The Chinese Professional Baseball League season is set to begin Aug. 13. After its founding last year, the league held a spring season earlier this year, beginning in January. On Feb. 1, the Shenzhen Blue Sox won the inaugural season, defeating the Shanghai Dragons in three games.
Four teams competed in the spring season, but the summer version will have six teams. The Shanghai Dragons have moved to Beijing and are now known as the Beijing CP Loongs. The two new teams are the Shanghai Orcas and Changsha Want Want. The teams will play 45 games, with the top four advancing to the postseason, which begins Sept. 21. A best-of-three final will begin Sept. 26.
With a goal of becoming a fully professional league by 2028, teams have bolstered their rosters with foreign players to provide an infusion of talent and raise the level of play.
The foreign contingent features 11 Cuban players, according to a report from Cuban journalist Yusseff Díaz. Some notable names include Alfredo Despaigne and Yasiel González.
González became the first Cuban player to win MVP honors in both the Cuban National Series and Cuban Elite League in the same year. He led the Elite League with a 1.227 OPS, 19 home runs and 43 RBIs. González has signed with the Xiamen Dolphins.
Despaigne is one of the legends of Cuban baseball. He debuted in 2005 with Alazanes de Granma and played 10 seasons in Japan with the Chiba Lotte Marines and Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.
He became the second player ever to play in five consecutive World Baseball Classic tournaments when he played for Cuba this past March and the third player overall to appear in five, joining Miguel Cabrera and Shairon Martin. Despaigne holds the all-time WBC record for home runs with seven and is second in RBIs with 21.
He played for Granma this past winter, posting an .893 OPS with seven home runs. He has signed with the Beijing CP Loongs.
On the pitching side, Frank Herrera is a name to watch. The right-hander has pitched in Cuba and Italy. He has pitched in Italy this season and has a 2.95 ERA in 39 2/3 innings, with 59 strikeouts for Crocetta.
Herrera pitched for Cuba at the Central American and Caribbean Games, going 5 1/3 innings with five strikeouts without allowing a run. He has signed with the Beijing CP Loongs.
The season begins Aug. 13, with the Beijing CP Loongs playing the Shanghai Orcas at Xuhui West Bund Baseball Field in Shanghai.
Full list of Cuban players signed in China:
- DH Alfredo Despaigne, Beijing CP Loongs
- C Andy Cosme, Beijing CP Loongs
- OF Raico Santos, Beijing CP Loongs
- OF Francisco Martínez, Beijing CP Loongs
- RHP Fher Cejas, Beijing CP Loongs
- RHP Frank Herrera, Beijing CP Loongs
- RHP Yankiel Mauris, Beijing CP Loongs
- OF Yasiel González, Xiamen Dolphins
- OF José Noroña, Xiamen Dolphins
- RHP Pavel Hernández, Xiamen Dolphins
- RHP Andy Vargas, Xiamen Dolphins
Photo: Cuba’s designated hitter Alfredo Despaigne hits a single against the Netherlands during the fourth inning of their second round game at the World Baseball Classic at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Wednesday, March 15, 2017. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)
