Taiwan, with its 24 million residents, also houses 14 million motor scooters. There are so many of them in the bustling capital of Taipei that the buzzing engines are part of the daily soundtrack. It was through this cacophony that a nervous voice broke through, committing to memory the first words that would be spoken on the only English-language broadcast of the only baseball currently being played on Earth.



“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls,” Richard Wang repeated over and over into thin air, “welcome to the Eleven Sports Network for the opening game of the 2020 season of the Chinese Professional Baseball League.” Wang was about to begin the most unusual assignment of his career. He was charged with introducing Taiwanese baseball to a vast new audience. He was tasked with doing so in his second language. He was given only a few days to prepare.



Practice occupied every spare moment, including the time he spent on his motorbike running...