Professional Baseball In Taiwan
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Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
is a major sport in
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
that is often characterized as the
national sport A national sport is a physical activity or sport that is culturally significant or deeply embedded in a nation, serving as a national symbol and an intrinsic element to a nation's identity and culture. Several sovereign states and constituent ...
(). It was introduced during the Japanese rule era around 1897 and gained popularity over time, culminating in some successes of Taiwanese teams in the Japanese system. The sport remained popular following the
retreat of the Republic of China to Taiwan Following their defeat in the Chinese Civil War, the remnants of the Nationalist government of the Republic of China (ROC), alongside many refugees, retreated to the island of Taiwan (Formosa) beginning on December 7, 1949. The exodus is so ...
despite the
Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...
(KMT) government's deliberate policy of removing cultural links to Japan. In the shifting international environment that eventually led to the ROC's departure from the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
, the KMT government hijacked baseball as a tool for nation-building, pouring massive resources into the sport in the hopes of forging a stronger national identity. The highest level of baseball in Taiwan is the
Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 20 ...
(CPBL) founded in 1989.


History


Introduction and early years

Baseball was introduced to Taiwan around 1897, but it initially remained a game for Japanese bureaucrats and bankers in the colonial seat of Taihoku (modern-day
Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...
). The first official baseball team in Taiwan was formed in 1904, when the island was a Japanese colony, by the Middle School of the Taiwan Governor-General's National Language School (present-day Chien Kuo Senior High School). The first organized baseball game was played between this team and the team of the Normal School of the Taiwan Governor-General's National Language School (present-day Taipei Municipal University of Education) in March 1906. From 1906 through the mid-1920s, Taiwanese baseball teams consisted mainly of
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
players. Taiwanese did not become actively involved in the sport until the mid-1920s. Around 1921, the first team made up of
indigenous Taiwanese peoples Taiwanese indigenous peoples, formerly called Taiwanese aborigines, are the indigenous peoples of Taiwan, with the nationally recognized subgroups numbering about 600,303 or 3% of the Geography of Taiwan, island's population. This total is incr ...
was established in eastern Taiwan, and it was reorganized into the Noko (; also known as ''Nenggao'') team. As part of the reorganization, Japanese officials offered players on the team the opportunity to attend the Hualien Agricultural School. That the Noko team consisted completely of indigenous Taiwanese, rather than Japanese or
Han Taiwanese Han Taiwanese, also known as Taiwanese Han (), Taiwanese Han Chinese, or Han Chinese Taiwanese, are Taiwanese people of full or partial ethnic Han Chinese, Han ancestry. According to the Executive Yuan of Taiwan, they comprise 95 to 97 percent of ...
players, was a milestone in racial integration, albeit often noted through a colonial lens. Nonetheless, the success and popularity of the team laid the foundation for the further development of baseball in southern Taiwan, notably Takao First Public School in present-day Qijin,
Kaohsiung Kaohsiung, officially Kaohsiung City, is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsiung City has a population of approximately 2.73 million p ...
, and Mawuku Public School in present-day
Taitung County Taitung () is the third largest county in Taiwan, located primarily on the island's southeastern coast and also including Green Island, Orchid Island and Lesser Orchid Island. The seat is located in Taitung City. Name While its name means "East ...
.


Colonial participation

By 1931, high school baseball had become very popular in Taiwan, even though of all players dating back to 1923 in the Islandwide High School Baseball Tournaments, only 5.2% were ethnic Taiwanese. The baseball team of Kagi Agriculture and Forestry Institute, hailing from southern Taiwan, played its way into the final of that year’s Summer Koshien tournament. The team arrived as one of 22 district representatives out of a total of 631 team across the empire. Historians have noted the significance of the "tri-ethnic" Kano squad, consisting of
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
,
Han Taiwanese Han Taiwanese, also known as Taiwanese Han (), Taiwanese Han Chinese, or Han Chinese Taiwanese, are Taiwanese people of full or partial ethnic Han Chinese, Han ancestry. According to the Executive Yuan of Taiwan, they comprise 95 to 97 percent of ...
, and indigenous Taiwanese students.


Professional baseball

Professional baseball in
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
started with the founding of the
Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 20 ...
(CPBL) in 1989. At its 1997 peak, Taiwan had two leagues and 11 professional teams. The competing
Taiwan Major League The Taiwan Major League Professional Baseball (TML; ) was a professional baseball league in Taiwan that operated from 1996 to 2003. It was established by TV tycoon Chiu Fu-sheng after a row over the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) ...
ran from 1997 until its absorption by the CPBL in 2003. The professional game has had several game-fixing
scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way a ...
s which had led to sharp declines in game attendance. However, as of 2016 baseball in Taiwan had begun to see a renewed interest in the sport in spite of this setback due to major cheating scandals.


Chinese Professional Baseball League

The Chinese Professional Baseball League was founded in 1989 with four teams and grew to seven. As of 2009, however, there were just four teams competing for the championship of the
Taiwan Series The Taiwan Series () is the final championship series of the Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 a ...
. Since 2005, the winner of the
Taiwan Series The Taiwan Series () is the final championship series of the Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 a ...
represents Taiwan in the
Asia Series The Asia Series was an international club baseball competition, contested by the champions of all four professional leagues associated with the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC)—Australian Baseball League (ABL), Chinese Professi ...
, competing with the championship teams of
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
and
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
, and with
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
's professional leagues.


Taiwan Major League

The Taiwan Major League was founded in 1997 by the chairman of
TVBS TVBS Media Inc. (), formerly Liann Yee Production Co., Ltd. () is a Taiwanese commercial television broadcasting company. It was originally established as a joint venture between Hong Kong television network TVB and Taiwanese network Era Televisio ...
, a popular cable TV channel company, after it lost the nine-year (1997 to 2006) broadcasting rights for CPBL games to
Videoland Television Network Videoland Television Network () is a cable television network program provider in Taiwan, founded in 1983 by Koos Group. Videoland is one of Taiwan's major satellite television providers, offering seven channels of programming. Videoland is als ...
. TVBS had held the broadcasting rights from 1993 to 1996. The TML was meant to compete with the CPBL, but after 6 years of financial losses, it merged with the CPBL in 2003.


International play

Teams from Taiwan dominated
Little League World Series The Little League World Series is an annual baseball tournament for children (primarily boys) aged 10 to 12 years old, held in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Originally called the National Little League Tournament, it was later renamed for th ...
in the 1970s and 1980s. Taiwan's dominance in international baseball was demonstrated when the men's team won top three medals across all levels of baseball in 2022, including the U-12, U-15, U-18, U-23, and
Baseball5 Baseball5 (B5 or BB5) is a simplified variation of baseball and softball which is governed at the international level alongside those sports by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). The game revolves around two teams of five player ...
competitions, the only team to do so in baseball history. Taiwan's men's baseball team and women's baseball team are world No.2 in the WBSC Rankings as of December 2021. In 2024, the men's team won Global Champion in Premier 12.


Exporting talent

Taiwan has produced great baseball talent, but its best players usually leave for the higher salaries offered by professional teams in
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
, the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
or
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
. In the 1980s, Taiwanese pitchers Tai-Yuan Kuo and Katsuo Soh (莊勝雄) posted impressive numbers at the
Seibu Lions The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based north of Tokyo in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture. Before 1979, they were based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture, in Kyushu. The team is owned by a subsidiary of Seibu Railway, ...
and
Chiba Lotte Marines The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based in Chiba, Chiba, Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, in the Kantō region, and owned by Lotte Holdings, Lotte Holdings Co., Ltd. The Marines were a founding member of the Pacific Le ...
, in Japan's
Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...
. Young stars, such as outfielder
Chin-Feng Chen Chen Chin-feng (; born 28 October 1977) is a Taiwanese aborigine of Siraya tribal ancestry, who is a former professional baseball outfielder. In 2002, he became the first player born in Taiwan to play in Major League Baseball. He currently se ...
and pitchers
Chien-Ming Wang Chien-Ming Wang (; born March 31, 1980) is a Taiwanese former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Washington Nationals, Toronto Blue Jays and Kansas City Royals. He also played fo ...
, Chin-Hui Tsao, and
Hong-Chih Kuo Hong-Chih Kuo (; born July 23, 1981, in Tainan, Taiwan) is a Taiwanese retired professional baseball pitcher who last pitched for the Fubon Guardians of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). He had previously played in Major Le ...
, became the first group of Taiwanese players to play for teams in North American
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
.


See also

*
Taiwan Series The Taiwan Series () is the final championship series of the Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 a ...
*
Asia Series The Asia Series was an international club baseball competition, contested by the champions of all four professional leagues associated with the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC)—Australian Baseball League (ABL), Chinese Professi ...
*
Chinese Taipei national baseball team The Chinese Taipei national baseball team ( zh, t=中華臺北棒球代表隊, p=Zhōnghuá Táiběi Bàngqiú Dàibiǎoduì) is the national men's baseball team of Taiwan. It is governed by the Chinese Taipei Baseball Association. The team is r ...
*
Professional baseball in Japan Professional baseball in Japan first started in the 1920s, but it was not until the was established in 1934 that the modern professional game had continued success. History Baseball was introduced to Japan in 1872 by Horace Wilson, and its firs ...
*
Baseball in China In 2019, MLB estimated that there were around 21 million active baseball fans in China, with most of them having started following baseball in recent years. History Early history Baseball was first introduced to China in 1864 with the establ ...
*
Baseball in South Korea Baseball is believed to have been introduced to Korea in 1905 by American missionaries during the Korean Empire, after which it gradually attained prominence. After the division of the Korean Peninsula into North Korea and South Korea in 1945 a ...
*
Sport in Taiwan In Taiwan, some of the most popular sports include baseball, basketball, badminton, football, softball, table tennis, tennis, and volleyball. Martial arts such as tai chi and taekwondo are also practiced by many people. International-known at ...


References


Citations


Cited sources

* *


External links


Taiwanese Baseball Primer

Taiwan Culture Portal: The CPBL roller coaster and the future of Taiwan baseball
{{World baseball