Drew Weprinsky’s lastest post on tapping into the Chinese Sports Industry has inspired me to write a personal piece on baseball in China. I believe that the continual development of baseball in China is economically promising for Major League Baseball. Similar to other industries tapping into the Chinese market, the large population of China can lead to potentially large profits. What makes baseball unique is that it has established global popularity and has recently developed international competition. MLB and the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) established the first international competition, the World Baseball Classic (WBC), that featured MLB players in 2006. Sixteen countries, including the United States, the Dominican Republic, Italy, Japan, Chinese Taipei, and China, competed in the 2013 WBC. China’s participation in the WBC shows that baseball has and continues to grow in popularity. Although I am uncertain of any unknown standout in this past WBC, players like Daisuke Matsuzaka have used this platform to jump into the MLB. With its participation in the international tournament, there is the possibility of a Chinese star making the same leap. If China develops a superstar player similar to Japan’s Ichiro Suzuki and Daisuke Matsuzaka, MLB can boost its revenue by increasing its audience and merchandise sale.
http://www.ibaf.org/en/tournament/world-baseball-classic/c510a41d-d0ed-4315-9ceb-becdcc5e1741
http://web.worldbaseballclassic.com/index.jsp#