Taipei, March 16 (CNA) Taiwan's professional baseball league saw a record-high turnout for a pre-season game, with nearly 20,000 fans gathering in the Taipei Dome for the match between the Wei Chuan Dragons and the CTBC Brothers on Saturday.
A sellout crowd of 19,898 packed the first-ever Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) pre-season game at the dome, far higher than the previous record of 7,068 set in 2015 in a pre-season game that featured the Brothers and the Lamigo Monkeys (now Rakuten Monkeys).
In the bottom of the first inning, the game saw Giljegiljaw Kungkuan crack a two-run blast for the league's first homer at the venue, leading the defending champions to a 6-1 victory on seven hits.
Meanwhile, the Brothers' batters had a sluggish night, with the sole hit coming from Huang Wei-sheng (黃韋盛), whose double in the top of the eighth sent Chiang Kun-yu (江坤宇) back home.
In their exhibition game with the Yomiuri Giants from the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) on March 2, the Brothers also struggled at the batter's box and had seven scoreless innings before scoring their only run in the eighth, eventually losing to the Japanese powerhouse 4-1.
Saturday's game was one of the two pre-season games held at the newly inaugurated multi-functional indoor stadium, through which the league hopes to get franchises, players and its staffers familiar with the environment.
The other game, featuring the Brothers and the Fubon Guardians, will take place on Sunday. About 15,000 tickets had been sold as of Friday.
Tickets to an exhibition game at the Taipei Dome are priced at NT$500 (US$15.81) each and can be purchased at ibon vending machines at 7-Eleven convenience stores or on the ibon ticketing platform.
The 2024 CPBL season opener, slated for March 30, will also take place at the dome, with the Dragons hosting the Monkeys.
- Rakuten Monkeys' renovated stadium opener postponed due to rainTaiwan's professional baseball league has decided to postpone all three of the league's games scheduled for Friday due to rain, meaning the Rakuten Monkeys will have to wait another day to open their newly renovated home stadium.04/26/2024 05:57 PM
- Uni-Lions fastest team to reach 11 wins in CPBL historyThe Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions recorded one of the hottest season starts in Taiwan's professional baseball league history after routing the Rakuten Monkeys 10-0 in Tainan on Wednesday.04/18/2024 07:26 PM
- Dominican pitcher receives CPBL lifetime ban after failing drug testTaiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) on Wednesday dished out a lifetime ban on Dominican pitcher Elniery Garcia after the import player failed a routine drugs test.04/17/2024 09:13 PM
- Culture
MOE to ban giving students tests during study and break periods
05/02/2024 07:30 PM - Business
Taiwan shares hit by U.S. tech losses
05/02/2024 06:51 PM - Politics
Cabinet greenlights post-earthquake recovery plans for Hualien
05/02/2024 06:06 PM - Business
Powerchip opens NT$300 billion fab in Miaoli
05/02/2024 05:14 PM - Business
Taiex futures face U.S. trading ban on 'narrow-based security index'
05/02/2024 04:47 PM