Gui Yuan Xu (Itchy)

[weams]

[srock]

Are we signing "Scratchy" as well?

[LayzieDES]

Itchy shoo. I'm sure there's some kind of hot foot, tough actin tinactin, etc. joke to be inserted there.

[UpstateNYfan]

Left handed throwing infielder...hum doesn't that mean 1st baseman or are they going to start running bases clock wise??

[oriolesacox]

@JesseSanchezMLB: Source: Orioles sign 1B Yasiel Mederos (Cuba) for $100K & Xu signs for 10K during int'l signing period @MLBPipeline http://t.co/3FK9GRJLth...

Haven't heard anything about this Mederas character... Get em DD!!!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[weams]

Are we signing "Scratchy" as well?

"Our favorite show."

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tA50fz9ZWE0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[mrpennybags]

Interesting. I can't find anything else out about him through Google other than what's in the press release. Anyone have more info?

[weams]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Orioles have signed free agent INF Gui Yuan “Itchy” Xu to a 2016 minor league deal. <a href="http://t.co/FpyUdzeJis">pic.twitter.com/FpyUdzeJis</a></p>— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) <a href="

">July 20, 2015</a></blockquote>

<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[srock]

Orioles sign infielder Gui Yuan Xu out of Shenzhen China via MLB Development Center in Wuxi, Jiangsu, China.

Xu is the first player signed by a MLB team from one of the MLB Development Center's.

Now its in plain text, soon anyone searching will find it here. Get to it Google!

[weams]

Orioles sign infielder Gui Yuan Xu out of Shenzhen China via MLB Development Center in Wuxi, Jiangsu, China.

Xu is the first player signed by a MLB team from one of the MLB Development Center's.

Now its in plain text, soon anyone searching will find it here. Get to it Google!

Got it!

[Aristotelian]

Longer story with photos from MLB.com. China has 1 billion people. At least a couple of them ought to be able to play baseball. Article says he played in a Taiwanese youth league, so I wonder if there is a Chen connection.

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/137560630/orioles-sign-prospect-xu-guiyuan-from-china

[weams]

[weams]

[weams]

Got it!

China had a rich baseball history in the first half of the 20th century, with Chinese teams traveling overseas to play, and American All-Star teams, including the likes of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, traveling to China for exhibition games. But during China's cultural revolution, Mao Zedong banned baseball from 1966 through 1976 as a symbol of Western indulgence. Following Mao's death, baseball was slow to regain its footing in China, despite the fact baseball, of all the sports, seems suited to Chinese culture.

[weams]

"Ichiro is a hitting god and I love hitting, and I want to work hard to be as good as he is," Xu said. "I am excited to have a chance to go to MLB and play baseball, and I'm happy the Orioles gave me this opportunity."