coronavirus and sports

Baseball is back — in Taiwan

April 12, 2020

.polaris__post-meta--date { display: none; } .polaris__post-meta--date.no-script { display: block; padding-left: 45px } April 12, 2020

Screenshot/CPBL

Baseball fans, rejoice.

It will likely be a while before Major League Baseball returns, if it does at all this year, even with some far-fetched plans being discussed. But Taiwan, which has been praised for its ability to stem the novel COVID-19 coronavirus, was able to get the Chinese Professional Baseball League season started Sunday after rain postponed Saturday's expected opener. No fans were in the stands for Sunday's clash between the Chinatrust Brothers and the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions in Taichung, but the empty stadium didn't diminish the significance of the moment for some fans.

Opening Day for baseball in Taiwan. It would normally be sad to see a game in front of totally empty stands, but after all the world has been through, this is a beautiful sight. And a glimmer of hope for sports fans everywhere. https://t.co/wU1UVKSpZX
— Simon Rabinovitch (@S_Rabinovitch) April 12, 2020

The Korean Baseball Organization looks like it has the best shot at being the next league to return to the diamond, possibly in early May. The diminishing number of new coronavirus cases in South Korea even have some folks believing the KBO can pull off a full season.