Braves TBS Baseball network's rights fee payments to Major League Baseball. In turn, national sponsors could fulfill their advertising commitments by purchasing ads on TBS, in addition to ESPN or Fox. The move was strongly criticized by Braves fans, Atlanta area media outlets and team manager Bobby Cox. Over 90% of Braves fans who voted in an online poll conducted by the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution" newspaper preferred the team of Caray and Van Wieren to the more neutral broadcasts. The move backfired, and ratings for the TBS broadcasts declined sharply. After that year's All-Star break, TBS brought back Caray and Van Wieren to work
Professional baseball in Taiwan Professional baseball in Taiwan Professional baseball in Taiwan started with the founding of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) in 1989. At its 1997 peak, Taiwan had two leagues and 11 professional teams. The competing Taiwan Major League ran from 1997 until its absorption by the CPBL in 2003. The professional game has had several game-fixing scandals which have led to sharp declines in game attendance. The first official indigenous baseball team in Taiwan was formed in 1906, when the island was a Japanese colony, by the Middle School of the Taiwan Governor-General's National Language School (present-day Jianguo Senior High