Intro:

Rick Dell, director of MLB game development in Asia, says he hopes new Baltimore Orioles signing Xu Guiyuan is the first of many players in elite baseball from the MLB's three development centres in China.

Script:

SOUNDBITE (English) Rick Dell, director, MLB Game Development in Asia:

"Well we'd like to think this is the beginning of many (signings from Asia). And I think everybody involved would like to think the same way. So I would say it's safe to say that we would hope that we would have some more "Itchies" on a regular basis every year. That's not always going to happen, some years it's going to be a little more fruitful than others, but there's no reason that this can't be the beginning of a very, very great time in China where we are seeing players being signed by MLB from China.

"I think to start compare Itchy to Yao Ming, I think that's little premature. But one thing I will say, is we talk about (how) he needs to take one day at a time, and he needs to take the advice of his professionals. But really that's why he is here - because he has already done that for the last six years. He's taken advantages of his opportunities, he has worked hard in the classroom, he's worked hard on the baseball field, in the weight room. He has paid attention to his nutrition, so he has already developed the good work habits that he is going to need to become a good professional baseball player. "