Sports

Baseball's Yao Ming?

Posted by Banyue, June 20, 2007 4:19 PM

Zhang Zhenwang and Liu Kai

On June 17 the New York Yankees baseball team signed two Chinese players - catcher Zhang Zhenwang and left-handed pitcher Liu Kai - to minor league contracts. They'll play for the Yankees' farm system and work their way up to the majors. Their contracts have the approval of the China Baseball Association.

Liu Kai, from Guangdong province, and Zhang Zhengwang, from Tianjin, are both 19 and are members of the China national team. The general manager of Yankees, Brian Cashman, said: "This is an exciting opportunity for us to integrate Chinese players into the organization."

This contract is based on a memorandum of cooperation, which was signed between China Baseball Association and the NY Yankees. The memorandum states that they will work together to popularize baseball in China and improve influence of this sport at the coming Beijing Olympic Games.

UPDATE: The Black China Hand comments:

The Yankees television network just gained a potential 1.5 billion viewers with this deal.

Links and Sources

The First (竞报) (Chinese): Chinese young player was selected by MLB (image source)
NY Yankees Hompage: Yankees sign two Chinese prospects
Sina Sports (Chinese): First time to enter MLB, 2 young stars signed NY Yankees
People's Daily: Yankees sign up teenage prospects

There are currently 4 Comments for Baseball's Yao Ming?.

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Comments on Baseball's Yao Ming?

CBL pics, Shanghai Eagles vs Sichuan Pepperc... er, I mean Dragons:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/msittig/sets/72157600268775981/

Posted by: Micah Sittig | June 20, 2007 6:21 PM

Chien-Ming Wang---already on the Yankees is really awesome. He is kicking some serious arse.
The Yankees were doing really bad until a recent 9-game winning streak...BUT Chien-Ming Wang is actually one of the better players on the Yankees.
From the folks in Chinatown though baseball is too slow of a sport I am told.
Anyway Chien-Ming Wang of Taiwanese descent so I assume that some are NOT recognizing him as from China...arguable.
Harry Kingman (The only MLB player born in mainland China) was the son of Western missionaries; his career lasted a total of four games with the 1914 Yankees.
Is it ironic that the "Yankees" (a moniker for patriotic God-fearing stars and stripes wearing, red-blooded Americans)are in love with the Chinese?
It would be like having a corn-fed Nebraskan playing on a Chinese ping-pong team named the Pandas.

Posted by: FRITZ | June 20, 2007 10:48 PM

Chien-Ming Wang is Taiwanese and is an experienced ball player, as are the Japanese and Koreans who play ball in the US.
Signing on this inexperienced teenager is just a marketing ploy to sell MLB licensed gear that will end up being pirated and sold for a small fraction of the real cost...just like everything else.

I wonder how this chinese ball player, if he even makes it to the majors, is going to take to having Japanese on the starting roster telling him how to actually play baseball?

Posted by: nanheyangrouchuan | June 22, 2007 9:37 AM

nanheyangrouchuan
You're right...the NFL is trying this too...but failing obviously

Posted by: FRITZ | June 22, 2007 8:14 PM