Until Corona threw a spanner in the works two years ago, Chinese Taipei had been a regular guest at Baseball Week since 2000. So it did not come as a big surprise that the Asians were also set as the second country ahead of the upcoming edition. What can we expect from the current number five in the world rankings this summer?
Unlike virtually the rest of the world, the Taiwanese did not learn baseball from American baseball missionaries, but the sport was introduced to the then Japanese colony in the late nineteenth century by the rulers. Although the sport was initially reserved for Japanese aristocrats, a team composed exclusively of Taiwanese emerged in the 1920s, and their success made the sport popular among its own people as well, which it has remained to this day.
WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC
The days when today’s Chinese Taipei and their Japanese teacher merely scored runs with bunt hits and stolen bases are a thing of the past. Hard knocks should also be expected from this team these days. They also showed that, for example, at the last World Baseball Classic, where they ended up in the same pool as the Netherlands (and Italy). Although the Asians finished in last place based on runs collected – they also scored the most runs in Pool A, by the way – they showed what they were made of in the mutual duel with the Kingdom team. Thanks in part to a grand slam by Yu Chang, they treated Hensley Meulens’ team to a hefty defeat: 9-5.
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The chances of seeing that tormentor in action next July in Haarlem seem unlikely. Chang is now playing for the AAA team of the Tampa Bay Rays, where he is having an excellent start to the season, and so it seems unlikely that he will be allowed to fly over to Europe in a month and a half.
WORLDTOP
In their last appearance in Haarlem, six years ago, Taipei defeated the Kingdom team (7-5) in the semifinals, just as they did last year at the WBC, after which the Japanese proved a size too big (0-5) in an all-Asian final. That second place did mark the highest final ranking for the team, after they already finished third once in 2008.
On its own continent, Taipei forms a dominant trinity along with Japan and South Korea. Although the Japanese have won four of the last five editions of the Asian championship, Taipei is the only one of the three to reach the final each time in the same period. In that, however, it was the best only once. In 2019, they captured their last continental title. In addition, success was also achieved by the various youth teams in recent years. For example, both the Under-18 and Under-23 won medals, silver and bronze, respectively, at the last World Cup in their age category.
So whether Chinese Taipei travels with a talented college team or an experienced squad from their Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL), it seems certain that the times when they could invariably be written up as number last – as well as their small-ball tactics– are far behind them.