The Yankees are coming … to China

Last week, the New York Yankees agreed on a program that will send coaches, scouts, and trainers to China in a bid to create a few hundred million baseball fans in one of the world’s fastest-growing sports markets. Encouraged by the success of the NBA in China, baseball execs are hoping that America’s national pastime will find a new audience in the Middle Kingdom, where the 4-year-old Chinese Baseball League has so far failed to hit it big with fans. 

Part of the interest surely has to do with incredibly lucrative licensing agreements (jerseys, ball caps, and other assorted team gear) that have so far remained untapped in China. A recent McKinsey Global Institute report estimates that the Chinese urban middle class will increase its spending on recreation by a factor of six and its spending on apparel by a factor of three by 2025. We’re talking billions and billions of dollars. It’s that kind of money that has baseball execs convinced that China is their new field of dreams. But first, they need to find their Yao Ming.