With a little pomp and circumstance the Chinese Professional Baseball League started voting yesterday to find the nation's top 20 players.
Those selected will play at the All-Star game, which will be held at the nation's showcase arena, Tienmu Stadium in Taipei, on June 22.
Video presentations from last November's Baseball World Cup were shown at the press conference in Taipei yesterday, before the assorted baseball officials and sponsors placed their hands on a digital orb that read "Blockbuster All-Star Game" and ticker tape swirled around the room.
Introducing his company's sponsorship of the event, Blockbuster Vice President Asia Al O'Donnell said it was the first time his company had backed a sporting event in Taiwan.
"Not only is this Blockbuster's first involvement with local sports, but we are now the title sponsor of the most popular sporting event in Taiwan, the 13-year-old All-Star Game."
The company will be distributing printed ballots to all their stores for fans to vote for their favorite player.
Voting can also be done at baseball stadiums throughout the country and on the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) Web site.
This week in the CPBL the league-leading Brother Elephants will take on the second-placed ChinaTrust Whales in a three-part series.
Game 1 today is in Kaohsiung
Today they will be playing in Kaohsiung. On Friday the two teams will play again, in Hsinchuang.
On Saturday, the decider will be held at Tienmu Stadium, where Vice President Annette Lu will throw out the first pitch.
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