Team China has been coached by Terry Collins, who had previously managed the Houston Astros, the Anaheim Angels of MLB and the Las Vegas 51s of the Pacific Coast League, after the Beijing Games. And the country now has two players at the New York Yankees and one at Pittsburgh Pirates of MLB.  Zhu Dawei (朱大卫), a promising 20-year-old pitcher, is playing for Saitama Seibu Lions (埼玉西武狮队), who crowned the Japan Championship Series in 2008.

The middle kingdom has its own baseball league since 2002, a year before the country signed contract with Jim Lefebvre, but without much audience. The Wukesong Baseball Field (五棵松棒球场), the best baseball field in the country where the final of Beijing Olympic baseball tournament took place, was demolished after only 44 matches were played there. Shen Wei, the secretary general of China Baseball Association submitted a letter to Development Projects Committee of the Beijing Games trying to keep the field. But it’s manifest that the developers were reluctant to keep it for a sport without market.

The WBC opener will be played at 5:30pm (Beijing Time) on Mar 5 at Tokyo Dome. For fans inside China, Shanghai Sports TV will broadcast the recorded match at 11 pm, and Guangdong Sports at 9:15 am on Mar 6. Also in Pool A are Chinese Taipei and South Korea, who will face off each other this Friday.

Photo: www.aoyunwww.com

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