A league of their own

First draft

The newly formed league also completed China's first-ever baseball talent draft in Shenzhen last week, which saw the five clubs select 57 players from over 500 prospects that signed up to tryouts that were held across five cities since early October.

The open draft attracted elite athletes, including Chinese national team players, veterans from overseas pro leagues in Japan, South Korea and North America, and amateurs, such as college players, expats and ordinary enthusiasts, to vie for opportunities to rebuild, or kickstart, their careers on the diamond.

"I am really grateful to be able to put my glove back on and compete as a player again, thanks to the establishment of the CPB league," said the 23-year-old Liang, a pitcher drafted by Want Want Happy, the franchise based in the Hunan provincial capital Changsha.

"It's a really great opportunity for many players, like me, who'd given up on the sport due to the lack of competitive games, to come back and play again," said Liang, a product of the MLB Development Center in Wuxi, Jiangsu province.

Huadan Cairang, a left-handed pitcher who represented Team China at the 2023 Asian Games and the 2024 WBSC U23 World Cup, said he feels extremely excited to be able to show off his stuff against experienced international pros, after also being selected by Changsha in the draft.

"The best part for me is the opportunity to compete with, and against, players from international baseball powerhouses," said the 23-year-old, who hails from the Hainan Tibetan autonomous prefecture in Northwest China's Qinghai province.

"The fact that the league season runs between the national championships and National Games gives us more consistent competition, which is ideal," he said.

While interest in the new league from abroad is riding high, according to Zhang Xiaotian, general manager of Shanghai Dragons, each of the five franchises is limited to just 10 imported players on their 26-player regular-season rosters.

"With the draftees and imports from the United States and South Korea, we've signed around 20 players. The international field is expected to keep growing," said Zhang.