Baseball in China, Part 2: Dodgers, Padres Settle Into Beijing

Keep your head down

From Wukesong stadium, some of the reporters took the 10-minute trip to Fengtai Shiyan Elementary School, where a group of Padres would be teaching Chinese schoolchildren the ways of America's pastime.

As part of MLB's agreement with the Chinese Baseball Association, a program called “Play Ball” was started last year. According to Jeff Brueggemann of China's MLB Envoy, the goal of the Play Ball program is to train Chinese baseball coaches and students, and to spread the culture of baseball to the world's biggest untapped market.

The program reportedly aims to reach 100,000 Chinese kids in its first stage. Bruggemann said that last year program participants trained 40 coaches across Chinese cities, and this year they hope to train another 40 or so.  

After a slight delay in the Padres schedule, they finally made it to the school, where a group of about 20 kids had already begun their training with Play Ball coaches. Adrian Gonzalez came down the stairs to the basement gym with a camcorder in is hand, filming his own version of the China Series. With him came pitchers Heath Bell and Justin Germano—but although the kids looked excited, they wouldn't know the difference between Trevor Hoffman and Philip Seymour Hoffman. 

After being introduced, the Padres stars began their sessions. Despite the fact that the children only got about a half-hour with them, the players were genuinely involved. Bell and Germano taught pitching mechanics to kids throwing to the Padres' Friar mascot behind the plate, and one of them noted, “I think we've found the next Trevor Hoffman.”

On the other side of the room, Gonzalez gave individual lessons to kids on a hitting tee.

“Keep your head down”, he said. “Keep your eye on the ball and bring your power arm through”.

Meanwhile, Mr. Brueggemann answered questions about the Play Ball program and baseball in China.

“Is there a Yao Ming of baseball?” one reporter asked.

Having helped coach the Chinese National Team and having visited a handful of training sites, Brueggemann has seen his share of the good, the bad, and the ugly in Chinese baseball.

“I haven't seen any players wit A+ tools", he said, “but I've seen lots of B's, and those guys are draftable.  It's a little early to be asking for a Yao of baseball, but programs like Play Ball are pushing China in the right direction to cultivate new baseball stars. These kids are growing up as the first generation to play this game, but it has to start with the youth."

“I played baseball with my brother and dad growing up,” said Brueggemann. “Most Chinese kids don't even have siblings.”  

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