Professional baseball teams are to get a short respite this weekend, before the second half of the CPBL season is to start on Tuesday next week.
League officials yesterday said that COVID-19 prevention regulations might be updated ahead of the next games, pending a widely awaited announcement by health authorities on nationwide regulations, with a level 2 COVID-19 alert set to expire on Monday. The league and all five teams are hoping that they can expand a 25 percent-of-capacity attendance limit, and lift bans on eating and drinking in the stands, the officials said.
CPBL commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) said that the second-half season would start on Tuesday and run through Nov. 21, with a one-week buffer for games postponed due to rain.
The best-of-five playoff series would commence in the first week of December, followed by the best-of-seven Taiwan Series, which would wrap up in the second or third week of that month, he said.
It would be the latest-running season in the history of the CPBL, which had its inaugural season in 1990. Due to a domestic COVID-19 outbreak, the season was suspended in May and restarted last month, with strict COVID-19 protocols for players, team staff, officials and fans.
After consulting with health authorities, the CPBL implemented a “COVID-19 bubble” for players and team staff, with regular virus testing. Fans and reporters were required to register before entering a ballpark and wear masks at all times.
In a rescheduled game yesterday, the CTBC Brothers won 2-1 against the Wei Chuan Dragons at Taipei’s Tianmu Stadium.
The Brothers on Tuesday clinched the first-half title when they defeated the Rakuten Monkeys 9-4 in Taoyuan.
The result meant that the Uni-President Lions had to settle for second place at the season’s midpoint.
Meanwhile, Taiwan’s professional soccer season also resumed, with TSG Tainan visited Taipower in a rescheduled match on Sunday.
However, while other postponed matches are to be scheduled, regular games of the Taiwan Football Premier League season are likely only to resume in November, league officials said yesterday.
Women’s soccer is likely to resume in late October, they said.
Virus curbs, including testing requirements, mask mandates and games held in empty stadiums, might be revised until then, they said.
Tropical depression TD22, which was over waters south of the Ryukyu Islands, is likely to develop into a tropical storm by this morning and pose a significant threat to Taiwan next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The depression is likely to strengthen into a tropical storm named Krathon as it moves south and then veers north toward waters off Taiwan’s eastern coast, CWA forecaster Hsu Chung-yi (徐仲毅) said. Given the favorable environmental conditions for its development, TD22’s intensity would reach at least typhoon levels, Hsu said. As of 2pm yesterday, the tropical depression was about 610km east-southeast of Taiwan proper’s
RESTRICTIONS: All food items imported from the five prefectures must be accompanied by radiation and origin certificates, and undergo batch-by-batch inspection The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday announced that almost all produce from five Japanese prefectures affected by the 2011 Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster would now be allowed into Taiwan. The five are Fukushima, Gunma, Chiba, Ibaraki and Tochigi. The only items that would still be blocked from being imported into the nation are those that are still banned from being circulated in Japan, the FDA added. With the removal of the ban, items including mushrooms, the meat of wild birds and other wild animals, and koshiabura” (foraged vegetables) would now be permitted to enter Taiwan, along with the other
A new tropical storm is expected to form by early tomorrow morning, potentially developing into a medium-strength typhoon that is to affect Taiwan through Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration said today. There are currently two tropical systems circulating to the east of Taiwan, agency forecaster Hsu Chung-yi (徐仲毅) said. The one currently north of Guam developed into Tropical Storm Gebi this afternoon and is expected to veer toward Japan without affecting Taiwan, Hsu said. Another tropical depression is 600km from the east coast and is likely to develp into the named storm Krathon either late tonight or early tomorrow, he said. This
DIVA-READY: The city’s deadline for the repairs is one day before pop star Jody Chiang is to perform at the Taipei Dome for the city’s Double Ten National Day celebrations The Taipei City Government has asked Farglory Group (遠雄集團) to repair serious water leaks in the Taipei Dome before Friday next week, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said yesterday, following complaints that many areas at the stadium were leaking during two baseball games over the weekend. The dome on Saturday and Sunday hosted two games in tribute to CTBC Brothers’ star Chou Szu-chi (周思齊) ahead of his retirement from the CPBL. The games each attracted about 40,000 people, filling the stadium to capacity. However, amid heavy rain, many people reported water leaking on some seats, at the entrance and exit areas, and the