Baseball was a dream we all shared in our youth. Everyone will surely remember how the whole family, regardless of sleep, used to huddle in front of the TV set in the wee hours just to watch the heroic feats of Lee Chu-min, Cheng Pai-sheng, Tu Chung-nan and their cohorts beamed live by satellite from the U.S.
It's been nearly 20 years since then.
All those years later, baseball is at a new peak. Professional baseball launched its first year in Taiwan in 1990. The little heroes of the past have changed into the big heroes of today, displaying their skills and talents at stadiums around the island, giving rise to a new wave of baseball fever and calling back our old dreams and love of the game.
Pro baseball has just finished its second year. The curtain has temporarily come down and the heroes are taking a rest, but the wave of enthusiasm hasn't receded, because baseball is more than pitching, catching, running and hitting: It's an integral part of our lives. Let's savor once again some memories of pro baseball's second year while looking ahead to "pro baseball: year three."
[Picture Caption]
Hit by a pitch--ouch! But happy to get on base.
(Right, below) The camera catches the pitcher in some positions that would be impossible for most of us to match.
Yu Tsung-lung of the Mercuries fires to first after tagging out Ma Szu of the Wei-chuan Dragons--his motion as fluid as his team's name.
Catcher Hung I-chung of Brother Hotel lunges for the ball as Tiger Huang Shih-ming goes flying.
Safe? Out? President Enterprises catcher Tzeng Chih-chen glares intently. . . . (photo by Cheng Jen-nan)
Collisions are common at homeplate.
Premier Hau Pei-tsun watches the field of a game delayed by rain. He has promised the people "an indoor stadium."
Under the blue skies of southern Taiwan, senior manager Tzeng Chi-en tells the children stories of his baseball past.
The last game of the season: a time for musing on what might have been.
The art of beating the throw--the slide.
(Below) Dust and dirt.
（Right, below） The camera catches the pitcher in some positions that would be impossible for most of us to match.
Yu Tsung-lung of the Mercuries fires to first after tagging out Ma Szu of the Wei-chuan Dragons--his motion as fluid as his team's name.
Catcher Hung I-chung of Brother Hotel lunges for the ball as Tiger Huang Shih-ming goes flying.
Safe? Out? President Enterprises catcher Tzeng Chih-chen glares intently. . . . （photo by Cheng Jen-nan）
Collisions are common at homeplate.
Premier Hau Pei-tsun watches the field of a game delayed by rain. He has promised the people "an indoor stadium.".
Under the blue skies of southern Taiwan, senior manager Tzeng Chi-en tells the children stories of his baseball past.
The last game of the season: a time for musing on what might have been.
The art of beating the throw--the slide.
