MLB to make baseball a bigger hit among Chinese students

The start of the MLB First Pitch Clinic program coincides with the country's push to improve physical education in schools to balance students' development in culture and sports activities.

The training sessions are designed to promote baseball's popularity, get more youngsters involved, and increase China's total baseball population, which has reached 41 million in October 2019, according to the Chinese Baseball Population White Paper published by market consultancy iResearch.

Hang Yongxue, vice-principal of Fengying Primary School, said that baseball can increase students' physical fitness, as well as teach them the importance of using strategy and working as a team.

"Baseball can effectively train children the ability to stay focused and compete against pressure," said Stanley Zhang, head coach of the MLB Wuxi Development Center. "It is a sport about adversity. You need to face up, adjust quickly, and develop a big heart."