By Sam Garcia / Staff writer, with CNA
Chinese Professional Baseball (CPB) organizers have denied claims that the league is to include a team called the “Shanghai Brothers,” saying that the original post did not originate from the league, the Baseball Federation of Asia (BFA) said today.
The Chinese Baseball Association is preparing to launch the CPB next year, with five cities participating, the BFA said in a news release.
An announcement allegedly from the CPB circulated online last week with five team names and logos, including the “Shanghai Brothers,” whose logo closely resembled that of the CTBC Brothers team in Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League.
Photo: CNA
CTBC said it was unaware of the Shanghai Brothers team, but would take action if necessary and prioritize Taiwan’s interests and its baseball fans.
The BFA in its statement said that the CPB organizers informed the federation that there is no team called the Shanghai Brothers.
Information about this team did not originate from the CPB and should not be trusted, the federation said.
The CPB aims to raise the standard of baseball in China and support the establishment of an Asian Major League in the future, the BFA said.
The BFA added that it had proposed an Asian Major League to push its member countries to improve.
Other member countries, including Thailand, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, also have plans to form professional baseball leagues, the BFA said.
As the level of baseball improves across Asia, competition between professional leagues is expected to drive the development of the Asian Major Leagues, it said.
Asian teams would hopefully compete with North American teams in the future, helping to raise the level of Asian baseball and eventually lead to competition with the US MLB, it said.
As the BFA is headquartered in Taiwan, the rise of baseball in Asia positions the nation — ranked second globally by the World Baseball Softball Confederation — as a growing international hub for baseball.