TAIWAN – The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) in Taiwan will enter the 2009 season with only four franchises, and an uphill battle to regain the confidence of fans who have grown tired of the seemingly, never-ending game-fixing scandals that has constantly plagued league.

Although the upcoming campaign will undoubtedly be a struggle to attain credibility, the beleagured CPBL has enjoyed a windfall of support in recent months. The government has pledged financial support to help develop a minor league-type system, and baseball’s all-time home run king Sadaharu Oh also intends to help promote the game on the China-claimed territory.

While match-fixing scandals by Taiwanese gangs and league players have always been a problem for fan and league officials alike, a slew of foreigners have played in the CPBL. Below are just some of the American players who have competed in Taiwan’s professional baseball circuit.

Partial List:

Cecil Espy
Brian Draham
Todd Michael
Alvin Brown
Jay Kirkpatrick
Stanley Tarutis
David Pavlas
James Myers
Paul Torres
Chip Duncan
Matthew Apana
John Barfield
Ritchie Wallace
David Turgeon
Michael Hickey
Jose Olmeda
Glenn Disman
Keith Shephard
Daniel Magee
Kevin Thomas
Scott Samuels
Donald Lemon
Johnny Monnell
James Maurer
Chris Nyguard
Boze Marshall
Fred Costello

Photo courtesy of mopupduty.com

Source: Japanese Baseball

Tags: Taiwan