Until the pandemic threw a wrench in the works two years ago, Chinese Taipei had been a regular participant in Baseball Week since 2000. So it came as no surprise that the Asian team was also confirmed as the second country to compete in 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; rather, the sport was introduced to the then-Japanese colony in the late nineteenth century by the colonial rulers. Although the sport was initially reserved for Japanese aristocrats, a team composed exclusively of Taiwanese players emerged in the 1920s, and their success made the sport popular among the local population as well—a popularity that has endured to this day.
WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC
The days when today’s Chinese Taipei and their Japanese coach simply scored runs with bunt hits and stolen bases are long gone. These days, this team is also capable of delivering some hard-hitting performances. They demonstrated this, 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 scored—they also scored the most runs in Pool A, by the way—they showed what they were made of in their matchup against the Dutch team. Thanks in part to a grand slam by Yu Chang, they handed Hensley Meulens’ team a heavy defeat: 9-5.
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The chances of seeing that tormentor in action next July in Haarlem seem slim. Chang is currently playing for the Tampa Bay Rays’ AAA team, where he’s off to an excellent start this season, so it seems unlikely that he’ll 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 too strong (0-5) in an all-Asian final. That second-place finish marked the team’s best-ever final ranking, having previously finished third in 2008.
On its own continent, Taipei forms a dominant trio alongside 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 have reached the final every time during that period. However, it was the champion only once. In 2019, they claimed their last continental title. In addition, the various youth teams have also achieved success in recent years. For example, both the Under-18 and Under-23 teams won medals—silver and bronze, respectively—at the last World Cup in their age categories.
So whether Chinese Taipei fields a talented college team or an experienced squad from their Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL), it seems certain that the days when they were invariably written off as the underdogs—along with their small-ball tactics—are long gone.