Thursday, June 13, 2013

Taoyuan

On Still Having One Job

Xingtian Temple
There be dragons
Wednesday, July 12, 2013
Taoyuan, Taiwan


Outside the Game:
I had to get up relatively early this day for the train back up to Taipei, so it was with murder in my heart that I was awoken by a person in the next room being amazingly loud in the shower. Upon looking at the clock and discovering that it was only two minutes before my alarms were due to go off, my violent rage passed into the sullen determination to stay in bed the extra two minutes until the alarm sounded "officially."

I eventually finished the last of my packing and dragged myself downstairs for the breakfast buffet. It was a more modest affair than in Tainan, to be sure, but it got some pork, dairy, and carbs into my system successfully, so there is only so much criticism I can have for it.

I checked out and made my way to the largely deserted subway station, which seemed particularly odd since it was a quarter to nine-ish on a workday. I got the train up to the high-speed rail station, negotiated far too many stairs with all my bags, and eventually dumped myself into my seat on the train for the super-express ride back north that was only scheduled to take about an hour and a half. The trip was alternately spent sleeping and typing.

I was dumped out into Taipei Main Station yet again, and I took the subway to the north end of town. In my previous stays, I was in the Old Town and East Taipei, so I picked a place in the Zhongshan district in the north of the city. In keeping with my policy of getting nicer and nicer places as the trip went on, I was staying in a five-star hotel in the posh part of town. Posh or not, I found out that it was raining pretty heavily when I eventually exited the subway station.

My hotel was a bit of a walk up, located halfway between the subway line and the parks that run along the north river that borders that end of Taipei. Most of it was covered, so the rain was less of an issue, but I could have done without dragging all my bags all that way. I got to the hotel entrance, and several people in suits were falling over themselves to help me get into the lobby and out of the rain. As with my other rather posh hotel, even though it was mid-morning, they were more than happy to let me check in early and help me get my bags upstairs.

Upon arriving in my room, I immediately grabbed out some pants and shirts for the hotel laundry, as the last couple of days in the heat had done a number on my dwindling wardrobe. I called housekeeping to pick them up, got my rain gear and my guide book out of my bag, and went out to spend my afternoon.

As I was a short distance from a couple of museums in the art park just to the north of the hotel, this seemed as good as any indoor place to spend the day. I marched up a bit until I reached the south end of the park, and then wandered around a bit to find the museums in question. Some construction had altered the paths directed by the signs, so it took some doing.

My first stop was the Story House, a Western-style house dating from the Japanese-occupation era that has been turned into a curiosity museum with rotating exhibits on various topics, such as comics, matchbooks, or the like. This seemed a slam-dunk to me, so it was my first stop. Upon entering from the rain, I found out that the exhibit at the moment was greeting cards. The museum was interesting in equal parts due to the subject matter of the exhibit as well as the house itself, which in turn was interesting because of both its historical value and how out of place it was in Taiwan. Given that the exhibit was on historic greeting cards, I suppose I should have been prepared for how inappropriate some of them were, but even with the amount of expectation I had, the actual items were still surprisingly discordant with modern sensibilities.

Antique greeting card
The past is horrific

While I was on the second floor of the house, one of the staff saw me looking at one of the displays and stepped in to show me that there was another bit to it that I was missing, as some of the panels actually opened up as well, which showed the other half of the display. As can happen, we started talking. He wanted to know where I was from, and when I told him, he was very impressed that I was visiting their little museum. I told him that it was in a very popular guide book in America, and it sounded interesting, so here I was. He thanked me for coming and then asked about why I had come to Taiwan. I took a deep breath and told him that I was there for the baseball, and that I was a writer visiting all the baseball stadiums. He didn't think that anyone would actually pay me to go visit all the baseball stadiums, to which I replied that it wasn't my "real" job, but something for which my real job paid. He thought that I must appreciate my real job a lot if it let me do all these things, and then I felt intensely guilty.

Taipei Fine Arts Museum
Taipei Fine Arts Museum

After my fill of the Story House, I essentially went next door to the Taipei Fine Arts Museum. The rain had finally let up, so I didn't have to re-don all my rain gear; I just went across the plaza and paid the small admission fee to go in. Now, fine arts museums aren't really my thing, but I always attempt to try again every now and then because that's how you don't stagnate. Everything seems to happen for a reason on these trips, so I just went with it. Most of the museum was a lot of modern art that I didn't quite get, but could at least see what they were trying, but the conceptual exhibits just tried my patience beyond all endurance.

Here comes an art rant. Skip to the next paragraph should you not care about such things. I fully acknowledge that I am not really a "high art" person; I am far more a craftsmanship person. And even within that limitation of my capabilities (that I readily acknowledge), I can usually still appreciate art, if only from that perspective. This piece of art was done with great skill, or this piece of art was done with this concept in mind. At least on that level, I can always get behind it. I even can even get behind some abstract expressionism after reading Breakfast of Champions. I am also a person of above-average intelligence and something of a literalist. If I have to do homework or have additional information to "get" what you are trying to convey with your art, you have already failed. There was one piece on one of the museum's upper floors that was a foldable ruler unfolded and at an angle on the wall. No. There is no way I can possibly get your point without some extra information, and as it was, it just wasted my time. I just looked at a ruler. I realize that it doesn't make me avant guarde, but I will live with that burden.

After visiting all the exhibits in the museum, I had a late lunch in the cafeteria in the basement and then headed back to my hotel to get ready to head out for the game that evening. I put away my waiting laundry, showered, changed, and grabbed my game bag to head out into the late Taipei evening.

My game for this evening was in Taoyuan, a city west of Taipei that holds the international airport. It was a little too far to be connected to the Taipei subway system, but it was the second stop on the high-speed rail line that runs from Taipei. It was a scant twenty minutes away on that frequently-running service, and the trains continued until midnight, and even after the trains stopped, Taoyuan's proximity to the airport ensured access to cabs should they be necessary. The train fare was also a little under $10 for a reserved round trip, so it wasn't even expensive.

I took the subway down to the high-speed rail station and bought my ticket for the next train that stopped at Taoyuan, and then I went quickly and boarded said train, as it was leaving in ten minutes. I got in my seat and just stared out the window for the short ride out to the Taoyuan high-speed rail station. Upon exiting, I made a bee line to the information counters, which were plentiful since the station was this close to the airport. There was a lot of information for visitors, not to mention kiosks for some of the major airlines that let you do some check-in activities before you even got to the airport proper.

I got a time table with the schedules for the trains and then went to the tourist booth. I asked what the best way to get to the baseball stadium was, and he said that one of the free transit buses at the back of the station was the way to go. While I headed off to the buses, I was looking at the map I had from America, which showed that the stadium was pretty much a straight line down a road. But that road turned out to be a highway, so it was probably not the best route to take. At the bus pen, I couldn't figure out which was the correct bus, nor what the correct stop was, and not thinking I was able to walk, I decided to go back into the station and get an area map and either walk it or take a cab.

It was then that the drizzle that had been falling turned to honest-to-god steady rain, and I retreated into the station to get my poncho on before proceeding any further. I went back to the tourist counter and asked for a map and told him that I was probably taking a cab instead of the bus. I headed out the exit for the taxi stand and was standing under the cab stand overhang looking at the map it when the tourist staffer sprinted out and told me that the game had been cancelled because of the rain and not to go. Well, check mark for customer service, right there. I thanked him and rather annoyedly retreated to the station to figure out my options. This wasn't a big deal, as there were two more games this week being played at Taoyuan, which is why it was good to have some flexibility worked into your schedule.

Rain
Waiting out the rain

Of course, I had just missed a train to Taipei, so I had to wait about twenty minutes. As I was buying my ticket, some other damp people came in from the rain in baseball gear, most likely fellow fans who just made it back here when the news about the game being called came through. I bought my ticket and went to the MOS Burger in the station to get some dinner. I put in my order and went to the tables in back by the windows and started quite angrily at the rain that was still falling heavily outside.

Xingtian Temple
Xingtian Temple

I ate and got on the train back, and I think I may have taken a nap, or not. I remember nothing about the train ride except being annoyed. When I got out of the subway by my hotel, the rain had, of course, lessened. I returned to my hotel fairly early, as the game had been called at least an hour before gametime, so it was before seven. With an open evening ahead of me, I decided to take a trip down to Xingtian Temple, which was a bit of a walk from the hotel. Along the walk, I passed a business called "Monarch Butterfly," which just made me remember that after two years, there were finally new Venture Brothers episodes airing, and I would have to wait until I got back to America to see them.

The Monarch
The Monarch

I got to the temple, and even with the rain having just stopped on a mid-week evening, the temple lived up to its reputation as one of the busiest in Taipei. Even with humid steam wafting from nearly every surface, the exceptional building was bustling with people. As with most of the noteworthy temples in Taiwan, it was an explosion of color and detail. I forget how much time I spent just wandering around there and looking at things.

Ching Kyang Night Market
Ching Kyang Night Market

Even after spending my fill of time at Xingtian, there was still some of the night left to be had. I stopped at the Ching Kyang Night Market to get a snack or two on the way back, and then tried to make it to Jing Fu Temple by the hotel, but I only got there as it was closing up, which was an interesting enough experience, as I had never seen a temple be closed up for the evening before. It was finally getting late, so I took the short walk back to the hotel to call it a soggy, unsuccessful evening.


The Accommodations:
Imperial Hotel
Imperial Hotel

For my final stay in Taipei, I decided on a luxury hotel in the north end of town, the only area I hadn't resided in previously. I got a great discount deal on the impressively-monickered Imperial Hotel that lay just south of the major parks in that area of the city. And impressive it was. I got another amazing rate on the hotel from Agoda, but I only got a regular room and not a suite for that price.

Not that it was anything to shake a stick at. I got the ginormous bed opposite a dresser, desk, and flat-screen TV. There was a proper wardrobe that held the de rigur fluffy bathrobe and several drawers for clothes (that I used to stash all my purchases so far). The cabinet under the TV held a full drinks and tea service, while the end table had a plastic-covered New Testament, along with the HBO Guide. The bathroom to the left of the entrance had an electrical toilet from the future from Japan, a marble sink, and a combo bath and shower that was of the correct size for Western stature.

There were two floors of restaurants downstairs, along with a sweets shop in the lobby. When you checked in, you get a voucher for a free packet of pineapple cake, which was, surprisingly, the first time I tried it while in the Taiwan. A fully-stocked, high-end gift shop was also on the first floor, for those that couldn't be bothered to leave the hotel and go a block or two to the dozens of shops that lined the streets around the hotel.

There was also a sign welcoming FedEx to the hotel, no doubt being housed there as part of the conference. The hotel was used to hosting foreigners, as they not only had hotel cards that one could give to the taxi drivers, but they also opened up to include common tourist destinations, so you could just check off where you wanted to go and give it to someone in the lobby and have them arrange a taxi to take you exactly where you wanted.

And as if I was meant to be here, the hotel also had a bit of baseball lineage. A wall of photographs of famous visitors included the NY Yankees coaching staff, various Japanese baseball personages, and Taiwanese baseball teams. It is funny how these things manage to come together.

My only real disappointment was that breakfast wasn't included in my package, so I never got to see what kind of spread they put out, and if it challenged the Tayih Landis for the most elaborate ever experienced.



On Succeeding at One Job

Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium
Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium, 2013
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Brother Elephants vs. Lamingo Monkeys
Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium
Chinese Professional Baseball League
Taoyuan, Taiwan
16:35


Outside the Game:
After the rain-out the night before, I was absolutely ecstatic to wake the next day to a half-hearted rain already falling. But since it pretty much rained nearly every day I was in Taiwan, I tried not to think too much about it.

My pre-game itinerary for the day was to start out with the Taipei Confucius Temple. It took a bit of navigating from the closest subway stop, but I found it fairly readily. It was one of the largest temples I had seen in Taiwan, and in addition to the temple, park, and grounds, there were several buildings that went in-depth on every aspect of Confucianism, talking about the basic tenets, history, and ceremonies, as well as each of the Confucian arts, including calligraphy, math, archery, and chariot driving. It was all very interesting, and more importantly, each of the exhibits on the arts had interactive stations where you could practice them. You could write some calligraphy, prove out the square roots theorem with blocks, try drawing a bow, and, my favorite, play a video game that simulated chariot driving. You raced slalom courses or had to hunt pigs, and it was way more fun than it had any right to be.

Taipei Confucius Temple
Main temple

After spending most of the morning at the Confucius Temple, I went across the way to the Baoan Temple. In between the two was an odd little park that wasn't labeled on the map, though I assume that it belonged the campuses of one or the other temple. The park was laced with pool and canals, with small, odd little pathways leading up rock outcroppings and through waterfalls. All along the park were tiny dioramas of people, and tigers, and monkeys. I'm sure it would have been interesting to know what it all was about, but it was just as interesting not knowing. They were setting up a stage for some performance later on. I wandered across the way and eventually visited the Baoan Temple itself, with its notable statuary, landscaping, and architectural details.

Baoan Temple
Nice tiger

As early afternoon was upon me, I stopped off for a quick lunch and then headed down to find the Dihua Markets, one of the few streets with old merchant buildings on it from various periods in Taiwan's past that still specialize in Eastern medicines and traditional wares. The markets end up right near the City God Temple, and I managed to arrive there right as a festival procession was arriving. Several musicians in adorned cars were driving up to the temple, to be met by several elaborately painted performers who came out to meet them and get on the cars to continue to the procession. It was pure tourist bait, and I saw more white faces in that ten or so minutes than I saw the entire rest of the trip. Perhaps distracted by that, I didn't notice I was standing close to a mesh basket into which someone from the temple threw a match, which set off the fireworks to ward against evil spirits that were inside. They are also effective at warding off effective hearing for a minute or so if you are inadvertently standing too close.

Festival
Festival

With a little more time to kill before I had to head off to the game, I wandered down to the river, because I hadn't actually seen it yet in all of my stay in Taipei. I headed over to Dadaocheng Wharf and spent some time walking around and watching a musical performance that was taking place in a small riverside pagoda.

Suitably relaxed, it started to rain on me. I just left myself to fate, and realized I need to get back to the hotel pronto, so I hailed a cab and gave my hotel card, and in under five minutes, someone in a suit was holding the door for me as I ducked out of the cab and away from the rain. I showered, changed, and hopefully grabbed my game bag, as I headed back to the train station to try Taoyuan again.

I got a ticket for the same train I took the day before and hoped for a different result. As I went up the escalator to the surface-level station in Taoyuan, I was relieved by the lack of rain so far. I decided to just hail a cab to get to the stadium, and after a bit of pantomime bat swinging by the cab driver to make sure he was taking me to the right place, I made it to the stadium. The ticket office being open, I secured a seat on the home team side of the park in the infield and then went around to take all my pictures.

After the game, I wasn't quite sure how I was getting back to the train station, but I knew now that the CPBL usually ran shuttle buses back to the city after the game. As I exited, sure enough, there were the buses. I almost got on the wrong one, as the first one I saw was actually going to downtown Taoyuan. I eventually got pointed in the direction of the buses behind the stadium, which were going back to the train station. Halfway to the buses, I saw a cab, and decided to just grab the cab back so I wouldn't have to wait. After another bit of pantomime on her part to make sure she was taking me to right place (I was getting pretty good at bi-lingual pantomime at this point), she took me back to the high-speed rail station quite quickly.

I got a ticket for the next train back to Taipei, which thankfully was leaving in about ten minutes. I stopped in at the 7-11 in the station to get some drinks and snacks for the trip and had an uneventful ride back to Taipei. And a similarly placid subway ride back to the hotel, where someone in a suit held the door for a sweaty American dragging a bag and a camera back up to his room.


The Stadium & Fans:
Home to center, Taoyuan International Baseball stadium
Home plate to center field, Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium

Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium is the newest ballpark in the league, and it shows in its more contemporary styling and amenities. Its problem is that it is located in the middle of nowhere. Well, technically, it is part of Qingbu Sports Park, which is in the middle of nowhere. It is a little over a mile from the high-speed rail station, which is a little over a mile from the international airport, but it is also not really near anything else. Downtown Taoyuan is over five miles away, so it is just the sports park and nothing else around except for the train station.

The park itself has an erector set vibe going for it, with exposed ribs circling the park in its middle section, and an angular shade roof extending inward over the park. There's a big pavilion in front of the park, filled with bat sculptures, a circle of flagpoles, and mitt-shaped concrete benches. The tiled walkway goes all the way around the stadium, and it is actually a second level over a lower level where parking lots and the bus parking all lie underneath.

The ticket booth lies just to the left of the main entrance, and other entrances, vending machines, and bathrooms extend around the stadium at fairly regular intervals. The vending machines were a new twist, as for some reason, there weren't any at all in the other stadiums in Taiwan, nor many vending machines in general. Around the back of the stadium is the entrance for the bleachers and nothing much else. On the road to the right of the stadium, freelance food vendors set up before the game for the budget-conscious.

There were two other ballparks surrounding the main park. There was one that looked like a little-league field in the back, but there was a rather old-looking but professional number next door. Since the sports park and the main stadium were relatively new, I assumed that this was the old ballpark for a previous incarnation of the team, but I'd been unable to find any information on it until I got home. (It turned out to be just another park they built next to the main one.) It looked a bit run down, but was still all together, but it seemed anyone could go in if they wanted. I did poke around a bit until I got to a playground that was between the old park and the new that was occupied by a rather sizeable pack of wild dogs, and I decided on discretion being the better part of valor and went back to the main stadium.

Once inside the main entrance to the park, you are greeting by a giant flat-screen TV that was showing an extra-innings Dodgers/D-Backs contest this night. I'm not exactly sure who this was to appeal to, outside of general baseball fans and the occasional American who wanders in. The drop ceiling in the entrance way was done in a bat and ball pattern. The desk for the fan club was also located in in the foyer.

The main walkway extended out from here in both directions. Various concession stands lined the walls and kiosks stood on their own in the hallways. The official Monkeys concession stands had drinks, salads, and snacks, and something called a "Subber," that was some manner of submarine sandwich with meat and vegetables. And then there was a giant corn dog stand, and you sort of felt like home.

On the visitors side, in addition to the food stands, there was the table for visiting team merchandise and a model of the stadium. The further back towards the outfield you went, the more abandoned the hallway started feeling. On the "home" third base side, there was a table and rack selling jerseys, and then a more upscale merchandise shop with dim lighting and muted colors that sold all manner of Monkeys trinkets. Further down the same hallway was a hip shop for parent company "La new" that sold some of their signature sneakers, for people who wanted to buy shoes at the ballgame.

The seating areas were separated into the segregated outfield bleachers, and an infield grandstand and upper deck. The outfield bleachers had actual seats, and were split into two section by a walkway in left and right-center, and, for some reason, three sections in right, with an added level in the section right next to the scoreboard. Both the outfield and the upper deck infield were closed off for this game, likely due to lack of demand. A medium-sized foul ball fence extended from the home-base netting all the way down to the outfield seating.

The lower-deck infield seats had one path that separated the seats into an upper and lower level, as well as an upper walkway at the top of the seating bowl. There were some concession stands perched on the top walkways for everyone stuck in seats at the back. They also had an entrance into the luxury boxes that lined either side of the press box behind home plate. There were two scoreboards: a large, detailed game scoreboard in left-center, and a big video number out in right-center.

There were the prerequisite stages build into the home and away dugouts where the cheering squads held court. The Monkeys had an MC and a cheerleader group, as well as the nominal monkey mascot, who spent most of the game either dancing with the cheerleaders or out and about the entire home side of the field, meeting and greeting fans. One negative point was that they had speakers to pipe in additional crowd noise. The Monkeys are the youngest team in the league (and also the worst), so I don't know if they are having problems getting people in the seats, but, man, pre-recorded crowd noise is never the answer. The crowd was about half-full on the home side, and the visiting Brother Elephants from just down the road in New Taipei had about a quarter of the seats on the visiting side filled.

Mascots and cheerleaders
Mascots and cheerleaders

Songs and cheering were pretty standard for Taiwan, although they did have a more Western-style "Let's go" chant (in English), and in the middle innings, they had everyone whip out their smart phones with their Monkeys app and did a sing-along while they swayed their phones in the air. Asia, man. Asia. The victory celebration included a small fireworks show (that no doubt terrified the feral dogs back there) in addition to the normal MVP awards.


At the Game with Oogie:
Corn dog
"Corn dog"

After all my ramblings around to take pictures, there was a line at the main entrance to get into the stadium. I managed to find myself positioned right before a busload of schoolkids who were lead by their teachers or chaperones or whathaveyou into line right behind me.

This was inevitable. All the kids started whispering to each other and pointing, and it was just a matter of time before one of them got up the nerve to do it.

"Hello," one said.

"Ni hao," I said back.

I was clearly doing it wrong, as he looked confused.

"HELLO," he said again.

"Hello," I said back, giving them what they wanted.

And that was all it took. They all started shouting "Hello" at me, and I had to answer them all until we got into the stadium.

I spent a bunch of time and money in the swank merchandise shop. Of all the teams in Taiwan, the angry gorilla branding was easily the most compelling. T-shirts, buttons... it all went in the bag.

And when you have a giant corn-dog concession stand, you have to get yourself a giant corndog, especially if you're in Asia.

When I got to my seat, I was surrounded by families, and there were a couple of guys out for a night of baseball next to me. Somewhere in the middle innings, the guy next to me tapped me on the shoulder while I was writing away on my scorecard. The monkey mascot was in the aisle and would not leave until I gave him a high-five. High-five collected, he went on his way down to schmooze with the other fans in the area. So that, children, is how I high-fived a guy in a monkey suit in Taiwan.

Also somewhere in the middle innings, the home fans were getting quiet as the MC and the cheerleaders took a break from the heat. It was then that an older white guy got up and sarcastically said how he liked it over here because it was too noisy on the Elephants' side of the field. I can only assume that he was the father of one of the American players on the team. Or maybe he was just an insane baseball fan like me. I'll never know.

He proceeded to go back and forth in the cheering section and whip the crowd into a frenzy and lead the cheers himself. People came up to him and gave him high-fives or hugs, and all by himself, he had the crowd back in it just as the Monkeys pulled together a big inning. I'm not saying that Turbo Whitey was responsible for the big inning, but I am noting that it happened right after he got the crowd back in the game.


The Game:
First pitch, Elephants vs. Monkeys
First pitch, Elephants vs. Monkeys

The Monkeys and the visiting Elephants faced off for the first time this trip, and, for the most part, it was the most conventional game I saw. The Elephants started with just an infield single to show for the top of the first, while the Monkeys got a walk and a single with nothing across in their half.

I say "conventional" game, and then there was the top of the second. A leadoff double was followed by a booted ball by the shortstop to make it first and second with no out. In good Asian fashion, the next batter bunted them over to second and third. And then the next batter lined a shot to third. With the lead runner going on contact, the third baseman threw over to first, who threw back to third to get the slow runner from second on a routine 5-3-5 DP. The lead runner scored before the end of the play, leaving the visiting Elephants in the lead, 1-0. The Monkeys got a leadoff single in their half, but he was eventually erased on a one-out grounder to short where he tagged the runner from first and threw over to first for a little "6t-6-3" double play.

The Elephants got a one-out single to center in the top of the third, and the runner promptly stole second. A two-out single to left scored him, but the new runner promptly got picked off at first after a small rundown, leaving it 2-0, Elephants. The Monkeys went weakly in order in their part of the frame.

In the top of the fourth, the Elephants scattered two singles to no effect, and the only runner the Monkeys had in the bottom was on an error by the third baseman. The Elephants went in order in the fifth, but the Monkeys put together quite an inning. There was the leadoff single to right, moved to third on a double to left. The pitcher struck out the next batter, but then fell apart. He hit the next batter to load the bases, and then, after an epic at-bat that went into double-digits pitches, he walked in a run. Then he walked the next batter to bring in another run. Finally, the catcher let one get away from him to bring in another run, before the pitcher settled down to get two more outs in order. But the damage was done, and the Monkeys went ahead, 3-2.

The visitors scattered a single and reached on error in the top of the sixth, but the Monkeys kept their train running. A one-out single chased the Elephants starter, but his replacement gave up another single to center to make it first and third with one out. A grounder to second got another out, but the runner from third scored. A strikeout closed the inning with the Monkeys now up 4-2. The Elephants had something in the seventh, though. A leadoff single was followed by a one-out single and a walk to load the bases and chase the Monkeys' pitcher. A sacrifice fly brought in a run and the new pitcher uncorked one to move the runners up to second and third, but he got a ground-out to third to end the half, 4-3 Monkeys.

The Monkeys had something of their own in the seventh, with a leadoff walk and then a hit batsman that chased another Elephants' pitcher. The new pitcher walked the bases loaded, but a numerically satisfying 1-2-3 double play gave him some room, and a fly out to second ended the half with no one across. In top of the eighth, a leadoff walk was followed by a one-out hit batsman, but a more conventional 4-6-3 double play ended the threat by the Elephants. A new Elephants' pitcher struck out the Monkeys in order in their half.

The Monkeys closed it out by getting the Elephants in order in the top of the ninth, cementing their 4-3 win.


The Scorecard:
Elephants vs. Monkeys, 06-13-13. Monkeys win, 4-3.Elephants vs. Monkeys, 06-13-13. Monkeys win, 4-3.
Elephants vs. Monkeys, 06/13/13. Monkeys win, 4-3.

As always, I was using the BBWAA scorebook. This was more a game of odd double plays. I'm not sure I had ever got to write in a "DP 1-2-3" from the seventh inning of this game before, and I know for a fact, I never did a "DP 5-3-5" before. There was also a "CS 1-3-6-3" in the top of the third. The only other scoring bit of note was the epic at-bat by the Monkey's third baseman in the fifth inning where he drew a walk to force in a run. I just used the gem symbol ("!") in his frame.


The Accommodations:
I was at the Imperial again this evening. I didn't spend much time in the room at all except for sleeping, both in the afternoon and evening.



2013 Taiwan
Kaohsiung

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