Liu Kai

Liu Kai (Simplified Chinese: 刘凯 born on October 11, 1987 in Tianjin, China [ [http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRM/ENG/BIO/Athlete/4/206844.shtml Athlete Biography - The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games August 8-24, 2008] ] ) is a left-handed pitcher in the New York Yankees organization.

Liu began playing organized baseball at the age of 12, when he was enrolled in a sports school in China. At age 16, he became a professional baseball player when he began playing for the Guangdong Leopards of the China Baseball League. He has also participated as a member of the People's Republic of China National Team. [ [http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aLAfzhCTNfUc&refer=asiaLiu "Yankees' 84-MPH Pitcher May Spur Baseball Renaissance in China" Cheng, Wing-Gar and Grant Clark, "Bloomberg Asia", July 18, 2007] ]

Liu's best pitch is his fastball, topping out at 84 miles per hour. [ [http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aLAfzhCTNfUc&refer=asiaLiu "Yankees' 84-MPH Pitcher May Spur Baseball Renaissance in China", Cheng, Wing-Gar and Grant Clark, "Bloomberg Asia", July 18, 2007] ]

On June 18, 2007, became the first baseball player born in the People's Republic of China to sign a Major League Baseball contract with the prior permission of the China Baseball Association, along with Zhang Zhenwang, who also signed with the Yankees. [ [http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070618&content_id=2033868&vkey=news_nyy&fext=.jsp&c_id=nyy Yankees sign two Chinese prospects] ] The first baseball player born in the People's Republic of China to sign with a Major League Baseball club was pitcher Wang Chao, who signed with the Seattle Mariners on August 9, 2001.

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