菁英旅美，莫能禦也？台灣棒球菁英外流的國際政治經濟學分析

Abstract

晚近以來，我國高中、大學業餘棒球菁英出走美國職棒業已成為台灣棒壇的顯學。自陳金鋒於1999年跨海加盟洛杉磯道奇隊後，十年間已有四十六位業餘棒壇菁英投身美國職棒體系，直接衝擊我國本土棒球運動的發展。有別於社會學以及經濟學的視角，本文爰以政治學中「國家中心(state-centered)」的分析方法，探究各國的政治與社會的發展及變遷是否直接引發今日台灣球員的跨國遷徙現象。 依此，本文引用國際政治經濟學(IPE)領域之學者Philip Cerny的全球化理論，重新詮釋職業棒球產業的全球化現象。在Cerny的理論框架下，本文第三章與第四章針對美國職棒大聯盟與美國政府百年來的互動加以討論，藉此爬梳美國職棒大聯盟成為世界棒球最高殿堂的成因；此外，本文亦透過分析美國國家政策的變遷，解釋大聯盟各球隊之球員人力資本國際化以及行銷跨國化的現象。 美國職業棒球產業可謂大型企業與國家之間利益聚合的表徵。美國職棒大聯盟於1922年後成為美國境內唯一合法豁免於反托拉斯法的壟斷產業，其合法性主要奠基於三個司法判決以及一連串的國會「不作為」上。美國職棒大聯盟亦利用其壟斷地位對地方政府加以脅迫、獨占廣播與電視收益，並壟斷美國境內所有棒球人才，形成職業棒球的霸權。然60年代開始，美國政治圈對此情形的反省則催化了美國職棒各球團的「球員國際化」，並在拉美以及東亞形成不同的徵募邏輯。1990年後「行銷跨國化」繼之而起，並觸發上述兩地「棒球民族主義」的興起，使美國職棒體系在人才國際化與行銷跨國化上的進展更加順利，形成全球職業棒球的霸權體系。 第五章則將焦點轉回台灣，討論棒球全球化下在地政府與私部門在人才爭奪上的合作與競爭。1999年後，台灣政府將維持法統的「棒球民族主義」從「中華業餘棒球代表隊」轉移至由旅美球星所組成的「中華旅外棒球代表隊」以及以王建民為首的「中華洋基隊」，透過建教制度以及兵役制度，有意識的助長精英球員的外流；另一方面，本土職棒的衰頹、行政立法部門對球員權益的漠視，以及地方黑金政治所操控的不法簽賭案件，亦成為台灣球員外流的主因。 本文以政治學的角度重新詮釋台灣棒球人才外流的現象，發現「棒球全球化」並非如同主流論述所認為的，為台灣菁英球員外流的自變項；相反的，「棒球全球化」正是政府與私部門的互動所導致的「國際化」、「跨國化」以及「棒球民族主義」所引發。台灣業餘棒球精英外流的現象，亦正如Philip Cerny所認為的，為各個行為者在政治過程中互動的最終結果。

Recently, the exodus of Taiwanese amateur high school and college baseball talents has been the prominent phenomenon in Taiwan. Since Chin-feng Chen was recruited by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1999, there have been forty-six Taiwanese amateur baseball talents starting their careers in the Organized Baseball of the United States. This thread made a direct impact on Taiwanese baseball. Apart from the perspectives of Sociology and Economics, “state-centered” approach of Political Science was applied in this research to analyze whether the transnational migration of Taiwanese baseball players was triggered by the political and social transitions in both the United States and Taiwan. The globalization theory of Philip Cerny in International Political Economy was applied in this research to reinterpret the phenomenon of transnational migration of baseball talents. Through a century-long view at the interaction between the Major League Baseball (MLB) and the government of the United States, Chapter 3 and 4 explain why MLB has become the supreme stage of worldwide baseball. In addition, the phenomena of the internationalization of talent-searching and the transnationalization of marketing were also explained through the analysis of the transition of national policies in the United States. The organized baseball industry in United States stands for the compromise for interests between conglomerates and the U.S. government. MLB is exemplified from the Federal Antitrust Law exclusively. Its legitimacy based on three jurisdictions and a series of “inaction” of the Congress. Without the restraint of Federal Antitrust Law, MLB capitalized upon its exemplified status to threat the local governments for subsidies, monopoly the broadcast revenue and all baseball players in U.S. to build the hegemony of Organized Baseball. Since the 1960s, however, the reflection in US politics compelled all teams in MLB to internationalize their talent-searching, which later formed two different recruiting styles in Latin America and East-Asia. Following the internationalization of talent-searching, MLB transnationalized its marketing strategies, which triggered the “baseball nationalism” unintentionally in both regions in the late 90s. Therefore, a world-wide organized baseball hegemony of MLB emerged. Chapter 5 focused on the cooperation and competition for the baseball talents between the public and private sections in Taiwan. Since 1999, Taiwanese government has shifted the carrier of “baseball nationalism” from “Chinese Taipei baseball team of amateur” to “Chinese Taipei baseball team of U.S. farm system” and “Taiwan-Yankee Team”, the former is composed of talents playing professional baseball in the United States and the latter was headed by Chien-ming Wang, the starting pitcher of the New York Yankees from 2005 to 2009. There are two reasons hastening the outflow of Taiwanese baseball talents. On one hand, Taiwanese government intended to precipitate the exodus of elite players by the means of setting up the programs of cooperative education and lifting the compulsory military service; on the other hand, the exodus of elite players was also expedited by the degeneracy of local professional baseball league, the apathy of administrative and legislative departments to the rights of players and the rampant gambling and game fixing manipulated by the synthesis of local gangsters and politicians. This research reinterpreted the phenomenon of the exodus of Taiwanese baseball talents on the periscope of Political Science. Apart from the mainstream discourse which regarded “baseball globalization” as an independent variable to the exodus of Taiwanese baseball talents, this research argues that “baseball globalization” was triggered by the internationalization, transnationalization and baseball nationalism brought by the interaction of governments and private sectors. It is the result of the interaction of all actors in political process that made the exodus of Taiwanese baseball amateur elite talents.