Taiwan yesterday became the first nation to open its professional baseball season this year amid global lockdowns that have seen most sports events canceled or postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The nation also launched its soccer season with four matches in its top division, joining a handful of nations that have begun to restart their leagues.
The Uni-President Lions took on the Brothers Baseball Club at the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium to launch the Chinese Professional Baseball League’s (CPBL) 2020 season.
Photo: CNA
Local and foreign news outlets reported the opener as the “world’s first,” as the US’ Major League Baseball has yet to determine a starting date for its season, while the opening dates of the Korean Baseball Organization and Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball have been postponed to Tuesday and Friday next week respectively.
The Mexican Baseball League has delayed the opening of its season to May 11.
CPBL games are to be played without spectators for the time being to prevent virus infection. Authorities have limited the number of attendees to 200 people, including players, team personnel, umpire crew, ground staff, cheerleaders and journalists.
People entering the stadium for yesterday’s game were required to register beforehand, have their temperature taken at the entrance and fill out a health declaration form.
American pitcher Bryan Woodall of the Fubon Guardians was quoted by Sports Illustrated as praising Taiwan’s work in combating the COVID-19 outbreak, while a sizeable contingent of Japanese sports journalists covering the game yesterday said that Japanese fans are envious of Taiwan’s ability to get the games under way.
The Brothers’ Cuban starting pitcher Ariel Miranda threw the season’s first pitch and struck out the Lions’ leadoff batter Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) on three pitches for the first out in the opening frame.
However, the Cuban pitcher was tagged by Lions outfielder Cheng Kai-wen (鄭鎧文) in the next inning, who unloaded for a solo shot over the leftfield wall for Cheng to collect the first homer and post the first run of the season.
The Lions scored three runs at the top of the 11th inning to defeat the Brothers 4-1.
The job of throwing the opening pitch fell on Miranda by chance. The Rakuten Monkeys’ American starter Ryan Carpenter was supposed to throw the first pitch at Rakuten’s home field in Taoyuan on Saturday, but the game was canceled due to rain on Saturday and again yesterday.
Rakuten had placed robots and cardboard cutouts of spectators on the bleachers to lighten the atmosphere until fans return to the stadiums.
Meanwhile, on the first day of the men’s Taiwan Football Premier League season, Kaohsiung-based Taipower FC prevailed 3-2 over Taipei-based Tatung FC, last year’s champions, at the Taipei Municipal Stadium.
The other matches saw Taichung Futuro beating TSU FC 2-1, Hang Yuan FC crushing Red Lions FC 4-0 and Taiwan Steel-Tainan City doubling up on Ming Chuan University 4-2.
Taiwan joined Belarus, Tajikistan, Burundi and Nicaragua as one the only five countries to launch regular competition in their top soccer division, according to news site Eurosport.
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