Padres, Dodgers bringing pro baseball to Beijing

BEIJING, Jan. 24 (Xinhuanet) -- American Major League Baseball games are coming to China for the first time, with the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres to play exhibition games on March 15 and 16 at the baseball venue for the 2008 Olympics.

Baseball is eager to crack the market in China, which has a population of 1.3 billion with a swelling consumer class keen to spend on foreign brands.

Unlike soccer and basketball, baseball is invisible on playgrounds in China and absent from TV coverage.

"Hopefully we can help you develop a love for the game as we love it in the United States," San Diego Padres vice president Dave Winfield said at Thursday's announcement in central Beijing, which was also attended by new Dodgers manager Joe Torre.

The two exhibitions and the Olympics in Beijing give baseball a chance to show its appeal, with the sport dropped from the 2012 London Olympics but looking to return in 2016.

Torre and Winfield promised that many of their top players would make the trip to Beijing. Both teams have concurrent spring training games in the United States.

"We're making an effort to make it pretty equal here," Torre said. "Pitching is going to be the toughest consideration. You're going to be playing two games here and your are going to be playing six or seven games in Florida. But you are going to see front-line players."

Gene Orza, chief operating officer of the MLB Players Association, said his members seemed enthusiastic about making the long trip to China.