Chinese Taipei national baseball team

Chinese Taipei national baseball team
Information
Country	Republic of China (Taiwan) (competes as  Chinese Taipei)
Federation	Chinese Taipei Baseball Association (中華民國棒球協會)
Confederation	Baseball Federation of Asia
Manager	Hao Ju Tseng (2023–)
WBSC ranking
Current	2 (27 November 2024)[1]
Highest	2 (3 times; latest in December 2022)
Lowest	5 (2 times; latest in September 2018)
Uniforms
Home Away
World Baseball Classic
Appearances	5 (first in 2006)
Best result	8th (1 time, in 2013)
Olympic Games
Appearances	4 (first in 1984)
Best result	2nd (1 time, in 1992)
WBSC Premier12
Appearances	3 (first in 2015)
Best result	1st (1 time, in 2024)
World Cup
Appearances	14 (first in 1972)
Best result	2nd (1 time, in 1984)
Intercontinental Cup
Appearances	10 (first in 1973)
Best result	3rd (2 times, most recent in 2006)
Asian Games
Appearances	4 (first in 1994)
Best result	1st (1 time, in 2006)
Asian Championship
Appearances	26 (first in 1954)
Best result	1st (5 times, most recent in 2019)

The Chinese Taipei national baseball team (Chinese: 中華臺北棒球代表隊; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Táiběi Bàngqiú Dàibiǎoduì) is the national men's baseball team of Taiwan. It is governed by the Chinese Taipei Baseball Association. The team is ranked fourth in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. The team is usually made up of professionals from Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League, Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball, and Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball from the United States.

Originally known as the National Baseball Team of the Republic of China (Chinese: 中華民國棒球代表隊; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Mínguó Bàngqiú Dàibiǎo Duì) it was renamed in the 1980s as the Chinese Taipei Baseball Team.^[2]

The team has won five titles in the Asian Baseball Championship (most recently in 2019), a bronze medal at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, and a silver medal at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. It won the gold medal at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha in a sweeping victory by beating South Korea, Thailand, China, Philippines, and finally all-time rival Japan. It achieved eighth place in the 2013 World Baseball Classic, fifth place in the 12-team 2019 WBSC Premier12, and first place in the 2024 WBSC Premier12.

In 1954, when the team first participated in the Asian Baseball Championship, it competed under the name of United Team of Taiwan.^{[citation needed]} Since the expulsion of the Republic of China from the United Nations in 1971, the National Baseball Team of the Republic of China has competed internationally under the name Chinese Taipei, due to diplomatic pressure from the People's Republic of China which follows a One China Policy. Within Taiwan, the team is referred to as either 中華隊 (hanyu pinyin: Zhōnghuá Duì; literally, Chinese team) or 台灣隊 (hanyu pinyin: Táiwān Duì; literally, team Taiwan ).

The following is a list of professional baseball match results currently active in the latest version of the WBSC World Rankings, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.^[3]

Legend

  Win   Lose   Void or postponed   Fixture

Asian Championship GS	October 14	Hong Kong	2–17 (F/5)	Chinese Taipei	Taichung Stadium, Taiwan
	18:30 NST		Boxscore		Attendance: 889

Asian Championship GS	October 15	Japan	2–0	Chinese Taipei	Douliu Stadium, Taiwan
	18:30 NST		Boxscore		Attendance: 0

Asian Championship GS	October 16	Chinese Taipei	17–0 (F/5)	Sri Lanka	Douliu Stadium, Taiwan
	18:30 NST		Boxscore		Attendance: 765

Asian Championship SR	October 18	South Korea	1–7	Chinese Taipei	Taichung Stadium, Taiwan
	18:30 NST		Boxscore		Attendance: 1,250

Asian Championship SR	October 19	Chinese Taipei	10–2	China	Taichung Stadium, Taiwan
	18:30 NST		Boxscore		Attendance: 0

Asian Championship F	October 20	Chinese Taipei	5–4	Japan	Taichung Stadium, Taiwan
	18:30 NST		Boxscore		Attendance: 0

WBSC Premier12 GS	November 5	Puerto Rico	1–6	Chinese Taipei	Taichung Stadium, Taiwan
	18:30 NST		Boxscore		Attendance: 11,852

WBSC Premier12 GS	November 6	Chinese Taipei	3–0	Venezuela	Taichung Stadium, Taiwan
	18:30 NST		Boxscore		Attendance: 10,983

WBSC Premier12 GS	November 7	Japan	8–1	Chinese Taipei	Taichung Stadium, Taiwan
	18:30 NST		Boxscore		Attendance: 20,465

WBSC Premier12 SR	November 11	Chinese Taipei	0–2	Mexico	ZOZO Marine Stadium, Japan
	12:00 JT		Boxscore		Attendance: 2,803

WBSC Premier12 SR	November 12	Chinese Taipei	7–0	South Korea	ZOZO Marine Stadium, Japan
	19:00 JT		Boxscore		Attendance: 4,056

WBSC Premier12 SR	November 15	Chinese Taipei	2–3	United States	Tokyo Dome, Japan
	12:00 JT		Boxscore		Attendance: 4,967

WBSC Premier12 SR	November 16	Australia	1–5	Chinese Taipei	Tokyo Dome, Japan
	12:00 JT		Boxscore		Attendance: 7,299

World Baseball Classic GS	March 8	Panama	12–5	Chinese Taipei	Taichung Stadium, Taiwan
	19:00 NST	WP: Randall Delgado (1–0)	Boxscore	LP: Chih-Wei Hu (0–1) HR: Nien-Ting Wu (1)	Attendance: 15,540 Umpires: HP – Roberto Ortiz, 1B – Trent Thomas, 2B – Chris Segal, 3B – Ki Talk Park

World Baseball Classic GS	March 10	Italy	7–11	Chinese Taipei	Taichung Stadium, Taiwan
	19:00 NST	LP: Stephen Woods Jr. (0–1)	Boxscore	WP: Yen-Ching Lu (1–0) Sv: Chia-Hao Sung (1) HR: Tzu-Wei Lin (1), Yu Chang (1), Kungkuan Giljegiljaw (1)	Attendance: 18,799 Umpires: HP – Chris Segal, 1B – Nic Lentz, 2B – Shoji Arisumi, 3B – Ki Talk Park

World Baseball Classic GS	March 11	Netherlands	5–9	Chinese Taipei	Taichung Stadium, Taiwan
	19:00 NST	LP: Lars Huijer (0–1) HR: Ray-Patrick Didder (1)	Boxscore	WP: Tzu-Peng Huang (1–0) Sv: Chia-Hao Sung (2) HR: Yu Chang (2)	Attendance: 18,826 Umpires: HP – Mark Carlson, 1B – Ki Talk Park, 2B – Dan Iassogna, 3B – Serge Makouchetev

World Baseball Classic GS	March 12	Chinese Taipei	1–7	Cuba	Taichung Stadium, Taiwan
	12:00 NST	LP: Shih-Peng Chen (0–1)	Boxscore	WP: Elian Leyva (1–0) HR: Erisbel Arruebarrena (1), Yoán Moncada (1)	Attendance: 18,852 Umpires: HP – Nic Lentz, 1B – Ki Talk Park, 2B – Larry Vanover, 3B – Shoji Arisumi

Chinese Taipei roster
Active roster				Coaches/Other
Pitchers 12 Chen Yun-Wen (baseball) [zh] 15 Jyu Jyun-Shan [zh] 16 Jyan Chen-Yen [zh] 19 Cheng Kai-wen 21 Yu-Hsun Chen [zh] 37 Chu Hao-Jyun [zh] 45 Si Tzu-Chen [zh] 69 Huang Tzu-Pong [zh] 77 wu Cheng-Che [zh]		Catchers 11 Hung-Yu Lin 26 Huang Jyung-Shong [zh] 31 Ling Young-Lang [zh] Infielders  5 Fu-Lin Kuo [zh]  7 Kuo Yong-Wei [zh]  9 Oh Wei-Chung [zh] 14 Wang Seng-wei 17 Lin Tzu-Wei 29 Chen Chun-Hsiu [zh] 36 Yu Te-Lung [zh] 51 Yu Meng-Kui [zh] 85 Chu Yu-Hsien [zh] Outfielders 10 Chen Zi-Hao [zh] 24 Chen Chieh-Hsien [zh] 55 Pan Wu-hsiung 88 Lang Ing-Lung [zh]		Manager 53 Huang Kan-lin Coaches 76 Lin Ming-hsien 75 Chin-Her Chuan [zh] 81 Cheng Po-jen 34 Lin Cheng-feng 22 Lau Ka-ho (baseball) [zh] 92 Lau Yui-chun [zh]

WBSC Premier12								Qualification
Year	Round	Position	W	L	RS	RA		WBSC World Rankings
2015	Group stage	9th	2	3	27	25		4th
2019	Super Round	5th	4	3	24	15		4th
2024	Final	1st	6	3	40	23		5th
Total	Final	3/3	12	9	91	63		4th

Team Chinese Taipei came in ninth in the 2015 WBSC Premier12 Tournament.

Team Chinese Taipei came in fifth in the 12-team 2019 WBSC Premier12 Tournament, in November 2019.^[4]

Team Chinese Taipei won the 12-team 2024 WBSC Premier12 Tournament, ending Japan's 27 winning streak in international tournaments.^[5][6] This is the first time the team has won international tournaments.^[7]

World Baseball Classic record								Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	W	L	RS	RA		W	L	RS	RA
2006	Round 1	12th	1	2	15	19		No qualifiers held
2009	Round 1	15th	0	2	1	13		No qualifiers held
2013	Round 2	8th	2	3	17	25		3	0	35	0
2017	Round 1	14th	0	3	20	32		Automatically qualified
2023	Round 1	17th	2	2	26	31		Automatically qualified
Total	Round 2	5/5	5	12	79	120		3	0	35	0

Chinese Taipei participated in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. The squad included players from Major League Baseball. During the Classic, the team played in Pool A but ended up being the third place and did not advance. Their only victory was a 12–3 win over China.

Chinese Taipei participated in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. The squad included players from Major League Baseball. During the Classic, the team played in Pool A against the same teams as in 2006. After losses to South Korea and China, Chinese Taipei was eliminated from the tournament, finishing in 14th place.

Chinese Taipei roster
Players				Coaches
Pitchers 17 Chen Hung-wen 47 Chen Kuan-yu 33 Chen Ping-hsueh 34 Chen Yun-wen 30 Chiang Shao-ching 56 Huang Sheng-hsiung 75 Kuo Chun-lin 48 Lai Hung-cheng 16 Lin Chen-hua 37 Lo Ko-hua 21 Lu Yen-ching 36 Ni Fu-te 18 Pan Wei-lun 43 Sung Chia-Hao 19 Tsai Ming-chin 70 Wang Cheng-hao 40 Wang Chien-ming 41 Wang Ching-Ming 22 Wang Wei-chung 71 Wu Chun-chieh 46 Yang Chien-fu		Catchers 77 Cheng Da-hong 20 Lin Kun-sheng Infielders 13 Chen Yung-chi 11 Chiang Chih-hsien 74 Hsu Chi-hung 69 Lin Chih-hsiang  1 Lin Chih-sheng  9 Lin Yi-chuan 14 Wang Sheng-wei Outfielders 59 Chang Cheng-wei  7 Chang Chih-hao 15 Hu Chin-lung 28 Kao Kuo-hui 24 Lin Che-hsuan  8 Luo Kuo-long		Manager 88 Kuo Tai-yuan Coaches Fu-Lien Wu 12 Chin-Chih Huang 27 Chun-Chang Yeh 52 Chin-Feng Chen 87 Lien-hung Chen 79 An-Hsi Lee

Taiwan faced Israel, the Netherlands, and South Korea in the 2017 World Baseball Classic.^[8] The Chinese Taipei team lost all three games it played and was eliminated in the first round.

Chinese Taipei participated in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. The squad faced Cuba, the Netherlands, Italy and Panama. The Chinese Taipei team win over the Netherlands and Italy, lose to Panama and Cuba. Since all teams in Pool A finished with a 2–2 record, based on tiebreaker rule, Chinese Taipei placed 5th in the pool^[9] and was eliminated in the first round.

Chinese Taipei was required to participate in the WBC 2013 Qualification as they were eliminated early in the game with 0 wins, along with Canada, Spain and Panama. Chinese Taipei was grouped in Qualifier 4 with other teams invited, Thailand, Philippines and New Zealand. Chinese Taipei defeated New Zealand in the first round with a 10–0 win. It then crushed Philippines 16–0. In the Qualifier Round, it met New Zealand again, this time beating the team 9–0 to gain entry into the WBC 2013, where the team was grouped with South Korea, the Netherlands and Australia. The team did not lose any points in the qualification.

Chinese Taipei participated in the 2009 Baseball World Cup, which occurred between September 9 and September 27, 2009. The team went 1–2 in the first round, losing to Mexico and Australia, but winning against Czech Republic. Chinese Taipei entered the second round as a wild card. Chinese Taipei went 5–2 in the second round, pulling off victories against Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Australia, and Mexico. The team qualified easily for the final round, but finished in 8th place, going 1–6 and losing the game for a 7th place title.

The team's first appearance at the Intercontinental Cup was in 1973. Since then, the team has won two bronze medals, one in 1983 in Belgium and one in 2006 in Taiwan. Taiwan did not participate in the 1975, 1979, 1981, 1993 and 1997 Intercontinental Cups. It is currently ranked 7th in the Medal Winner Ranking.^[10] Cuba, Japan, Nicaragua and the United States remain Taiwan's four biggest rivals in the Intercontinental Cup.

As the host of the recent 2006 Intercontinental Cup, Taiwan won its second bronze medal after beating Japan in the 2006 Intercontinental Cup final 4–0.

Summer Olympics record								Qualification
Year	Round	Position	W	L	RS	RA
1992	Finals	2nd	6	3	67	34		1991 Asian Baseball Championship
1996	did not qualify							1995 Asian Baseball Championship
2000	did not qualify							1999 Asian Baseball Championship
2004	Preliminary	5th	3	4	23	28		2003 Asian Baseball Championship
2008	Preliminary	5th	2	5	29	33		2007 Asian Baseball Championship Final Qualifying Tournament
2021	did not qualify (withdraw from final qualifying tournament due to COVID-19)							2019 Asian Baseball Championship
Total	3/6		11	12	119	95

On 26 July 1992 and the following ten days, Chinese Taipei competed against seven other national teams from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Italy, Japan, Puerto Rico, Spain and the United States at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. The teams played each other seven rounds and the top four on the table advance to finals. Chinese Taipei eventually advanced to the finals, beating Japan 5–2 in the semi-finals. It struggled in the final against Cuba, suffering an enormous defeat. The score was 1–11. Nonetheless, it won a silver medal, which is the best result it has achieved so far in the Olympics.

Game Summary

26 July 1992 - Round 1, Chinese Taipei defeated Italy 8–2.

27 July 1992 - Round 2, Chinese Taipei lost by one run to the United States. The final score 9–10.

28 July 1992 - Round 3, Chinese Taipei sought its second victory over the Puerto Ricans. The score was 10–1.

29 July 1992 - Round 4, Chinese Taipei dominated the Spanish. The final score was 20–0.

31 July 1992 - Round 5, Chinese Taipei beat the Dominican Republic eleven to nothing.

1 August 1992 - Round 6, Chinese Taipei faced one of its two main rivals from Asia - Japan. It acquired its fifth victory by beating Japan 2–0

2 August 1992 - Round 7, in the final round, Chinese Taipei suffered another defeat to the Cubans. This time Chinese Taipei scored only one run. The score was 1–8.

4 August 1992 - Semi-final, Chinese Taipei defeated Japan 5–2 and would play against Cuba in the final.

5 August 1992 - Final, Chinese Taipei was defeated by Cuba. Final score 1–11.

Chinese Taipei qualified for the 2004 Olympics by finishing 2nd in the Asian Baseball Championship. The team ended up finishing 5th in the tournament.

The team qualified for the 2008 Olympics by finishing 3rd place in the Final Qualifying Tournament.

On August 15, Chinese Taipei lost to China for the first time in an international baseball event. However, it had been suspected by DPP legislators that Beijing set up the schedule unfair to Chinese Taipei. Chinese Taipei was scheduled to play the latest game the day before. It was estimated that the players could only get three hours of sleep.^[11] This allegation was rebuked by the governing party KMT as playing politics over baseball games as well as by the International Olympic Committee as common scheduling practice. The IOC further gave examples of other games being scheduled in a similar matter

The team finished 5th in the tournament.

Chinese Taipei has twice finished in first place, 10 times in second place and 10 times in third. The team competed again in the 2007 Asian Baseball Championship which was held in Taiwan.

In the 2009 Championship, Chinese Taipei sought their revenge against their humiliating defeat by China at the 2008 Beijing Olympics with an obliterating win of 13–1, crushing the Mainland Chinese baseball team. They proceeded on to the finals against their old time rival Japan. Japan won the match and took the title with a narrow score of 6–5, putting Chinese Taipei in second place. In the final round of the tournament, Chinese Taipei defeated 2008 Olympic baseball champions South Korea with a 5–4 victory. Their next match was played against China, whom they lost to for the first time in history at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Chinese Taipei would end up with a 13–1 victory in 7 innings (game ended due to mercy rule) over China. The team would then play a final decisive game against their long-time rival Japan. The Japanese team won 6-5 and took the championship title, having gone 3–0 in the final round. Chinese Taipei would finish as the runner-up, with 2 wins and 1 loss in the last round of the tournament.

In the 2009 Championship, Chinese Taipei recorded a 2–1 record in pool play to advance to the "Super Round". They had a 4–1 record in the Super Round to advance to the championship game. Facing Japan in the championship game, Chinese Taipei prevailed, 5–4, taking the title and earning a spot in the Olympic Final Qualifying Tournament for the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Chinese Taipei has not missed any of the Asian Games since its first appearance in 1990 in Beijing. In Beijing, it finished in first place, however, it was a demonstration sport thus it did not receive any medals. Its second appearance was in 1994 where it finished in third place. In 1998, it again finished in third place. Chinese Taipei lost to South Korea in 2002 in Pusan, South Korea and hence finished in second. It was by far its best result. At the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar, a game-winning walk off hit by Lin Chih-sheng helped to win its first Asian Games baseball gold. The team received seventy million New Taiwan Dollar from the Republic of China (ROC)/Taiwan government for their excellent achievement in Doha. They have finished in second place at the 2010 Asian games being beaten by South Korea 7–6 in the final.^[12]

Before 1984		1984 to 1999
Away	Home	Away	Home
1999 to 2003		2003 to 2012
Away	Home	Away	Home
2012 to 2016, 2018 to present		2017 World Baseball Classic		2017 APBC
Away	Home	Away	Home	Away	Home

• Asian Baseball Championship
  • Gold: 1983 (Together with Japan and South Korea), 1987, 1989 (Together with Japan and South Korea), 2001, 2019
  • Silver: 1955, 1969, 1985 (Together with South Korea), 2003, 2005, 2009, 2012, 2015
  • Bronze: 1959, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999
  • 4th: 1954, 1975
  • 5th: 1971
• Asian Games
  • Gold: 1990 (Demonstration sport), 2006
  • Silver: 2002, 2010
  • Bronze: 1994, 1998
• Intercontinental Cup
  • Bronze: 2006
• Baseball World Cup
  • Silver: 1984
  • Bronze: 1986, 1988, 2001
  • 4th: 1982, 2003
  • 5th: 1973

• Largest win — 30 - 0 India , (Japan, 26 August 1987)
• Worst defeat — 3 - 20 the Netherlands , (Belgium, 15 July 1983)

• Chinese Taipei women's national baseball team
• Chinese Taipei Baseball Association
• Asian Baseball Championship
• Chinese Professional Baseball League
• Taiwan Series
• World Baseball Classic
• One-China policy
• Cross-Straits relations

• Chinese Taipei Baseball Association Official Website
• The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games
• Taiwan Culture Portal: The pride and sorrow of Taiwan adult national baseball teams (in English)