Slugger Fielder in China to spread word about baseball

BEIJING - When you mention "goodwill ambassador", images of a hulking 285-pound man liberally covered in tattoos don't immediately spring to mind.

However, there was "ambassador" Prince Fielder wowing the young students at Beijing Wanquan Elementary School on Monday with a brief wiffle-ball hitting exhibition and (even briefer) speech, but mainly through his large presence.

The Milwaukee Brewers slugger is in this part of the world spreading the word of Major League Baseball (MLB) and, in particular, its Play Ball! program which is designed to draw youngsters to the game.

He couldn't have chosen a safer place to campaign as Wanquan won this year's MLB Play Ball! Diamond Cup.

"Keep doing what you are doing," the 26-year-old told his attentive young audience. "Play as long as you are having fun."

"Fun" is something the left-handed batter and first baseman should be having a lot of during the next MLB season as it will be the last of his current contract with the Brewers and he will be eligible to enter the lucrative free-agent pool.

Averaging 40 home runs per year over the past four seasons and with a career batting average of .279, Fielder is likely to be the pick of the crop after next season.

Some hefty trades went down at the MLB's recent Winter Meetings in Florida and should have provided Fielder with a good idea of his market value, however he was coy when the subject.

"I really don't know what went on there," he said. "I'm just playing baseball and that's all I am thinking about right now."

Fortunately, he was a little more forthcoming when asked about a special kungfu exhibition put on by a handful of the school's students for his benefit.

"It was awesome, I wish I knew how to do it," he said. "It is very beautiful, exhilarating and athletic just really nice to watch," he said like a true diplomat.

Fielder's four-day stop in China, which included trips to the Great Wall and Forbidden City, ends on Tuesday as he jets over to Japan for a five-day tour there.

His father, Cecil, also a Major League slugger, played in Japan for a number of years.

The MLB will send two more ambassadors out into the sporting world in January. Yankee midfielder Curtis Granderson will head down to New Zealand while Texas Rangers pitcher C.J. Wilson will be bound for South Africa.

Meanwhile, to bring what Jim Small, vice president of MLB International and managing director of MLB Asia calls the "greatest sport" to China, the MLB continues to help promote the sport here despite the fact it has been kicked out of the Summer Olympics.

Recently, Beijing Liuliqiao Elementary School joined 24 other schools in the capital which have the Play Ball! program, and some of those schools have baseball as part of the curriculum.

China Daily