Baseball is now played in over 80 colleges and universities in China - double the number from six years ago. In the past 12 months, more than 40 baseball facilities have been built by local governments and private concerns, while around one billion fans now watch MLB games and TV shows on national network China Education Television thanks to a deal signed earlier this year.
The sport's profile has also been boosted by the staggering success of baseball-themed TV series Boyhood. Featuring popular boyband TFBoys, the kids' drama was the top-rated television show in its primetime slot and accumulated over 5 billion online views.
The net result is more and more Chinese kids want to pick up a bat and step up to the plate.
Up to 20 of the new projects, called MLB-BEREGL Baseball Development Centers, will provide world-class facilities for talented Chinese student athletes from grades seven to 12, combining a mainstream school curriculum with baseball skills development.
MLB will consult on facility design, field management and operations while Beijing Enterprises is well equipped to deliver its side of the deal, having constructed venues for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
MLB currently maintains three development centers in China, all in Jiangsu province (Wuxi, Changzhou, and Nanjing), which have produced three graduates who have signed for MLB clubs - "Itchy" Xu Guiyan (Baltimore Orioles), Gong Haicheng (Pittsburgh Pirates), and Justin Qiangbarenzeng (Boston Red Sox).
In the last four years, 36 players have graduated and advanced to play collegiate baseball in the US, China, and South Korea, while Chinese players have been plying their trade in professional leagues in Australia, Korea and the United States in recent years.
Eleven alumni are members of the China national team and 12 are playing professionally in the China Baseball League.
MLB will continue to send professional players and coaches here to teach teams at all levels of Chinese baseball.
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