Cultural Differences

June 1, 2011

There are many cultural differences that take place with baseball over here in Taiwan. Just in my couple of days over here I have noticed many differences of the game of baseball.

There is no national anthem played prior to the games.

Taiwans Gatorade type drink in the dugout is called “Pro-Sweat”, has a gross name but its pretty good.

There have been some variations of sunflowers seeds going around which have a sweet taste, but remember don’t spit them on the field. Only on the ground in the dugout or in a cup.

When the umpires come onto the field they bow to the fans and towards the field

When a pitching change is made, the pitching coach will stay on the field and watch the new pitcher warm up.

Also the pitcher leaving the game usually takes the ball with them, rather than hand it off to the manager.

If you think the battle of the bands between FAMU and Southern was good, you should check out our games. On top of each dugout are drums and trumpet players. Non stop for 9 innings this instruments are thumping and blaring while an M.C. is shouting out cheers for the crowd. Each batter has his own anthem. I find myself whistling these tunes hours after the game is over. They are going to be etched in my brain.

Respect is a huge part of Asian culture. Batters when entering the batters box give a hand signal to the pitcher to ask for a moment to set up and feel comfortable in the box. They also signal the umpire for the same respect out of courtesy.

The players over here love their apparel. They have tons of wrist bands, necklaces, and wear enough protective gear on their elbows and shins to be confused with a catcher while up to bat.

After finishing a game both teams go to their foul line and bow to the crowd and then bow to the opposing team.

Following the game we meet in the locker room and go over the game. During these meetings we all have to stand up and listen to the coaches.

Because of the gamble issue that happened within the league a couple years ago (http://jockpost.com/taiwan-baseball-scandal-1919-black-sox-boy-scouts), no cell phones or computers are allowed to be used in the locker room once you arrive. We also are not allowed to play cards, go to casinos, or play the lottery.

CPBL officials stand around the locker room to make sure no gambling or anything illegal takes place.

Also once you are in uniform and at the field, you can not leave the dugout/locker room. If you leave to goto the office or anywhere in the stadium, you can not return to the game.

Today I noticed how strong the Asian work ethic is. I had always heard about the amount of time they put into practices and I can vouch that it is true. They are very precise with the way they go about their work. We were unable to take BP today, and while I was running I noticed a coach hitting our infielders ground balls along the warning track to make sure they got their work in. I never have seen that in the states. They just pay attention to detail and strive to do very well. I commend them for that and hope I can learn some of their ways.

Tonight we lost to the Elephants 9-5. We play them tomorrow, and then have a three game series agains the Lions. I’m scheduled to pitch on Sunday.

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Written by Scot Drucker Posted in Uncategorized Tagged with adrian burnside, athletics, china, CPBL, dave welch, detroit, elephants, ken ray, lamigo, milb, mlb, monkeys, Oakland, scot drucker, steve hammond, sunflower seeds, taiwan, tigers, twitter