Jim Small, vice president of MLB Asia, confirmed while meeting with Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin Jan. 15 that the Dodgers will arrive on the island March 11 and play matches March 13-14. One game has been slated for Chengcing Lake Baseball Stadium in Kaohsiung County, while the other will be played at either Tianmu Baseball Stadium in Taipei City or the Taoyuan County Stadium in northern Taiwan.
The Dodgers will take on a team made up of Taiwan professional baseball league all-stars in the two exhibition games, according to Eric Chang, general manager of Bros Sports Marketing Co. Ltd. that is arranging the visit.
Average ticket prices for the games will be roughly NT$2,000 (US$63), with the cheapest to cost about NT$500, which is much lower than the ticket prices for the National Basketball Association’s first-ever preseason match played on the island last year, Bros Sports Marketing said.
According to sources, the sports marketing firm will pay the Dodgers NT$130 million to play the two exhibition matches. The company reportedly has said that the revenue from ticket sales alone will not be enough to cover this price tag.
Bros Sports Marketing received a letter of the intention from the Dodgers Jan. 15 affirming their visit. As part of the visit, the team’s manager, Joe Torre, is scheduled to hold a “baseball lecture” March 12, during which he will share his experiences in promoting the sport over the years. Torre coached Taiwan-born ace pitcher Wang Chien-ming during his stint as manager of the New York Yankees.
While meeting with Small, Mayor Hau said that there are many Dodgers fans in Taiwan, noting that the squad has two homegrown stars—pitcher Kuo Hong-chih and shortstop Hu Chin-lung—on its roster. He welcomed the team to come play a game in Taipei City, guaranteeing that the field and surrounding environment at the stadium in Tianmu is up to Major League standards.
Small paid a visit to the stadium Friday morning, expressing his satisfaction with the facilities and overall environment. He said the stadium looked beautiful and that the surrounding scenery of boundless mountains is very similar to that of the Dodgers’ home stadium in Los Angeles.
Pointing out that it has been 15 years since the Dodgers last visited Taiwan in 1993, Small mentioned that the MLB organization is very excited about the team’s upcoming trip to the island. Alluding to the recent Chinese Professional Baseball League game-fixing scandal, he noted that the MLB is well aware of the troubles that baseball in Taiwan has been facing.
Small said he hopes the visit by the Dodgers will “focus fans’ attention back on the playing field” and give their morale a boost at this low point in the sport of baseball in Taiwan. (SB)
(This article originally appeared in the “United Daily News” Jan. 16, 2010.)