Baseball league restarts in Taiwan with robot and mannequin ‘followers’ in seats

June 13, 2020　Weird photographs present cardboard cutouts, mannequins and drum-playing robots filling the stands at Taiwan’s Taoyuan Baseball Stadium as a substitute of actual followers when the Chinese language Skilled Baseball League restarted its season Sunday after a month-long coronavirus lockout.
The faux-fans had been dolled up in actual hats and shirts of the house staff the Rakuten Monkeys, some pointing towards the sphere and others holding indicators over their heads — by way of zip ties round their plastic wrists.
The stunt was a concession to COVID-19 social-distancing necessities that stay in place, even with play resuming.
“We’re the primary pro-baseball league to begin enjoying in the world” in the course of the coronavirus pandemic, the league mentioned in a press release, in line with AFP.
“We welcome everybody to comply with the brand new 2020 season and to calm down from their tense lives due to the outbreak.”
The league did not less than permit cheerleaders, bringing in actual reside people to root for his or her groups from the sidelines.
The sport between the Rakuten 9 and the Chinatrust Brothers got here because the league launched its 31st season, which was initially scheduled to kick off on March 14 however was postponed as a result of unfold of the coronavirus.