Two players on the CPBL Wei Chuan Dragons have been fined and suspended due to photos of them playing poker being found on the internet. Center fielder Kuo Tian-Shin and shortstop Chang Cheng-Yu are the two players suspended and will be away from the team for an undisclosed amount of time.
Shin and Cheng-Yu had photos of them at a legal card house leaked onto the internet. The fact that the card house was legal could have saved them from an even stricter punishment, given the history of Taiwanese baseball and gambling. Game-fixing scandals dating back to 1996 almost took down the CPBL, so team and league officials did not take this matter lightly.
Cheng-Yu is a 24-year-old shortstop who is having a breakout season during his fourth year in the CPBL with the Dragons. Shin, also 24, has been one of the best players for the Dragons this season. He led the team in games played and hits this season before his suspension.
The Dragons are 34-44 this season, with an 8-10 record in the second half. The fifth-place team loses two everyday starters, and even though the Dragons do not seem to be contenders, this is a blow to the franchise.
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WBN CPBL: https://worldbaseball.com/?s=CPBL
Photo Credit: Infielder Chang Cheng-Yu #25 of Chinese Taipei catches a pop fly in the 1st inning during the Asia Professional Baseball Championship game between Chinese Taipei and Japan at Tokyo Dome on November 16, 2023 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Gene Wang/Getty Images)
