Taiwanese slugger Yu Chang on Sunday night was named the World Baseball Classic (WBC) Most Valuable Player (MVP) of Pool A due to his explosive batting during Taiwan’s four-game run, the event organizers said.
The 27-year-old eastern Taitung County native had two homers, two doubles and a 0.438 batting average to come out seven for 16 with a 0.500 on-base percentage.
He also had a 0.938 slugging percentage, eight RBIs, five runs, two walks and two strikeouts in four games.
Photo: CNA
Taiwan failed to advance to the quarter-finals despite a 2-2 record in Pool A, so Chang is to return to MLB spring training with the Boston Red Sox.
The team signed Chang to a one-year, US$850,000 contract on Feb. 16.
Taiwan, Cuba, Italy, the Netherlands and Panama were part of a five-way tie in Pool A, with each team winning two games.
Cuba and Italy advanced to the quarter-finals, as they had the fewest runs allowed per defensive outs recorded.
Chang is the only Taiwanese player competing in the MLB and the only player from Taiwan to record 100 hits in his MLB career.
In his 190 at-bats through 69 games for four teams, Chang had a 0.208 batting percentage, four homers and 15 RBIs, while playing as a utility infielder.
READY TO GO: Lin, who got a first-round bye and is to compete in the round of 16 on Friday, said all she can do is ‘ignore what the haters say’ and focus on her bouts Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting, who was stripped of her bronze medal at last year’s International Boxing Association (IBA) Women’s World Boxing Championships after failing a gender eligibility test, has been cleared to compete in Paris, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Monday. Lin and Imane Khelif of Algeria, who had both been disqualified at the world championship in New Delhi in March last year, have complied with all rules to fight at the Games, the IOC said. They are now to compete in their second Summer Games, after both finishing outside the podium at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. “All athletes participating
China’s 24-year-old table tennis player Wang Chuqin was overjoyed on Tuesday after securing his first Olympic gold medal alongside teammate Sun Yingsha. His elation soon turned to disbelief, anger and frustration when he discovered that his new paddle — crucial for his singles and team events — had been damaged by excited photographers rushing to capture the moment. Visibly upset, Wang tried to ask for an explanation. His coach tried to hug him in an effort to console him and ask him to stay calm. Wang soon regained his composure despite the setback. “At that moment, I lost control of my emotions a little.
In April last year, Taiwanese badminton ace Tai Tzu-ying finally opened up about her future in the sport in which she had competed professionally since 2009. “My plan is to retire after the end of next year’s season. Even if I’m still able to compete, I would prefer not to,” she said at a promotional event. If true, the Paris Olympics would be her last stab at an Olympic gold medal, a prize some might think a player who has topped the rankings in women’s singles for a record total of 214 weeks — between December 2016 and September 2022 — should
Japan’s 14-year-old Coco Yoshizawa on Sunday grabbed gold in the all-teenage women’s street skateboard final at the Paris Olympics, after nailing a high-risk ride down the hand-rail. Yoshizawa went into her penultimate trick with two big scores, but needing a third to complete her total, before finishing in style. “I knew that if I wanted to win, I had to go for the most difficult tricks. I didn’t aim for second or third place; I aimed for the top spot with my highest difficulty moves,” she said. Even though all her rivals had one more run, she raised her board above