China-Japan Baseball Exchange 2007
Chinese National Team Travels in Japan

The Chinese National Baseball team is composed of the elite players from the Chinese Baseball League (CBL). After grabbing silver at the “Good Luck Beijing Baseball Invitational 2007,” the team took a three week tour of Japan from August 26 to September 13. During their time, they successfully complete 9 games with Japanese professional teams affiliated with the Japanese NPB baseball organization. In addition to the games, through the assistance of the Japanese professional teams , the national team coaches and players had the opportunity to train together and share ideas.
Through the help of the NPB, the Chinese National team completed their 3rd tour of Japan, which coincided with this year’s theme of “China-Japan Culture & Sports Exchange.” Thus, this year’s exchange was considered to be official, and was named “China-Japan Baseball Exchange 2007.”

Originally scheduled to be 12 games, three games of the “China-Japan Baseball Exchange 2007” had to be cancelled due to the typhoon. Facing some stiff competition from the Japanese professional teams, including a matchup at the NTT West Japan team on September 8th, China’s Hou Fenglian (Tianjin Lions) hit a walkoff homer to win the game, with the Chinese National team grabbing a 9-6 victory, their first in Japan. Afterwards, on Sept. 9, despite falling behind by 3 in the beginning, Sun Wei (Beijing Tigers) hit a 3-run homer to tie the score. National Team pitching was stable during the game, and didn’t give any chances to the Japanese, as the game ended in a 3-3 tie with the NTT East Japan team.
Despite playing several close games, the Chinese National team finished their trip going 0-7 against the professional minor league teams, proving the gap in competition levels. From a pitching viewpoint, they gave up 53 runs in 7 games – a sticking point for the team to overcome in the future. Chinese pitchers throw around 140km/h with poor control of their offspeed pitches. Overcoming Japanese hitters with this level of pitching talent has been a clear obstacle. With the 2008 Olympics less than a year away, their focus is on getting stronger, getting more drive and speed on the ball, and working on control.
together and rally in the 7th – 9th innings, the Chinese team is still coming up short. In seven games, the team only scored twice in innings 7-9. The Japanese coach in charge of the team during the trip stressed the concept of “continuity” to the team. To win at baseball, one must rely not only on strength and basepath strategy. The winning team passes opportunities down the lineup to the next teammate, and grabs every chance to score.
After their long trip in Japan, Shen Wei of the Chinese Baseball Association remarked, “Through the help of the NPB, the Chinese National team gained valuable skills and experience. I hope they will be able to demonstrate the rewards of this training at the Beijing Olympics, and get a good result.”
The Chinese National team returned to China on September 13th, and after a short resting period, will return to training in the United States on September 21st.

2007-08-28 　10:30　Koushiem Stadium

China	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0		-	1
HANSHIN	0	0	0	0	2	0	2	2		-	2

2007-08-29 　10:30　10:30 Naruo Baseball Field

HANSHIN	1	6	3	0	0	2	2	0	0	-	14
China	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	-	0

2007-08-31 　10:30　13:00 North-Kobe Baseball Field

China	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	-	2
SURPASS	0	2	0	0	0	5	0	0	x	-	7

2007-09-01 　12:30 North-Kobe Baseball Field

SURPASS	1	0	0	4	2	4	0	5	0	-	16
China	2	4	0	0	1	0	0	2	x	-	9

2007-09-03 　13:00 Giants Stadium

China	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	-	1
Yomiuri	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	x	-	3

2007-09-04 　13:00 BayStars Baseball Field

China	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	-	1
Shonan	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	x	-	2

2007-09-08 　13:00 BayStars Baseball Field

China	0	0	0	0	0	2	3	4	0	-	9
NTT WEST	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	2	x	-	6

2007-09-09 　18:00 Yokohama　Stadium

NTT EAST	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	-	3
China	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	3	0	-	3

2007-09-11 　12:59 Toda

China	1	0	0	2	0	0				-	3
Tokyo Yakult	0	1	3	0	1	4				-	9