The New York Yankees and Chinese government have agreed to work together to develop baseball in the Communist country of over 1 billion people. The Yankees will be sending personnel to China to instruct players and plan to open academies there, according to a recent article in USA Today.
Twins executive Bill Smith, who oversees the club’s baseball academies in Venezuela and the Dominican Republic, said Minnesota presently has no plans to copy the Yankees plan, although the team has been and remains interested in talent from Asia. “Howard Norsetter is our international coordinator,” Smith said. “I know Howard has made some inroads all across Asia.”
Smith said baseball is “growing all across the world” and the Twins, for example, signed an outfielder (Wang-Wei Lin) this winter from Taiwan who will report soon to the club’s minor league camp. Norsetter has been working for the Twins since the late 1980s when he began scouting in Australia. His scouting territory has even included Canada where he found Corey Koskie and Justin Morneau.
Jake Mauer said his son Joe has been working out in Florida and preparing for spring training. One of baseball’s most eligible bachelors, Joe doesn’t have a steady girl friend, according to his dad.
Twins president Dave St. Peter said the public’s “expectations are high” for the coming season. The excitement includes anticipation of another division title and more star power among players than fans have known in the recent past. St. Peter estimated last week that about 35,000 tickets have already been sold for the Twins’ home opener on Monday, April against Baltimore.
According to the Twins web site, three new Hormel bobblehead doll giveaways are planned for the 2007 season: Joe Mauer batting title bobblehead (Saturday, June 9), Justin Morneau MVP bobblehead (Friday, July 20) and a Michael Cuddyer bobblehead (Saturday, September 15).
Mauer has signed a few four year contract but Morneau is signed only for this season. General manager Terry Ryan has said at least twice on talk radio this week that he is willing to reopen discussions to sign Morneau to a multi-year contract.