BEIJING — Leadoff batter Peng Zixuan has been playing baseball all of four months, and his stance is a bit wobbly. But after a few swings, he smacks an infield single past the mound and eventually rounds the bases to score the first run of the game.
Zixuan is more than an enthusiastic 10-year-old. He embodies the hope and future of Major League Baseball in China, which is holding its first games here this weekend, between the Dodgers and the Padres. Zixuan and his teammates plan on attending.
This seed program at Beijing's Fengtai Elementary School #1 is part of an ambitious Major League Baseball plan to expose 100,000 elementary school students in five cities to a sport that many Chinese find complicated and equipment-laden, in a nation where balls are more often kicked or bounced than whacked with a bat.
Despite its success in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, baseball faces an uphill battle in this country of 1.3 billion, many of whom are increasingly affluent consumers. Soccer and basketball have a big head start, and football, wrestling, tennis, cricket and rugby are all bucking for a foothold. NASCAR is sniffing around. And hockey hasn't ruled out a play down the road.
"It's kind of a land grab now that harkens back to the gold rush," said Paul Swangard, head of the University of Oregon's sports marketing center. "There are a lot of prospectors seeing if they can find a vein."
Many of the newcomers also underestimate the amount of cash, patience and political connections it takes to succeed in this market, analysts added.
Even Zixuan's long-term loyalty isn't assured. As soon as the half-inning game wrapped up Wednesday, he and his teammates ran off joyfully to play soccer. "I really don't know any American baseball players," he said. "My hero is Yao Ming," the Houston Rockets basketball star from China.
This weekend's games will be played at the new Wukesong stadium, built for the Aug. 8-24 Beijing Olympics. On Thursday, workers painted the stands and hung Dodgers and Padres flags at the 12,000-seat venue.
The jet-lagged Dodgers arrived late Thursday from their training camp in Vero Beach, Fla. They'll work out today before the exhibition games Saturday and Sunday (10 p.m. PDT tonight and Saturday). "You want to hope you light a fire that starts a burning passion for baseball," said Charles Steinberg, the Dodgers' executive vice president of marketing. "If that happens, those that count the money will have their day."
