US Major League Baseball officials hope to decide by late July
whether to play in Beijing and Tokyo early next year.
Bob DuPuy, MLB's chief operating officer, headed a delegation
that went to China last week and inspected the ballpark being built
in Beijing for next year's Olympics. He said exhibition games in
Beijing and regular-season games in Tokyo weren't related and that
different teams could be involved in each event.
"We are talking about both tracks," he said on Tuesday. "We
clearly don't have a lot of time."
Teams opened the season in Tokyo in 2000 (Chicago Cubs and New
York Mets) and 2004 (New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Devil Rays),
and Seattle and Oakland were scheduled to start 2003 there before
that series was scrapped because of the threat of war in Iraq.
"I think getting an overall logistical plan, talking to the
players' association, determining sponsorship and broadcast
possibilities and then reviewing what teams might be interested
would be the next four steps," DuPuy said.
Gene Orza, the union's chief operating officer, said talks with
management were likely to take place soon.
"There are logistical difficulties with doing both China and
Japan, but we're interested in a Japan opener and we're interested
in playing in Beijing," he said. "A lot has to be worked out."
Boston Red Sox president Larry Lucchino was among three clubs
officials on the trip along with San Diego's Sandy Alderson and
Pittsburgh's Kevin McClatchy. With Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki
Okajima, the Red Sox have appeal to Japanese sponsors.
The Yankees sent a high-level delegation to China during the
offseason and said they would be interested in playing there but
haven't heard back from the MLB commissioner's office of late.
"The Dodgers have a long history in Asia. Los Angeles has a huge
Asian-Pacific population and we would definitely be interested in
both opportunities," team spokeswoman Camille Johnston said.
MLB officials wanted to get a firsthand look at facilities in
China. DuPuy said construction is ongoing at the Beijing
ballpark.
"The sod has been put in. Most of the light fixtures are up.
Most of the facility is built," he said. "They still have to build
a mound. They still have to finish the basepaths. They still have
to do some work with the outfield."
Lucchino was excited about the development possibilities.
"It's inevitable that Major League Baseball will be more active
in China than we have been," he said. "It's inevitable there will
be Chinese players in the big leagues. It's just a matter of timing
as to when that transpires."
He can envision a youth baseball academy being started
there.
"We've done it elsewhere, so we're not writing on a completely
blank slate, but there is a need to recognize China is a unique
place and it would have to be done in a way that is compatible with
the unique circumstances," he said.
(China Daily via Agency June 7, 2007)