What if China Buys the Dodgers?

[Chris-Counts]

Do I have a problem with the Chinese buying the Dodgers? I'd support aliens from outer space buying the team if it means baseball can get rid of that clown, McCourt ...

[39special]

Would there rivals be the Tokyo Giants?

[xdrx]

Originally Posted by Chris Counts

Do I have a problem with the Chinese buying the Dodgers? I'd support aliens from outer space buying the team if it means baseball can get rid of that clown, McCourt ...

Hards to argue with the "anyone but McCourt" sentiment.

Originally Posted by barrysloate

The New Jersey Nets, soon to be the Brooklyn Nets, are owned by a Russian businessman, and nothing really has changed. They still lose with great regularity. But I suppose you are referring to the potential new fan base in China, which of course could be enormous. Do they follow American baseball there? Don't know. Every aspect of our lives is becoming global, so expanding baseball to foreign countries would seem natural.

Maybe Prokhorov could buy the Dodgers and move them back to Brooklyn. How sweet would that be? Maybe flip the Mets to the West coast...

Originally Posted by 39special

Would there rivals be the Tokyo Giants?

Maybe a true World Series someday? Would be kind of cool, if it was competitive.

[Writehooks]

I had the pleasure of spending 14 months in Beijing as a sports columnist for China Daily, the largest English publication in the PRC. The year I was there (2004-05) was the third season of the China Baseball League, a seven-team pro circuit that was just starting to break through from the periphery of the nation's sports culture. Baseball has a history on the Chinese mainland dating back to the 1920s; in fact, the nation's first baseball stadium was a gift from the O'Malley family in the early 1970s. The game is now growing by leaps and bounds and is especially popular among college students. If the day ever comes when the PRC gains a financial stake in the Dodgers – or any other MLB team – I think the benefits would outweigh any pitfalls. Just my 2 cents worth.

[DaClyde]

"Anyone but Mark Cuban!" exclaimed Bud Selig hysterically.

[paul]

If China buys the Dodgers, I'll never eat a "Dodger Dog" again.

[drc]

The teams are essentially franchises of MLB, and, while owners are owners, they are subject to strict rules and regulations. Similar to when you buy a McDonald's franchise. It's not as if Chinese owners could do whatever they want with the team. As with Marge Schott and Frank McCourt, MLB can even take away a team from an owner if they do naughty enough things.

I don't have an issue with Chinese owners. Potential American owners are vetted by MLB, and many are rejected. Though clearly MLB didn't make the right choice with McCourt.

** I should add as disclaimer that I'm not a Dogers fan and have once or twice referred to them as the "poor man's Yankees."