A new Pioneer Baseball League franchise, a partner of Major League Baseball, will begin play at Great Park Baseball Stadium next year. The Irvine team will join the 12-team professional league based in California and the Rocky Mountain states.
The club is borrowing from Japanese and Korean pro baseball traditions: coordinated crowd chants, in-game entertainment and a stadium menu built around Asian street food. Don Wakamatsu, the first Asian American manager in major-league history, leads baseball operations for the group.
“This partnership will bring elite entertainment to our city without the elite price tag,” says council member William Go, Great Park board chair.
