Taiwan is set to host a professional winter baseball league, the head of Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) said on Monday.
Hwang Jenn-tai said it was very likely the nation would host winter league games in central and southern Taiwan at the end of this year.
CPBL secretary-general Liang Kung-pin said that details on how the teams would be organized and how many teams would take part had not yet been finalized.
The plan is for each team in the league to play 50 games and for the league to be open to players from other countries.
“Japanese and South Korean teams have expressed an interest. We also have our minor league teams and we still need to find players for one more team. We might approach North American clubs,” Liang said.
Japanese and South Korea teams have wanted to send players to Taiwan to play winter baseball in the past, Liang said, but they did not want to join a league formed by the Chinese Taipei Baseball Association because that would have meant playing against amateurs.
They are much more receptive to the idea of the CPBL taking charge of the new league, Liang added.
Hwang is also hoping that a winter league would help boost tourism.
“We’re not thinking of breaking even this year in hosting the winter league. If there were a tourism boost, it would be the CPBL fulfilling its social responsibility,” Huang said.
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen has become the first female player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after the Golden State Valkyries selected her in the third and final round of the league’s draft on Monday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship earlier this month. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament’s most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen (陳凱玲) has become the first player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after being selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the third and final round of the league's draft yesterday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship on April 6. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament's most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as a
Japan yesterday secured a second consecutive Billie Jean King Cup finals appearance with a 2-1 win over 2023 champions Canada, thanks to Ena Shibahara and Shuko Aoyama’s 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 win over Kayla Cross and Rebecca Marino in the qualifying doubles decider. Shibahara and Aoyama powered through the opening set 6-3, breaking twice for a quick 3-0 lead. Cross and Marino hit back in the second, edging it 7-5 to level the match, before the Japanese pair regained control in the third. Canada’s 18-year-old Victoria Mboko edged Shibahara 6-4, 6-7 (8/10), 7-5 in a marathon opening clash. Mboko fired eight aces to
DAY OF BLOWOUTS: Elsewhere, the Lakers clinched the third seed in the Western Conference with a 140-109 pounding of the under-strength Houston Rockets The Denver Nuggets on Friday improved their playoff position, with a triple double from Nikola Jokic helping them to a 117-109 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. The Serbian put up 26 points, 13 assists and 16 rebounds. The triple-double performance, his 34th this season, ensured that he will finish the regular season as just the third NBA player to average a triple double across an entire season. The win meant the Nuggets improved to 49-32 on the season and gave them a real chance of grabbing fourth place and home-court advantage in the playoffs. Aaron Gordon top scored with 33 points for Denver,