Taipei (Taiwan News) — Team Taiwan began preparing for the upcoming Premier12 baseball tournament with a training session at the Taipei Dome on Monday (Oct. 28).
Premier12 is an international baseball tournament organized by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), featuring the 12 highest-ranked national baseball teams globally. The tournament takes place every four years and fills in the calendar for the World Baseball Classic.
Team Taiwan consists of 25 players drawn from the local professional league and three Taiwanese players competing in the US Minor Leagues. Seven players were selected from the Rakuten Monkeys, the largest delegation from Taiwan’s professional league, per CNA.
Rakuten Monkey outfielder Chu Yu-hsien (朱育賢), the most senior outfielder for Team Taiwan, told the media he was deeply honored to be selected for the team. Although people do not expect Team Taiwan to fare well at the Premier12 tournament, he said each member "will do their best.”
Chu said, "I used to be a young player, but now I am the most senior outfielder. I want to pass on my experience to the younger generation." Chu added that the atmosphere in the Taipei Dome due to a hometown crowd will inspire the team.
Several Team Taiwan players from the local professional league began training at the Douliu Baseball Stadium last week. Others had to wait until the “Taiwan Series” or the championship round of Taiwan’s professional league had concluded.
Team Taiwan's first exhibition games will be held Nov. 2-3 as they take on the Czech Republic at the Taipei Dome in a friendly exhibition. Tickets for this tune-up competition are currently on sale.
The Czech team is currently ranked 15th in the world and just missed out on receiving a Premier12 invite, though the team competes in the World Baseball Classic (WBC).
Former Major League Baseball player and WBC star Yu Chang (張育成) is absent from the Team Taiwan roster this year. He reportedly withdrew his name from consideration due to a lingering left-hand injury.
Team Taiwan will be managed by Tseng Hao-chu (曾豪駒). The top player from the US Minor Leagues is left-handed pitcher Lin Yu-min (林昱珉), who was promoted to the Diamondbacks' Triple-A affiliate, Reno Aces, at the start of last season.
Another promising pitcher, Rakuten Monkey's Chuang Hsin-yen (莊昕諺), was shortlisted for the Most Improved Award in the Taiwan professional baseball league. Chuang said he looked forward to a “playoff-like atmosphere” for the upcoming Premier12 competitions, which begin on Nov. 13 when Team Taiwan takes on Korea.
