By Yoon Chul
Staff Reporter
The Asia Series scheduled to take place at the end of the 2010 baseball season will likely be canceled.
The series, which would have included the domestic champions from Japan, Korea, China and Taiwan, is likely off because it would overlap with the Asian Games.
The decision was made at the Asia Series committee meeting in Tokyo Wednesday, which was not attended by the Chinese.
The Asia Series first began in 2005 with Konami serving as the main sponsor. But the competition struggled and didn’t make a profit after Konami pulled out. In 2008, the series was held with financial support from Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) but last year, the event was reduced to just a single match between the champions from the Korea Baseball Organization and the NPB.
All four countries are now planning on sending professional players to the Asian Games, which begin Nov. 3 in Guangzhou, China.
However, Japan and Korea were still in favor of holding the series, while Taiwan and China were opposed, because of their national team schedules.
The committee will meet again in February, where it’s expected that alternate plans for the competition will be discussed.