Chinese buy into American baseball

Texas AirHogs’ Na Chuang (36), Song Yunqi (15), Yang Yanyong (1) and Yang Jin (29), all of China, stand for the playing of the Chinese national anthem before an American Association of Independent Professional Baseball game, Wednesday, July 18, 2018, in Grand Prairie, Texas. The small ballpark in Texas just a few miles from downtown Dallas is home this summer for the Chinese national baseball team under an unprecedented setup. The Chinese players are part of a revolving roster in a professional league, getting to play more games and against tougher competition to strengthen their team for future international competitions like the 2020 Olympics. (AP Photo/Brandon Wade)

One thing China is good at is the slow start ... collecting the foreign building blocks that can pay dividends in years to come. Africa comes to mind for me: Where the west searches for the next big right-now oil or minerals, China is willing to put its money on roads and bridges and infrastructure and relationships. It'll take time, but guess who's going to win that battle.*

And there is something about the following story that suggests China may end up owning America's signature pastime -- baseball.

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas (AP) — The starting lineups are announced in English and Spanish at home games for the independent Texas AirHogs, and then the Chinese national anthem is played.
For about 30 members of the Chinese national baseball team, the suburban ballpark adjacent to a horse track and only a few miles west of downtown Dallas has become their summer home and training ground in an unprecedented setup.
They are a revolving part of the roster for a professional team in the United States, playing more games and against tougher competition while working to improve their team for future international events such as the upcoming Asian Games and 2020 Olympics.

I can't say that I fully understand what is going on in this story outside "China" and "American baseball" so I may be off-base in my suspicious little mind. But it's got a whiff of the slow start leading to a world series title.

Donald Trump likes selling off and selling out America. I can imagine his saying this is a "very, very" good deal for the United States.

*In the dusty past somewhere was the suggestion that the Roman Catholic Church was planning to switch financial strategies and target Africa after U.S. revenue streams began to dry up in the wake of all the pedophile priests springing from American soil. Another helpmeet for another 'benevolent' cause. Another "very, very" good deal?