Taiwan’s baseball season, the only one scheduled anywhere in the world amid the COVID-19 pandemic, was from yesterday to include English-language broadcasts to showcase the nation’s baseball to a wider audience, broadcaster Eleven Sports said on Twitter.
The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) on Sunday held its first game at the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium after the first two games were postponed a week earlier due to bad weather, making it the first professional baseball league in the world to start this year.
However, the season — or at least the beginning of the season — is to be played without fans due to the nation’s social distancing regulations designed to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Photo: CNA
The English-language commentary, which is to be provided for Rakuten Monkeys home games, would be part of the broadcasts to come from the Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium from yesterday to Sunday, said World Baseball Softball Confederation Asia correspondent Richard Wang, one of the commentators.
The Monkeys, at their home stadium, are to play back-to-back games against the Uni-President Lions yesterday and today, and then three straight games against the New Taipei City-based Fubon Guardians from tomorrow to Sunday.
Wang is a commentator for Major League Baseball in North America in Chinese on Fox Sports Taiwan. He is to team up with Wayne McNeil to present the CPBL to fans worldwide at a time when professional baseball has all but come to a halt due to the pandemic.
“In many ways, baseball is a way of life, and being able to have a baseball season means that Taiwan is still able to have a normal way of life,” Wang told reporters.
In addition to reflecting the nation’s success at stopping the spread of the novel coronavirus, it is also hoped that broadcasting the games in English would show the world that the pandemic can be overcome, he said.
Having previously served for 14 years in the CPBL’s department of promotion and marketing, official publications, strategic planning and international affairs, Wang said that he hopes to help international fans fall in love with Taiwanese baseball.
“I think the fans will be interested in the players’ skills, and I will also fill in with background and stories about the league,” Wang said. “But I do hope, maybe later in the season, fans will be allowed into the stadium, which will show the complete package the CPBL has to offer.”
Asked if the English-language broadcasts would continue for the rest of the season, Wang said that it depends on viewership, but added that he thinks there is a good chance it would be well-received.
The last time the CPBL was broadcast to an international audience was more than 30 years ago.
This year’s regular season is to run until Oct. 14, with a total of 240 games scheduled, the CPBL Web site showed.
The other teams in the CPBL are Taichung-based Brothers Baseball Club and the Yunlin County-based Wei Chuan Dragons.
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