Yankees sign Chinese players

[Honus Wagner Rules]

Wow, this is a first. Of course it had to be the Yankees!


Yankees sign Chinese pair

Yahoo! Sports
June 18, 2007

NEW YORK (AP) -- The New York Yankees signed a pair of Chinese players, saying Monday they were the first players from China signed by major league teams with the approval of the country's baseball association.

Kai Liu, a 19-year-old left-handed pitcher, and Zhenwang Zhang, a 19-year-old catcher, are to be introduced at a Yankee Stadium news conference on July 6 and then will report to the team's minor league complex in Tampa, Fla.

Liu has played for Guangdong Province in China's six-team league and has been chosen for the national team. Zhang played for the Tianjin Lions, winning league titles in 2002, 2005 and 2006, and appeared in one game at last year's World Baseball Classic but did not have any at-bats.

"We have scouts worldwide and we have seen both players in the past," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said.

Yankees executives visited China in January and reached a working agreement with the Chinese Baseball Association.

[nolanryan5714]

So what? Why bring ethnicity into this forum? Because it's a "first" for the Yanks?

Uhhhhh.....

[Honus Wagner Rules]

So what? Why bring ethnicity into this forum? Because it's a "first" for the Yanks?

Uhhhhh.....

Maybe because it's a bit of history? And with China's 1.4 billion population this could be a potential new source for baseball talent.

[YankeeDJW]

So what? Why bring ethnicity into this forum? Because it's a "first" for the Yanks?

Uhhhhh.....

What are you talking about? There are numerous threads about ethnicity on this forum that have nothing to do about the Yanks. Uhhhhh.....

I find it interesting that the Chinese Baseball Assocciaton is agreeing to this. They must be hoping for a Matsui/Matsusaka/Ichiro effect when some of their players reach the majors.

[Dodgerfan1]

Wow, this is a first. Of course it had to be the Yankees!

Oh, I don't know... A guy named Jackie was taken by the Dodgers once....

[Honus Wagner Rules]

Oh, I don't know... A guy named Jackie was taken by the Dodgers once....
Jackie Robinson was Chinese?

[JordanDL3891]

the reason its the yankees, is they signed a player development deal in the offseason with a team in china to take prospects from each other, somthing like that.

[mikeymussina35]

Yeahhh, Here it is.

Article: http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070618&content_id=2033868&vkey=news_nyy&fext=.jsp&c_id=nyy

Press Release: http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20070618&content_id=2033833&vkey=pr_nyy&fext=.jsp&c_id=nyy

[NewEnglandAmazins]

Originally Posted by JordanDL3891 the reason its the yankees, is they signed a player development deal in the offseason with a team in china to take prospects from each other, somthing like that

I think the Red Sox have a similar agreement with the CBL
BTW, this topic is also discussed on the International forum:

http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?p=923338#post923338

[nolanryan5714]

Maybe because it's a bit of history? And with China's 1.4 billion population this could be a potential new source for baseball talent.

I can accept that, especially since my degree is in history. :laugh

Just wanted to make sure. That's all.

[redlegsfan21]

Didn't the Yankees sign an exclusive agreement with the Chinese Baseball Association? I'm not sure of the details.

[Dodgerfan1]

Jackie Robinson was Chinese?

No! He wasn't a Yankee. Sounded like you were saying 'who else but the Yanks' would be the first team to integrate the league.

[Captain Cold Nose]

No! He wasn't a Yankee. Sounded like you were saying 'who else but the Yanks' would be the first team to integrate the league.

Who else but the Yankees would sign an exclusive agreement with an entire country?

HWR, who is very well-versed in baseball history, is also not a Yankee fan. There's no need to get upset over a misunderstanding on your part.

[Dodgerfan1]

Who else but the Yankees would sign an exclusive agreement with an entire country?

HWR, who is very well-versed in baseball history, is also not a Yankee fan. There's no need to get upset over a misunderstanding on your part.

I wasn't upset, Cap. Really. I guess the exclamation point made it appear that way. It wasn't intended to convey any irk on my part. (any irk on my part?? Does that make sense??) :-)

[Captain Cold Nose]

I wasn't upset, Cap. Really. I guess the exclamation point made it appear that way. It wasn't intended to convey any irk on my part. (any irk on my part?? Does that make sense??) :-)

Loud and clear. All good.

I really am surprised this hasn't happened sooner, and more widespread. Considering the population China has, and talk of concerted efforts to become an international athletics power, China does not have an abundance of professional athletes. I don't want to speculate as to why that hasn't happened, because there probably is a multitude of reasons.

[Dodgerfan1]

Loud and clear. All good.

I really am surprised this hasn't happened sooner, and more widespread. Considering the population China has, and talk of concerted efforts to become an international athletics power, China does not have an abundance of professional athletes. I don't want to speculate as to why that hasn't happened, because there probably is a multitude of reasons.

I agree, and I also wonder if any new stars emerging from the Israel Baseball League will soon integrate into the American game.

[nolanryan5714]

Now I have a question....

Like Yao Ming - if all the $$$$$ goes back to communist China - is this a good thing?

I was just blown away to hear about Yao's salary being given to the government a few years back. I completely do not support that.

[Ichiro51]

Actually the Mariners was the first team to sign a player out of China.