A professional baseball battle could be in the works, as China joins Taiwan in the world of professional baseball.
The Chinese Baseball Association announced on Tuesday at a press conference in Beijing that the China Baseball League will start its inagural season on April 26.
The CBL will field four teams -- the Beijing Tigers, Tianjin Lions, Shanghai Eagles and Guangdong Lightening -- in a short inaugural season that will conclude on May 25.
The four teams making up the league are the strongest clubs drawn from China's first division.
At the Ninth National Games of China held in November last year, Tianjin defeated Guangdong 5-2 to win the title. Beijing was third and Shanghai finished fifth. The Army team finished fourth.
The CBL reportedly held a dispersal draft on August 16 to include players from other first division teams.
Each team reportedly will be allowed to have three foreign players on their rosters, but only two will be allowed on the field at the same time.
The four teams will each play 12 games in a single round-robin format on a home and away basis.
The top two teams will advance for a single championship game.
The long-awaited league had been in the works for several years, but was apparently given the final go-ahead after Beijing won the right to host the 2008 Olympics.
As the host country, China will be guaranteed a spot in the baseball competition.
According to Chinese government officials, the CPL season was postponed from its planned launch date of March 28 as the grounds were not ready.
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