The China Post
Date: October 24, 2016
By: Joseph Yeh
TAIPEI, Taiwan — Like most longtime baseball fans in Taiwan, I vividly remember Nov. 18, 2001 as if it
This file photo shows uniforms worn by Chen Chin-feng (陳金鋒) while he was with the Los Angeles Dodgers. (Joseph Yeh, The China Post)
were yesterday.
That was the day I joined tens of thousands of people in an impromptu victory parade in front of Taipei’s Tianmu stadium after Taiwan beat Japan in a 3-0 shutout victory to claim third in the Baseball World Cup.
No. 3 — Taiwan’s best performance in the event since 1988 — was seen as a turning point in modern Taiwan baseball history, as it rekindled the fervor and passion of local fans who had lost faith in a sport plagued with gambling and match-fixing scandals.
The squad’s success was a major boost to local baseball.
Immediately after the conclusion of the tournament, the 2002 local Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL, 中華職棒) saw a 70-percent jump in attendance.
The shutout victory — rare for Taiwan against much-stronger Japan — was largely thanks to the near-perfect outing of starting pitcher Chang Chih-chia (張誌家), who later gained fame as a starter for the Seibu Lions in Japan before he left baseball forever in disgrace due to his involvement in game-throwing. [FULL STORY]
