The exceptional way in which Taiwan has handled and contained the Coronavirus has thrust it into the international spotlight once again, but for a different reason. On April 11th, Taiwan’s professional baseball league (CPBL) became the world’s first professional sports league to open in 2020. And then it became the first to have spectators at their games on May 8th.

When I realized that Taiwan had become the only place on the planet where professional baseball was being played, and I knew there was a story there. I learned that Richard Wang had become the English broadcaster for CPBL games, so I reached out to him hoping that he’d agree to an interview for Talking Taiwan.

Richard kindly agreed to do the interview, and you’ll see how just how kind, gracious and patient he was when our interview got off to a bit of a rocky start. Just watch the blooper video of our Zoom call, which shows that strange things can happen when using a virtual background. Look for that video below in the related links section.

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

What happened when Taiwan’s baseball league (CPBL) realized that they were going to be the first sports league in the world to open in 2020
The Eleven Sports Network’s role in bringing English commentary to Taiwan’s baseball league
Richard’s baseball broadcasting partner Wayne McNeil
What it was like having live baseball games with no spectators
What it was like when fans were allowed to attend baseball games
The comparison between baseball games played in the U.S. and Taiwan
How Richard became a Red Sox fan
How Richard got the nickname Boston
How Richard got interested in baseball
How Richard became a baseball announcer in Taiwan
How aspects of Taiwanese culture and traditions are introduced during the broadcasting of games
A viral video of a home run call from 2013, when Manny Ramirez hit another home run for the EDA Rhinos in Taiwan
How baseball was introduced to Taiwan
The history of baseball in Taiwan
Taiwan’s Little League and its participation in the Little League World Series
How baseball has boosted Taiwan’s international image
Why Taiwan’s baseball league is called the Chinese Professional Baseball League
The Taiwan Major League (TML)
Parallels between the Spanish Flu of 1918 and the Coronavirus in 2020
The precautions taken at the baseball stadiums in Taiwan
Will there be a major league baseball season in the U.S.
Where you can watch the CPBL games
What baseball has to do with the New Taiwan Dollar 500 dollar bill