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Updated Tuesday, November 10, 2009 9:22 am TWN, The China Post news staff

Can professional baseball in Taiwan rise again?

Of the foursome, three have been under investigation for “dajiaqiu,” a criminal offense in Taiwan, unlike in America where gambling on sports competitions is legal. Pete Rose, a former slugger for the Cincinnati Reds and all-time Major League leader in hits (4,256 to be exact), who later became the team's head coach, admitted that he betted for the umpteenth time “on” his team to win, not “against” it. That meant he did not try to let his team lose, or throw the game, as some of Taiwan's players have been accused of doing for money. Even so, Rose, now 68, has been barred from being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, a pantheon of glory to which he truly belongs, as far as his unparalleled professional achievements are concerned.

　　In Taiwan, however, the betting involves the criminal underworld and involves big money. Players are lured into collaborating with the underworld to “play fake ball” by losing games intentionally in exchange for bribes which could be as high as US$90,000 per game, according to media reports.

　　Game fixing scandals are not uncommon in other parts of the world as well. In Europe, for instance, soccer has been plagued by such scandals. In mainland China, a number of noted soccer players and sports officials were detained last week for interrogation about their involvement in alleged game fixing.

　　Game fixing, according to former president Lee Teng-hui, is “soul trading.” The plain-talking octogenarian has really hit the nail on the head. The Faustian bargain is despicable because it betrays the trust of their fans who regard them as their heroes. Imagine how Yankee fans would feel if relief pitcher Mariano Rivera threw the game to the Phillies last Wednesday.

　　It can be argued that you cannot expect all baseball players to be so pristine as to resist the temptation of money when their salary is not attractive enough. Indeed, Alex Rodriguez , the Yankees' home run leader, makes more than US$26 million a year. How much does the Elephants' Tsao Chin-hui make? The former pitcher of the L.A. Dodgers may not get one hundredth of that.

　　Still, cheating cannot be justified by any reason. If you were dazzled by the spectacle of 80,000 fans watching the World Series championship game last Wednesday, you should remember that Rome was not built in one day. America's baseball empire today is vastly different from what it was a century ago. Babe Ruth earned only US$70,000 a year in the 1930s.

　　It requires collective efforts to build that empire. Baseball clubs, fans, businesses and government must work together and in good faith to build it step-by-step, block-by-block. If Taiwan wants to revive its dying professional baseball, it must first eradicate cheating by disqualifying the eligibility, for life, of any player found throwing games for money. In the meantime, the government should enforce stringent laws banning underground betting. Taiwan has enough baseball fans and businesses to support the revival if the players, coaches and sports officials are determined play clean ball.

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November 12, 2009 joe@

When the American major leagues have had their own cheating scandal with the Black Sox in the 1919 World Series, the commissioner of the major leagues, a former judge and strong leader, took decisive action and banned the suspected players for life.

Nothing short of that can save the credibility of CPBL, and it would be a shame for Taiwan's national pastime to fail at the professional level.


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