A pair of Republican congressmen blasted Major League Baseball (MLB) on Wednesday for relocating jobs from the United States to China in the league’s effort to strengthen ties with the communist country.
Reps. Jim Hagedorn (MN) and Buddy Carter (GA) introduced a resolution to the House condemning the MLB. In particular, the lawmakers slammed the MLB over the shut down of a Minnesota manufacturing plant operated by Miken Sports, which does business with the league. The plant is moving its operations, and roughly 70 jobs, to China, according to The Washington Free Beacon.
“Baseball is considered to be America’s national pastime, so it is completely outrageous that MLB has decided to shut down the Miken Sports plant in Caledonia and outsource American jobs to communist China – directly defying Major League Baseball’s position as an American sports league,” Hagedorn said in a statement. “Miken has been one of the largest employers in Caledonia for decades, and this community will face major hardships and job losses due to this closure. We are urging MLB to reverse this decision, purchase products that are made in America and work to keep these jobs at home. We must always ensure that American workers, families, and communities are treated fairly and come first.”
“As the organization responsible for America’s pastime, Major League Baseball should be an unquestionable supporter of American jobs,” Carter said in a statement. “However, the league’s decision to shutter the Miken Sports plant in Caledonia, Minnesota, and move those jobs to China is incredibly disheartening. America’s pastime should be supported by American-made products and American jobs; it is time for Major League Baseball to live up to its role as an American institution and the duty that comes with it.”
In March, the league announced a new deal with the Chinese tech giant Tencent to stream MLB games into China for the next two years, another step in strengthening ties between the American sports league and the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing. As The Daily Wire reported:
… the league extended a television deal with state-owned Chinese tech giant Tencent on Wednesday. The new deal grants Tencent the rights to stream MLB games to a number of Asian countries until 2023, according to Fox News.
In 2017, the MLB partnered with a state-owned Chinese group to grow the sport in China. The league announced a 10-year deal with the Beijing Enterprises Real-Estate Group Ltd. (BEREGL) in a December 2017 to build numerous new baseball facilities across the country.
“We are thrilled to have a strategic alliance with Major League Baseball that seeks to enhance the playing level of professional baseball teams in China,” BEREGL chairman Qian Xu said in a statement. “This new relationship with MLB also will seek to provide Chinese youth with new facilities to participate in this great game while advancing their education and learning valuable life lessons.”
Jim Small, then vice president and head of the league’s Asia Pacific operations, added: “This relationship with BEREGL will seek to accelerate our growth and to provide first-rate facilities and coaching for the increasing number of Chinese baseball players. We are honored to team up with one of China’s most forward-thinking, innovative and successful companies as we build momentum for baseball in the country.”