Baseball, a well-loved sport by many across the world, is nudging its way into the Chinese mainland, where the popular sport remains a niche one.
There are only 720 registered professional baseball players and 45 national referees, according to Yi Sheng, deputy secretary-general of the China Baseball Association. Some 40 to 50 first-level referees can be found in highly-developed areas, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, and Shenzhen, Beijing Youth Daily reported.
Even the highest level baseball league, the China Baseball League, only had six teams last year. The total match schedule only lasted for seven days and there are no home and away stadiums. All teams played their matches on the same field, according to the newspaper.
Though the sport has yet to take off in China, it is gradually picking up pace among youth.
At present, nearly 500 primary and high schools offer baseball courses and related training, covering about 20,000 students. In addition, many children play in amateur clubs outside of school. Some have also attended training sessions hosted by the Major League Baseball (MLB), which has set up three development centers in eastern China’s Jiangsu province.
Li Wei, a baseball coach with 15 years of experience, said about one-fifth of the students trained may become a professional player. However, the percentage could reach 60% due to its development in China.
Yi Jian, one of those young men trained by Li, began pursuing his baseball dream at the age of nine. At first, he saw it as a way to out of school work, but he soon found that the constant training and his school classes took up most his time, leaving only the Spring Festival available for him to rest.
“I never thought about giving up. It’s hard to be a professional player. But my mother told me that I can choose my own way as long as I keep trying and never give up,” Yin said. His hard work paid off when he managed to pass the test at a MLB center and signed contract with MLB team Milwaukee Brewers together with three other young players from the Chinese mainland.
There are more children involved in baseball, observed Zhang Hongmei, a baseball training industry insider. But the cost remains relatively high as it takes nearly 30,000 yuan to train a single student every year.