April 26, 2013

I have become friendly with the dude that runs the English language based community center here, and as we share a love for baseball, he asked if I would write up an article about what it's like in Taiwan.  I just sent them the below...let's see if they use it.

When I first learned that we would be moving to Taipei last July, the first thing I did was go to the Internet and search ‘Things To Do in Taipei’ lists.  They all had Taipei 101 and the National Palace Museum, but none of them recommended attending a local baseball game.  After you have taken the elevator to the top of 101, and seen every scroll and ceramic bowl at the museum, then what?  If you are like me and want to get some real local flavor, next to a night Shrimping, there is nothing better than catching a Taiwanese baseball game. 

Quick personal disclosure; I grew up at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles (Garvey/Lopes/Russell/Cey era), and have watched, played, coached, lived, and breathed baseball ever since I can remember. 

Baseball in Taiwan has a history dating back to the 1920’s when it was introduced to the island by the Japanese, and has been played continuously ever since.  The current professional league (CPBL) was founded in 1990 and faced its toughest test in 1997 when a gambling scandal nearly caused the league to fold.  Currently, the league fields four teams that play a 120 game schedule beginning in March and ending with the Tawian World Series in October.  Taiwan has produced a few pitchers that have made it to the US Major Leagues including Hong-Chih Kuo, Chien-Ming Wang, and current Baltimore Oriole Wei-Yin Chen (12-11 with a 4.02 era in 192 innings in 2012)

The Tawianese adore their baseball…the NT$500 note has baseball players depicted on it for crying out loud.  During the recent World Baseball Classic, it was impossible to get a pizza delivered during the Taiwanese teams games, and local Taiwanese friends of ours that I had assumed had never had baseball cross their minds were geeking out about to me about obscure minutia of the game from the night before.  We went on opening night this year and the joint was packed.  We had to buy scalped seats and paid NT$500 for NT$250 seats, and as we are walking in, we see this pack of TV camera crews in a herd following somebody that we could not see.  We asked an usher what was up, and he said they were following the President’s wife to her seats.  It seems the First Lady is a big fan of the Brother Elephant team, and she did not have tickets either, but managed to buy some for her group in the bleachers, where she sat and enjoyed the game.  There are not many countries in the world where the wife of the head of state can, and will, sit with the people in the cheap seats.    

For the baseball junkie, the game itself does not disappoint.  The quality is comparable to Double A minor leagues in the States, with pitchers throwing from 120 to 150 kph (75-95 mph).  With only four teams in the league, it is easy to get to know the players and follow them during the season, and with all the games broadcast live on local TV, you can check in with your favorites nightly.  One of the drawbacks for someone that cannot read Chinese is an inablility to find a box score with the player’s names written in pinyin, but you can get around that by following them using their uniform numbers.  Since the language of baseball is international and grounded in statistics, it is not too hard to follow along. 

 

Each CPBL team is allowed three foreign players, who are typically American or Japanese minor leaguers, and are paid between US$ 5,000 to US$ 12,000 per month.  The CPBL got a huge bump in popularity and international exposure this season with the arrival of Manny Ramirez to the league.  You can say a lot about Manny, and a lot have.  On one hand, he was one of the purest and most feared batters in baseball during his prime, and arguably of all-time, and was a critical component of the Boston Red Sox team that won the World Series after 98 years of frustration.  On the other, he often times spaced out on defense, and was suspended from baseball twice for using performance enhancing drugs.  Most people sum up his antics by saying “that’s Manny being Manny”.  After his Red Sox time, he was traded to my Dodgers and had one of the best summer runs in our history and led us to the playoffs, so he is OK in my book.  Manny is now 40 years old, and with his recent track record and declining skills, could not find a job in the US, so he accepted an offer of US$25,000 a month to come play for the CPBL’s EDA Rhinos this season.  So far, attendance at Rhino games is easily doubling the normal average attendance of 3,000 with many sell outs.

 

Games are played in 12 different stadiums throughout Taiwan all week long.  The teams are the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions from Tainan City, the EDA Rhinos from Kaohsiung, last years champion Lamigo Monkeys who based in Taoyuan County, and Taipei’s Brother Elephants.  They will trade off home team duties based on proximity of the stadiums to their home bases.  As an ex-pat with kids at the Taipei American School, we were drawn to the Tian-mu neighborhood to live, and the decision to pick an apartment near the Takashimaya Department Store was made partially (my better half might say primarily) due to the presence of the Tian-mu Baseball Stadium right across the street.

So some of you might be saying to yourself at this point…that’s great for you, but I don’t know much about baseball, or baseball is soooo slow and boring, so why would I go?  To start, it is a cheap night out with tickets costing at most NT$250, and less for the kids.  That is cheaper than seeing a movie, and unlike a movie, it is literally a night out (side).  Picture yourself with some friends and/or the kiddies on a warm evening, with Yangmingshan looming just over the outfield wall changing colors as the sun sets, enjoying a soda or couple of adult beverages, while chatting the night away.  As mentioned, the biggest complaint about baseball is that it is slow and boring, but that is precisely why it is the best sport to attend live as there is ample time to have a conversation.  People have a tendency to open up at baseball games, and it is the perfect opportunity to get the kids to spill their guts, reconnect with your spouse, or have that friend of yours tell you a ridiculous story. 

While baseball in the States is a spectator sport, baseball in Taiwan is far more participatory.  The first thing you will notice once the game begins is the chanting.  Backed by some percussion, and sometimes with a horn section, a guy with a microphone will lead his team’s supporters in rhythmic chants about wanting a base runner or homerun.  At least that’s what we think they are singing…we tend to make up our own words and scream along.

 

  On top of the dugouts are some “cheerleaders” that help spur the crowd to sing along with the songs, do a few dance routines with some pretty rough choreography, and basically help keep the beat.  For their part, the fans sing along while banging in unison on their noise makers.    After their team finishes their at bats, the other team will start up with their own cheers and the beat goes on.  It is impossible to not get swept up with the crowd cheer along the team whose side you are sitting in…everything is done in a good natured way and everyone goes home happy.

 

Traditionally, one of the things people look forward to at a baseball game is chowing down.  The way the concessions work at Tian-Mu Stadium is that whatever team is the designated home team, they arrange the concession stands that night.  The Lions or the Brother Elephants are considered home teams in Taipei, and when the Brother Elephants are the home team, there are a series of local food carts selling treats like sausages and stinky tofu (usually good).  When it’s the Lions turn, as they are sponsored by 7-11, then you get  7-11 catered food (‘nuff said).  When the stadium is packed you can stand in line for an inning just to get a nasty corn dog.  They do allow you to bring your own food into the park and you can see McDonald’s bags and prepared lunch boxes everywhere, and going this route is highly recommended.  The beer lines are never long however, and at some games, the Suntory Girls are roaming the stadium with kegs on their backs selling beer seat side.  Just try and not buy one from them. 

While games are played throughout the week all over Taiwan, local zoning in Tian-mu allows the league to play games there only on Saturday or Sunday evenings with a total of 15 games for the 2013 season.  Remaining games at Tian-mu this year are on August 17, 18, 24, and 31, and September 1, 8, 15, 21 and 22.  See you there.