yoshio Takahashi, and Tadashi Wakabayashi became the first Americans to play professionally in Japan in 1936." Were any of these guys the one that lived down the street from you?

The article also states that Horace Wilson introduced the sport to Japan in 1872. It blows my mind that a bunch of guys wearing kimonos and having their hair in chon-mage were out there swinging bats. Maybe they felt they were practicing kendo with a ball.

As for the discussion on baseball in China, it reminds me of a comment made by a European friend of mine. He said, somewhat snobbishly, that Americans are probably the only people in the world who would rather throw a ball (i.e. baseball, football, basketball) than kick one (i.e. soccer).

What's that European friend of yours going on about? Maybe it's an English speaking country thing because there's cricket and rugby too for ball throwing sports.

Anyways, 1872 is in the middle of the Meiji Restoration, so I doubt the first ballplayers in Japan would've been chonmage wearers.

- What's that European friend of yours going on about?
Yeah, he's Dutch and thinks baseball is a secret conspiracy on part of the CIA.

- I doubt the first ballplayers in Japan would've been chonmage wearers.

You may be right about the chonmages, but check this out [Chunichi Web Press - in Japanese]. The umpires wore hakamas! (By the way, I've always wondered how you go the bathroom wearing one of those things and not make a mess of yourself.)