China Olympic Team To Play 3 Game Series Versus Golden Baseball League

olympicbaseball May 9th, 2008

From oursportscentral, China Olympic Team will play three games vs. Golden Baseball League.

Dublin, CA: The independent professional Golden Baseball League (GBL) announced today that the China Olympic Team will play a three-game series versus GBL teams later this month in Long Beach, CA and Yuma, AZ Managed by former Los Angeles Dodger All-Star and Major League Manager Jim Lefebvre, the China National Team is a rising power in the baseball world in Asia with recent victories over Korea and will be one of the eight teams vying for gold in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The China National Team will face the Long Beach Armada, managed by former Los Angeles Dodger and 1981 World Series MVP Steve Yeager, in a two game series at historic Blair Field in Long Beach, CA. The first game will be on Saturday night, May 17th with a 7:05 P.M. start time. The second game will be the following day on Sunday at 6:05 P.M. The team will then travel to Yuma, Arizona and will take on the Yuma Scorpions, managed by former Los Angeles Dodger All-Star Mike Marshall on Wednesday, May 21st at 6.35 P.M.

“We are excited to be able to bring such an interesting match-up and high-quality baseball to our fans in Long Beach and Yuma,” said GBL Commissioner Kevin Outcalt. “Baseball has made great strides in China and I wouldn’t be surprised to see some of the players on this China National Team continuing their careers in major league organizations once the Beijing Olympics are completed later this summer.”

The series should be a good tune-up for China as they will face a veteran lineup in Long Beach that boasts one of the most experienced professional independent teams in the country with four former MLB first round draft picks and a roster with five players with major league experience including pitcher Jerome Williams, pitcher Nick Bierbrodt, second baseman Cleatus Davidson, first baseman Tony Torcato, and catcher David Parrish. The Yuma Scorpions also field an experience professional team including major leaguers catcher Pascual Matos and starting pitcher Mike Esposito, along with former New York Mets second round draft pick Alhaji Turay leading off and patrolling center field.

The 2008 Beijing Olympics will feature the world’s finest baseball teams from around the globe. The eight team tournament is set and will showcase some of the greatest players in the world as China, Cuba, U.S.A., Canada, Netherlands, Japan, Korea, and Chinese Taipei will compete for the gold medal from August 13 – 23, 2008.

Tickets for the three games start at $6 and can be ordered by contacting the Long Beach Armada front office at 562-498-4487 and the Yuma Scorpions front office at 928-257-4700.

About the Golden Baseball League

The Golden Baseball League, Presented by Safeway, is an independent professional baseball league operating in western North America. The Golden Baseball League is comprised of the following eight teams in an 88 game schedule between May and September each year: The Chico Outlaws in Chico, CA; the Reno Silver Sox in Reno, NV; the Long Beach Armada in Long Beach, CA; the Orange County Flyers in Fullerton, CA; the St. George Roadrunners in St. George, UT; the Yuma Scorpions in Yuma; AZ; the Calgary Vipers in Calgary, Alberta, Canada; and the Edmonton Cracker Cats in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

In addition, the GBL owns and operates the six-team Arizona Winter League which plays from late January to the beginning of March and is considered the premier winter showcase league for professional and aspiring professional baseball players. The AWL’s six teams are the Palm Springs Chill, the Yuma Scorpions, the Blythe Heat, the San Diego Surf Dawgs, the Sonora Pilots, and the Canada Miners.

In three seasons of play, the GBL has had over 60 players purchased by major league organizations and has included over 30 former major league players including American League MVPs Rickey Henderson and Jose Canseco.

The Golden Baseball League is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area town of Dublin, CA. For general information and/or ticket information, please visit our web site at www.goldenbaseball.com or call (925) 226-2889.

John Sailors of East Bay Business Timesalso report.

Two Golden Baseball League teams will host three games this month against the Chinese Olympic baseball team in the run-up to the 2008 Summer Olympics being held in Beijing in August.

The games also come just before the May 22 season opening of the Golden Baseball League, an independent professional minor league that has its headquarters in Dublin.

The Long Beach Armada will host the Chinese national team in a two-game series at historic Blair Field in Long Beach on May 17 and 18.

The Chinese team will then travel to Yuma, Ariz., where it will play the Yuma Scorpions on May 21.

The games also will be a battle of former Los Angeles Dodgers. Coincidentally, all three teams are managed by former Dodgers. The Chinese team is managed by former Dodger All-Star and Major League manager Jim Lefebvre.

Long Beach is managed by former Dodger and 1981 World Series MVP Steve Yeager, and Yuma is managed by former Dodger All-Star Mike Marshall.

It is uncertain as yet whether the games will be televised or broadcast over the Internet, according to Kevin Outcalt, the GBL’s commissioner.

The games will serve as a tune-up for the Chinese team, which will go on to face the United States, Canada, Cuba, Japan, Chinese Taipei, Korea, and the Netherlands in Beijing in August.

The Chinese team had been practicing in Phoenix with help from Major League Baseball personnel, who contacted the GBL about possible practice games, Outcalt said. The games come at the end of the GBL’s short spring training period, when teams are normally playing exhibition games.

In preparation over the last week, the GBL has had a lot of success finding sponsors and cooking up promotions, Outcalt said. These include a Passport to China promotion with Chinese restaurants in the two cities.

The games also bring added prestige to the league. The GBL enters its fourth season this summer with a renewed sponsorship from Pleasanton-based Safeway Inc. that includes several joint programs such as baseball clinics and ticket giveaways in schools. Safeway also promotes the games in stores in host cities.

The GBL has added two Canadian teams this year, as well — the Calgary Vipers and the Edmonton Cracker-Cats, both of which left the established Northern League following a dispute over travel and scheduling.

The GBL is also in discussions with Ohlone College to build a stadium at the school’s Newark campus and field a Newark team. The league has for some time been working to launch a team in the East Bay.