中国野球のプロ化に関する一考察－旧リーグ「中国棒球聯賽」と新リーグ「中国棒球職業聯盟」の比較から－

抄録

The Chinese Baseball Association (CBA) established the China National Baseball League (CNBL) as the new top league to replace the Chinese Baseball League (CBL) in 2019. At the opening game in August, a strategic partnership agreement was signed between the Major League Baseball (MLB) and the CNBL. In this new league, four of the six teams who were affiliated with the former league of CBL participated, each team had a regular season of 18 games, and the playoffs between the top two teams were held in a best-of-five series. The former league CBL was established in 2002 by selecting top teams from existing local teams with the aim of strengthening the national team for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The domestic league matches and the overseas expeditions by the national team selected from each team have boosted the competitiveness of top-level players, resulting in victories over Taiwan, one of Asia’s powerhouses, in the Beijing Olympics and next year’s World Baseball Classic. However, the CBL was forced to reduce its scale after the Beijing Olympics, as baseball was dropped from the Olympics. After several season cancellations, the CBL eventually folded after the 2018 season. A national team has not shown any outstanding performances on the international stage since the 2009 WBC. Under such circumstances, the launch of the new league, the CNBL, was suddenly announced in 2019. The CBA has announced that it is positioning this league as a professional league. In this paper, we review the history of baseball in China and its research history. Then we examine the influence of sports policy in China on the management of the former top league and illustrate the current condition of the newly launched league, the CNBL, in 2019. This will show the direction of the sustainability of the new professional baseball league in China.