Concerns about the CPBL’s Rakuten Monkeys resurfaced on Wednesday after a report said that flies and live maggots were found in meals served to players.
The issue was first reported by Chinese-language magazine CTWANT, which cited a player’s dissatisfaction with a lunch served on Saturday last week — believed to be sea bass with tofu.
The unnamed player shared photographs showing dead flies and live maggots writhing in the food.
Photo: CNA
“I can ignore the dead flies — just extra protein — but I cannot get over the maggots in the tofu,” the report quoted the player as saying, adding that the fish smelled bad and was likely not fresh.
It was the second time this season the Monkeys have faced complaints about player meals.
In April, CTWANT reported that players’ meals were oily, heavily seasoned and lacking in meat — with some containing pieces of plastic — making them unfit for professional athletes.
Although the team promised to fix the issue, the player said the problems returned within a week or two, as the organization’s tight budget discouraged suppliers from taking the meal contract.
The budget constraints also sidelined the team’s dietitian, they said.
“Our dietitian even argued with the vendor, saying they could not serve food like this, but the vendor said they could not help it because of cost concerns,” the player said.
The Rakuten Monkeys said they had instructed the vendor to improve sanitation controls.
CPBL commissioner Tsai Chi-chan and the Taoyuan City Government expressed concern over the situation.
Tsai wrote on social media that he had asked the Monkeys to implement a food safety inspection system.
“There is no room for ambiguity when it comes to players’ health,” the Taiwan Professional Baseball Players Association said in a statement, adding that it had requested a meeting with the CPBL and Rakuten, and proposed that all teams establish a food safety system by next season’s spring training.
The tight budget might be just the tip of the iceberg, reflecting broader financial struggles at Rakuten Group, the Japanese tech conglomerate that acquired the Monkeys in 2020.
A column published in September 2023 in the Chinese-language United Daily News said that Rakuten Group has operated at a loss since the fiscal year ending December 2019 due to its failed push into the mobile industry, with its deficit reaching a record-high ￥372.8 billion (US$2.53 billion) in 2022.
That mobile investment could push Rakuten’s debt past ￥1 trillion within three to five years and potentially lead to bankruptcy in the event of serous cash flow problems, the column said.
In May, Bloomberg reported that the company’s net loss for the three months to March rose to ￥73.47 billion from ￥42.39 billion a year earlier, exceeding analysts’ forecast of ￥40.38 billion.
Speculation about a possible disbandment or ownership change intensified after the departure of popular cheerleaders Lin Hsiang and Lee Da-hye following the 2023 season.
However, Rakuten founder Hiroshi Mikitani said during a CPBL playoff game in October last year that he had no plans to sell the team.
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