Dear z,ben,Andrea,and someone may be interested in,
I don't know much about MLB history.I know they have 1919 Black Sox Scandal which z mention,but i am not sure about the similarity.I can tell you guys about Taiwan pro baseball history.
My favorite team name is "China Times Eagles Baseball Team" which doesn't exist anymore
Our pro baseball call "Chinese Professional Baseball League,CPBL"
The first year began in 1990,Now,it's 17th
We have only one league and 6 teams in current CPBL.
My favorite team got involved in the big Scandal in 1997,including other two teams as well.There are about 50 players in this Scandal and 23 among those 50 players were sentenced to from 7 months to one year and 10 months prison term.All 23 players got probation.
First of all,I think I need to give you guys some number to understand Taiwan:
1 New York State=3.87 Taiwan
There are about 2.6 ten million people in this small island
In 1997 which was 7th CPBL and the scandal happened,1 ten million people went to see CPBL games.
The numbers I mention above can give you guys idea why this scandal happened.Chinese people like gamble,especially gangsters.Gangsters gamble heavily on everything.Of course,they couldn't miss CPBL which had a lot of audiences at that moment.Because gangsters put down so much money on the outcome of the game,they want to control the outcome.Gangsters use their power and money to control players and try to get the results they like.Because players can't get a lot of salary unlike MLB,some players couldn't say No to gangsters.In 1997,Taiwanese policemen found out this and started investigating this scandal.This event effect our pro Taiwanese baseball league a lot and couldn't recover since then.After 1997,I don't pay attention on baseball until I become Yankees fan few years ago.
I check some number on Taiwanese website and try to describe what happened in that event on top of my head.Hopefully,I answer you guys question.Feel free to ask more what you want to know if you guys are interested in this small island country.
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13 comments:
Very interesting. It does sound similar to the 1919 Black Sox scandal, which is still shrouded in mystery, however. But gangsters were definitely involved.
Dear z,
In Taiwan,We did caught gangsters and players who admitted to do that.The players are not allowed to play again in their rest of life.Some experts analyize this will happen in the earlier of any pro baseball league of any country.
I agree with z. It is pretty similar to the Black Sox scandal. Do you (anyone, really) know how much of what they say in Field of Dreams is true, insofar as Shoeless Joe never having been proven guilty of taking the bribes or throwing the game?
How does the CPBL work? If there's only 6 teams, is it a shorter season, or do they play against other leagues? I know you said that you know some of the Japanese players well, so do they play games against teams in the CPBL?
I know I could probably look all this up, but it seems more accurate coming from someone who lives there!
Dear Andrea,
I don't understand your first question about "Field of Dreams" because of my poor English,so I can't answer that for you.Maybe you can help me out by explaining it for me.
MLB(162 games)
Korea&Japan Pro League(140 games)
CPBL(100 games)
We just have one league including 6 teams unlike MLB(AL&NL)
Season in CPBL begins in the middle March until the end of September.We don't have any game on Monday.We also have playoff begin around middle October.Three among six teams will be quailified to playoff,including first half season champion,Second half season champion and the best record of other 4 teams.The champion of playoff will present Taiwan to attend Asia Series.
The whole name of Asia Series is "KONAMI CUP Asia Series"
Asia Series will begin in November.The champion of playoff in Korea,Japan,Taiwan and All Star of China team will attend this Asia Series.Every country want to win and become champion of Asia Series.It will present the best of Asia.Asia Series first came out in 2005.It was 2nd Asia Series in 2006.Taiwan team is second place in 2006.
That's interesting. I never knew about any of this.
The "Field of Dreams" question was directed more at z. It's an American movie about a man who gets rid of a lot of the corn from his farm, and the spirits of old baseball players came and played on his field, including Shoeless Joe Jackson, who, in the movie, was supposed to be the only member of the 1919 White Sox who didn't throw the World Series.
Thanks,Andrea,
Your explanation is very clear.
Jessica,
Do you attend many CPBL games?
Dear Todd,
I used to attend many CPBL games,but I am not now.
Andrea,
there's a huge amount of controversy over whether Shoeless Joe was in on the fix or not. He definitely took money from the men organizing the fix, but he claims he changed his mind, tried to return the money, and was not throwing games. His stats are really good from the series, but much better in the games they won than the games they lost. There's one famous play where Jackson was throwing a guy out at the plate and the pitcher Ciccotte (who was definitely in on it) apparently knocked the ball down to prevent the play from being made.
A great book on the subject is
Luhrs, Victor. The Great Baseball Mystery—The 1919 World Series.
interesting stuff,z and Andrea,
You guys let me understand a little bit MLB History.I may find out the movie and book later on if i can.
The book is the historical part--Field of Dreams is in no way based on fact. But it's entertaining for any baseball fan.
The movie Eight Men Out is a really good dramatization of the scandal.
thanks,z and andrea,
I will try to get them in Taiwan if I can.
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