Missouri native Ray Chang sets out to grow baseball in China

Ray Chang enters the 16-18U Babe Ruth World Series as the manager of MLB China 18U, but the Kansas City native is in familiar territory.

“For the players, it’s definitely a little bit of a culture shock,” Chang said. “A lot of these guys, this is their first time being to the States. I’m just from one state over in Kansas City but for a lot of these guys, it’s the first time.”

Chang played baseball at Rockhurst High School and Rockhurst College before beginning his professional career in the San Diego Padres farm system.

He's used to the Capaha Field aesthetics, and with youth participation in baseball growing in China, he's seeing similar environments for his players as well.

"I grew up with this right here," Chang said pointing to the field, "kids, moms, and dads in the stands supporting children. You're starting to see a lot more of that and in China as well, so it's great."

Chang played 12 seasons in the minor leagues but never reached the big leagues. His greatest accomplishment was playing all nine positions in a single game, including a scoreless inning on the mound, for Double-A Pensacola on September 7, 2015.

Chang is more known for his international career, having played for China in four of the five World Baseball Classic tournaments, most recently in 2023. Despite being an American by birth, he was eligible to compete for the Chinese national team because both of his parents were born in China.

With Team China in the WBC, Chang has noticed a positive impact on the sport's presence in the nation.

"Oh, it's huge," Chang said. "I'm on social media over there in China and, just the following the support, especially from the youth level. This was one of the bigger ones, and China played pretty well. I mean, we didn't win a game but, they competed against Japan. They stayed close with the Czech Republic, and young kids see that."

As a baseball nation, China is also in competition with Japan, Chinese Taipei, and Korea, all of who have been ahead in terms of getting into the sport, performing in tournaments, and developing potential big leaguers. Chang said that the motivation to compete with the rest of Asia is increasing turnout among the Chinese youth.

"I get a lot from younger kids like, 'Well, those three countries were playing well and baseball. Why can't we?' A lot of those three countries are like the top five, six baseball countries in the world. So a lot of kids now in China are like, 'Well, why can't we? Why can't China be a powerhouse as well in baseball?'

MLB China is off to a good start in the Babe Ruth World Series. They defeated the Aussie Drop Bears 14-9 in the first game of pool play. Starting pitcher John Lin gave up one earned run in 4.2 innings with eight strikeouts.

China will take on Washington on Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. in Capaha Field.