I was based in Beijing as lead sports columnist for China Daily from 2003 to 2005, and again from 2012-2020. Our paper covered the launch of the seven-team professional China Baseball League in 2004, and became a national media partner with the CBL the following season. Baseball has been played in China for more than 100 years, but is still not considered mainstream. The league poured a lot of resources into educating fans about the game, and by the end of the inaugural season the Beijing Tigers were attracting crowds of 8,000. The teams were limited to 24-man rosters that included four imports -- mostly Cubans, but also from Japan and South Korea. The homegrown talent came from regional university and college leagues that featured a lot of American Canadian and Australian coaches.
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