The China Baseball Association (CBA) and MLB (Major League Baseball) have a certain relationship in promoting the development of baseball, especially in MLB's globalization strategy, the Chinese market has gradually become one of its important targets.

The CBA has about 25 games in a season

Functions of the Chinese Baseball Association (CBA).

Domestic event organization: CBA is responsible for the operation of the China Baseball League (CBL), organizing national championships, youth events, etc., aiming to improve the level of domestic competition.

National team management: Establish national teams to participate in international competitions such as the Asian Games and Asian Championships, and enhance competitiveness through naturalized players and youth training in recent years.

Grassroots promotion: Cooperate with schools and communities to popularize baseball, but due to the weak mass base, long-term investment is still needed.

MLB Season Features and Global Layout

Season cycle: The MLB regular season runs from the end of March to September each year, the playoffs are played in October, and the World Series champion is decided in November.

International presence: MLB expands its market through overseas games (e.g., London and Tokyo), with China as one of its potential targets.

Internationalization of players: MLB actively recruits Asian players (such as Japan and South Korea), and Chinese players such as Xu Guiyuan and Gong Haicheng have signed for minor leagues, but no one has yet landed in major leagues.

CBA's cooperation and interaction with MLB

Talent development plan

MLB has set up development centers in China (such as Wuxi and Nanjing) to select young players and provide an American-style training system, and some outstanding students go to the United States for further study.

Collaborative projects such as "MLB First Pitch" bring baseball culture to campuses.

Events & Business Development

MLB used to hold exhibition games in China (such as the 2008 Dodgers vs. Padres Beijing game), but they were suspended due to the pandemic and market acceptance.

Tencent Sports and other platforms broadcast MLB games, attracting the attention of Chinese fans.

Technical & Management Experience Input

MLB provides training to coaches in China to assist the CBA in improving league operations and refereeing systems.

Challenges and future prospects

Weak mass base: Baseball is still a niche sport in China and needs to be promoted through schools and communities.

Competitive level gap: The Chinese baseball league has a low degree of professionalism, and there is a huge gap between the income of players and MLB (the maximum salary of MLB exceeds 30 million US dollars, and the monthly salary of CBL players is about 1-20,000 yuan).

Potential Opportunities:

If baseball returns to the Olympics (Los Angeles 2028 has already been confirmed), China may increase its investment.

MLB may restart its game in China and expand its influence with the help of digital media.

The cooperation between the Chinese Baseball Association and MLB embodies the strategy of "leveraging international resources to promote local development". Although Chinese baseball is difficult to compete with Japan and South Korea in the short term, through the reform of the youth training system, the exploration of the commercialization of the game and the technical support of MLB, it may be able to gradually narrow the gap in the future and occupy a place in the Asian baseball map.