The cheers are loud and the spirits high. Taiwan's baseball fans have once again shown zealous support and enthusiasm for the national sport years after a betting scandal threatened to lead to the domestic game's demise.
Regardless of how the 34th Baseball World Cup ends today, the games have indicated that Taiwan's baseball fans are still out there, ready to once again embrace the sport and its players.
The question now is how to keep those fans.
Taiwan has been home to baseball teams since 1905, during Japanese colonial rule. The first all-Taiwanese baseball team was established in 1921.
With the introduction of junior and senior leagues in 1971 and 1973 respectively, Taiwan's three leagues all began to win world championships.
Baseball, however, started to decline in 1982 when Taiwan's performance in the international arena began to decline.
The game got a fresh chance with the inauguration of the nation's first professional league in 1989. But the joy was short-lived after a major betting scandal and the creation of another league resulted in a loss of fans.
Betting scandals
Former Olympian and member of the China Times Eagles (時報鷹) Wang Kuang-hsi (王光熙) was just one of several players sent to jail for his involvement in a widespread betting scandal in which players were caught throwing games. Wang was sentenced to two years in prison on gambling charges in 1998.
"I don't think about it much. The only thing I want is a peaceful life," said the 34-year-old Ami Aborigine from Hualien County. Wang's case is on appeal at the High Court.
After serving his sentence, Wang went back to his hometown to teach high school baseball for 18 months. About a year ago, he returned to Taipei to work as a pavement technician at the city government's Bureau of Public Works.
"It's quite a challenge salary-wise, but as a high school graduate, I don't have any complaints about having a job as a civil servant," he said.
When Wang was a pro his monthly salary was more than NT$230,000. Wang now earns NT$30,000 a month.
Commenting on the government's efforts to take care of exceptional athletes, Wang said that the government should do more than just offer monetary rewards to players.
"There should be a channels made available for athletes to continue their passion and talent," he said. "Take the 1992 Olympic team for example -- each of us received NT$5 million for winning silver, but what happened then?"
Witnessing the enthusiasm of baseball fans at the 34th Baseball World Cup, Wang said that he is both happy and worried.
"I'm glad to see the fans coming back out to show their support, but I'm afraid that their passion might be short-lived," he said.
To lure back more baseball fans, Wang said government agencies should try to host more international games.
"Or if it's financially difficult to do so, they should consider sending out our teams to compete in international games," he said.
An earnest hope
Jen Chih-wei (
"How I miss those days of competing for the glory of the country," he said. "I hope to be able to form a baseball team for the city government and to eventually lead the team to professional competitions."
After leaving the Weichuan Dragons (
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