Cpbl Admits to Tardy Response to Alleged Game-fixing Attempt

Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) Commissioner Hwang Jenn-tai late Saturday acknowledged that he did not address a game-fixing attempt in the Asia Series immediately after being informed of the matter last week.

Hwang said he did not do anything about the alleged attempt to throw a semi-final game in the recently concluded Asia Series in Taichung until the matter was brought to light in a report by an Australian newspaper Saturday.

In a statement issued late Saturday, the CPBL said it was informed of the attempt before the Nov. 18 semi-final game between the Canberra Calvary of Australia and the Samsung Lions of South Korea, and the information was passed on to Hwang later in the day.

The CPBL said it was alerted by the Australian Baseball League (ABL) on Nov. 18 before the start of the game that Calvary catcher Matt Blazynski had been approached earlier in the day with a US$30,000 bribe offer to help throw the game by at least 7 runs.

The CPBL said its staff needed to confirm the matter with Blazynski before reporting it to Hwang.

However, the CPBL said, its staff forgot to report the incident to Hwang, who acknowledged that he had failed to follow up even after he was informed, which he admitted was a “grave mistake.”

Because the Canberra Times report said the “Asia Series bosses” - referring to the series organizers CPBL - had contacted the police about the matter, Hwang thought the incident had already been reported to law enforcement authorities, the CPBL said.

When Hwang contacted the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) on Saturday to ask for an update on the case after reading the news report, he was told that the bureau had not received any such reports, the CPBL said.

The CPBL...