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Sign up with Google Sign up with FacebookQ: Why isn't baseball popular in China?
It's popular in Taiwan, Korea and Japan...why not China?
Basketball is taking up all the attention when it comes to sports here, Football (soccer) comes second, and Baseball is sitting in the corner.
becoz mainlanders are not good at it in the least so they ignore it. also baseball involves too much free thinking. that is not allowed here
There are two main reasons baseball isn't popular in China:
1.) Mao hated baseball. It used to be fairly popular in China but it was banned during the cultural revolution. Mao liked basketball, so that stuck around. Why did he favor that?
2.) Cost. Baseball was seen to be a symbol of the "decadent West". Not sure why basketball was "ok", but I lean towards cost..
Unlike basketball or soccer, which require the purchase of a ball and can be played almost anywhere, baseball requires baseballs (often more than 1), bats (different bat sizes for different people), gloves, helmets, catcher mitts,pads, and a facemask, as well as bases and a special field that really can't be used for much else.
There are "farm teams" here in Beijing and a high school in Wuxi and other cities run by MLB Asia. Their main goal is to recruit a "superstar" player and have them play for a high profile team (Yankees and Red Sox are actively recruiting) - if they can find the "Yao Ming" of baseball, the sport would become more popular here (they're betting, but I agree 100%).
There is also a program called "Play Ball!" that has been visiting schools and encouraging the game - I got to meet Cal Ripken, Jr. in Shanghai of all places - in 2007 when he was doing a good will tour and promoting baseball.
I believe that it will become more popular - MLB has deals with 8 networks here now to show season games (not sure which ones, but it was on the MLB site), so more exposure and the younger generations learning about the game, I can see it becoming very popular here.
bike-gypsy:
your second point doesnt really pan out if you look at the popularity of golf
MrTibbles:
How many rich people in other countries become members of exclusive baseball fields? Not talking about box seats in a stadium, I mean to play the game?
crimochina:
actually his second point does pan out which is why baseball is not as popular in poor neighborhoods in usa. this is slowly changing becoz mlb has started programs to offset the cost. (do not mention poor latino neighborhoods, many families make great sacrifices to pay for their kids to play little league.
" Mao hated baseball " ?! my god, this is first time i heard it.
did you guys notice this situation: japan and korea both have american troops from world war II till now, they got baseball influence from americans.and tai wan have a long close relationalship with u.s.a army too. so they like play baseball.
ever country have favorite game, you wonder why chinese don't like baseball. as a chinese i also wonder why american don't like soccer.
MrTibbles:
Before the cultural revolution, a lot of people from China brought baseball back from the US after studying at Yale. It was banned after the cultural revolution in the mainland, but brought to Taiwan where it remained fairly popular. Soccer isn't popular in the US because any game that can end in a tie isn't a sport.
Because they can see the wood for the trees, the leaves for the bees and the flowers in the trees ...........
So I use baseball as a teaching method and game at school, but I have no idea how to explain this, so I will just ignore it and blame it on the Russians like half of America does right now.