19/12/2023 1 Minute Read

Over 5,000 children participate in MLB Cup Fall season in China

The MLB Cup included stops in 13 cities. MLB also launched the First Pitch programme in 12 cities, involving over 9,000 participants. My First Baseball Lessons enjoyed six more episodes.

MLB promotional activities in China continued to enjoy success throughout the fall season.

The MLB Cup China started in September and included stops in 13 cities, Changchun and Shenyang in September; Qingdao, Dalian, Tianjin, Zhengzhou, Shanghai, Yangzhou and Shijiazhuang in October; Wuxi, Chengdu, Chongqing and Nanchang in November; Fuzhou, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Haikou in December.

The events involved 412 teams and 5,100 players.

After reaching eight cities through August, MLB First Pitch added four in the fall. The project reached 12 cities (Luzhou, Songyang, Zhongshan, Yinchuan, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Sichuan Tianfu, Ulanqab, Dongguan, Fuzhou, Hohhot) in 2023, nine of those for the first time. It involved 137 schools, with a 30% increase compared to 2022. The project involved 9,248 direct participants and had 189,593 overall contacts.

First Pitch Community Centres have been launched in six new cities, including Yangzhou, Tianjin, Wuxi, Shanghai, Shenyang, and Shenzhen. The number of cities increased by four, and the total number of events doubled compared to last year.

The number of participants has also increased significantly with a total of 1,308 people representing a close-to 50% increase compared to 2022. In 2023, First Pitch Community Centres covered not only baseball clubs but also recreational activity centres, sports parks, and soccer fields, unlocking diverse community sports experiences.

The programme included Coach Training for schools in nine cities: Yinchuan, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Zhangjiakou, Liuzhou, Zhongshan, Sichuan Tianfu, Ulanqab, and Changzhou, involving 362 participants.

After a two-year development, My First Baseball Lesson (MFBL) elevated its impact to a larger-scale target audience with MLB partnering with more social media platforms and launching free baseball/softball clinics for new fans, covering over 179 stops in 29 cities across mainland China.

The 2023 series of MFBL attracted over 186,000 fans and hit over 100 million views across Douyin, Kuaishou, Weibo, Little Red Book and Bilibili, the top social media platforms in China. Air, the top hip-hop singer & rapper in China, became the newly appointed ambassador for 2023.