International Pastime will look at baseball's influence outside the U.S.Although the Chinese as a whole aren't too enthralled with the game of baseball just yet, MLB has made significant strides with the country this season. Early in the year, Larry Lucchino embarked on an ambassador's trip to the Far East and later, the Yankees signed a few players from China.
And now? The Arizona Fall League will feature its first ever Chinese team this year.
China will enter a team in Arizona Fall League, and it will be coached by former major leaguers Jim Lefebvre and Bruce Hurst.As I've said before, China is a country with around 1.3 billion people in it. So if MLB can start brining its baseball talent stateside, this means more revenue, more growth and more fans for the league. Certainly nothing wrong with that.
Barry Larkin, Tom Lawless and Duffy Dyer will assist in the instruction of the Chinese team, the first to participate in the Fall League. The United States also has a team in the Fall League, which starts Oct. 9 and includes players from big league teams who are not on 40-man rosters.
"The Olympics give us a unique opportunity to showcase baseball to the people of China, and we are happy to help the national team reach its potential," said Jimmie Lee Solomon, an executive vice president in the commissioner's office.
