Taiwan defeated Japan, courageously bringing home the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s Premier12 championship title with the whole nation in celebration.
This is the first international baseball tournament Taiwan has taken part in and won — including the Olympics and the World Baseball Classic — the last time being 32 years ago during the 1992 Barcelona Olympics when Taiwan took home silver.
Taiwan gave a brilliant performance. US Major League Baseball’s Web site analysis put it in classic terms, referring to the win as “a breathtaking victory.”
Previously, little attention was paid to Taiwan. It has never held a batting title at the international level before, only passing through the first round of the 2019 World Baseball Classic before stalling and ending the championship run at the bottom of the preliminaries. Taiwan was then forced to start from the qualifying rounds and was unable to place for a medal in the Premier12. The last time it scored so well was in the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 when it got a silver medal. Almost none of this year’s championship team members were born then.
Team Taiwan’s captain, the championship’s Most Valuable Player, batting king, all-world team outfielder and best defensive player Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said it best: “We have made history, we pulled off a miracle. If you have a dream, then you strive your hardest to achieve it.”
Taiwan manager Tseng Hao-ju’s (曾豪駒) post-tournament words of appreciation were moving: “My players make me extremely proud. I would like to tell all baseball players out there that you just need to believe in yourself and have the courage to dream.”
Truly, Taiwan’s preliminary and round-robin tournaments were twice hampered by Japan, but Taiwan shut them down in the final. Japan only had one instance during the entire final where they were in a scoring position. Prior to this tournament, Japan had won 27 consecutive international tournaments since 2019. Taiwan had not beaten an all-professional Japanese team prior to this championship.
To this end, Rome was not built in a day, and Taiwan’s taking of the crown can be traced back to several factors: the increase in the all-around skills of our players, the determination to win, their fighting spirit, their team spirit, a cunning battle of wits, professional information gathering on opponents, logistical support, and cheering fans in Taiwan and fans who flew to Japan to watch the championship.
To sum it up, as President William Lai (賴清德) put it in his praise for the team: “You are baseball heroes. Taiwan’s braves. Thank you, Team Taiwan. You are amazing.”
We should look back on history to understand Taiwanese baseball’s development. The game first came to Taiwan’s shores in the early 1900s, during the Japanese colonial era, and started off as elementary-school games called yakyu. By the summer of 1931, the Kagi Agriculture and Forestry Public School, better known by its Japanese nickname Kano, was the first Taiwanese team invited by Japan, competing in the 17th Japanese high-school baseball championship, or the Summer Koshien, where they finished as runners-up out of 23 teams — a major milestone for Taiwanese players. Kano’s legendary position in Taiwanese baseball continues to this day.
Post-war development of the sport in Taiwan continued, with the nation’s team turning professional in the 1990s, quickly following in the footsteps of the Japanese and South Korean teams. That brought about several positive transitions, but it also gave rise to multiple reputation-destroying scandals involving player signings, bribery and even hollowed out baseballs that nearly halted the game’s development in Taiwan.
Through the rises and falls, and through international exchanges and the expansion of the nation’s amateur teams as well as enhanced playing fields, among other important developments, baseball’s status as Taiwan’s “national sport” was once more welcomed and put in the spotlight.
Team Taiwan’s performance during the Premier12 shows a clear improvement in their offensive and defensive abilities. Not only were extra-base hits and other long strikes successively implemented, Team Taiwan also used several defensive plays often seen in the US Major League Baseball. The Premier12 championship definitively shows the revival of Taiwanese baseball.
Although the sport has plenty of big-name players on rosters, it is still a team sport that requires every player’s cooperation. During games, the entire team’s performance determines whether it wins or loses. Pitching and batting need to be masterfully paired and there cannot be mistakes in defense. An entire team’s competitive spirit is also a key factor in whether it succeeds.
This time, apart from newcomers on the roster, Team Taiwan’s determination to win and post-game resilience showed that the players deserve praise. Retired veteran players Wang Chien-ming (王建民) and Lin Yueh-ping (林岳平), who played professional baseball for Taiwanese and US teams, served as coaches and trainers, passing on their legacy by imparting their knowledge and skills, helping shore up Team Taiwan’s competitive skills and on-the-spot performance.
On the way to victory, Team Taiwan also enjoyed a preliminary match home advantage, with a stadium filled with fans cheering them all the way. Our players were able to fully bring their skills and true power to the fore. The playoffs were held in Tokyo, with many Taiwanese baseball fans flocking there to root for Taiwan.
Taiwan often encounters Chinese suppression in international sporting events, and flags, anthems and cheers explicitly mentioning Taiwan are often heavily restricted. However, this time at the Tokyo Dome, Taiwanese fans cheered, waving the nation’s flags and flag-patterned items, full of vibrancy and enthusiasm. The atmosphere and vibes overpowered Samurai Japan fans, giving a boost to Team Taiwan’s resolve.
Apart from the crowds, when competing, we should know ourselves as well as we know our opponents. Professional stats-gathering is a key factor in a baseball team’s formulation and the adjustment of their playing tactics. Team Taiwan made an all-out effort, and with fans supporting them up in the stands, victory came from within, and this is something all Taiwanese are proud of and in awe of.
Athletic competitions are the place to exhibit an “athletic spirit.” Each time Chen went out to bat, he would greet and acknowledge the head umpire, impressing Japanese media with his manners. When interviewed, he said he grew into the habit while he moved to Japan as a student to play baseball in junior high school.
After the game, although Team Japan was shut out and its players were left feeling desolate from the loss, Team Taiwan lined up on the side of the field after they received their medals and bowed in respect to their opponents, showing their good sportsmanship. Manager Tseng emphasized that despite winning the championship, taking home victory laurels was not the be-all-and-end-all goal of the tournament. After all, Japan still reigns supreme in baseball competitions compared with Taiwan, and our team would need to maintain its spirit of diligence and advancement, using the post-game period to bring itself closer to Japan’s acumen. Team Taiwan has crafted a new record and made history, and has athletes who show humility when they win.
We often see human nature play out on the field, and not just a sense of athletic spirit. The Premier12 allowed Taiwanese to see a moving side to our team. Team captain Chen, and pitchers Chen Kuan-yu (陳冠宇), Chang Yi (張奕) and Kuo Chun-lin (郭俊麟) created a touching scene as tears streamed down their faces out on the diamond. When Chen Chieh-hsien donned his gold medal and received the Most Valuable Player award, he made a shout-out to his wife and children to honor them with the awards, showing attributes suitable for a family-friendly sport. Such actions help plant the seeds of future players in families from a young age, playing a particularly meaningful role in the sport’s expansion and continuation in society. This is also the direction US baseball professionals have long maintained.
In the past, Taiwan tended to favor basketball when it came to ball games, but due to limits in market size, athletic prowess and the degree of internationalization, Taiwan’s basketball teams have not made much headway in international competitions.
Instead, it is in tennis, table tennis, badminton and golf where Taiwanese athletes have gained the most acclaim. Today, we can add winning a world title in baseball to Taiwan’s sporting accolades.
Come February next year, Taiwan is hosting the qualifier tournament for the next Premier12.
Translated by Tim Smith
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