The Chinese Taipei Baseball Association has high expectations heading into 2025, particularly after shutting out No. 1-ranked Japan in the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier12 Championship Game at the Tokyo Dome on Nov. 24, 2024. Their 4-0 victory ended Japan’s 27-game international tournament winning streak and strengthened Chinese Taipei’s bid to qualify for the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
In the 2024 Premier12 tournament championship game, Chinese Taipei’s pitching held firm, with starting pitcher Yu-Min Lin throwing four innings, allowing one hit, no earned runs, two walks, and three strikeouts. Relief pitchers Yi Chang, Kuan-Yu Chen, and Kai-Wei Lin combined for five innings, allowing four hits, two walks, and striking out eight batters against Japan on Nov. 24.
Chinese Taipei’s offense took control in the fourth inning when Chia-Cheng Lin launched a solo home run over the right-center field wall. Moments later, Chieh-Hsien Chen crushed a three-run homer to right field, helping secure the team’s first international tournament championship with professional players under manager Hao-Jiu Tseng.
Lin held his composure in the bottom of the ninth inning, inducing Japan’s Ryoya Kurihara to line into a double play to first baseman Yu-Hsien Chu, who stepped on the bag to double off Shota Morishita. The dugout erupted in celebration as Chinese Taipei clinched its first intercontinental tournament title on Nov. 24, 2024
Chinese Taipei Premier12 2024 presented by RAXUS Champions! #Premier12 || @Premier12 pic.twitter.com/0UhqYQp1VY
— WBSC ⚾???? (@WBSC) November 24, 2024
“It was very difficult to stop Japan’s 27-game winning streak. We know they are strong and to us, we always say we want to get close to their level, but this time, we actually won. So that shows we are getting closer. But Japan is still a very strong team, so we need to work hard to get even stronger so we can remain close to them,” Hao-Jiu Tseng said during the postgame press conference after the gold medal game.
Prior to winning the 2024 Premier12, Chinese Taipei’s last gold medal in an international senior tournament came in the 2006 Asian Games, where they finished ahead of silver medalist Japan. That year’s competition did not include a playoff format.
They have also claimed five gold medals at the Asian Baseball Championship, winning in 1983, 1987, 1989, 2001, and 2019.
Many Taiwanese players model their game after Japanese baseball, given the sport’s deep influence in the region.
Since Chin-Feng Chen’s debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sept. 14, 2002, 17 players from Taiwan have reached Major League Baseball.
Taiwan has also produced 32 players who have competed in Nippon Professional Baseball, with many facing Japan in international tournaments across multiple age groups.
Japanese media and fans largely viewed Japan’s Premier12 performance as a disappointment after being shut out in the championship game.
Chinese Taipei has a strong roster for the 2025 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers, featuring several key players from the Premier12 championship team, including Chieh-Hsien Chen.
On Feb. 4, World Baseball Classic Inc. announced Chinese Taipei’s official roster for the 2025 WBC Qualifiers.
Chinese Taipei's roster for the 2025 #WorldBaseballClassic Qualifiers: pic.twitter.com/OlZFOX0dyP
— World Baseball Classic (@WBCBaseball) February 3, 2025
With hopes of qualifying for the 2026 World Baseball Classic, Chinese Taipei will host the 2025 WBC Qualifiers at the Taipei Dome in Xinyi, Taipei, from Feb. 21-25. The team will compete against South Africa, Spain, and Nicaragua.
The 2024 Premier12 roster featured a mix of domestic talent from the Chinese Professional Baseball League and players from Nippon Professional Baseball and Major League Baseball. A similar structure is expected for the 2025 WBC Qualifiers under manager Hao-Jiu Tseng.
Chinese Taipei’s 2025 WBCQ coaching staff includes Cheng-Min Peng as the hitting coach, Chien-Min Ping as the first base coach, Chiang-Ho Chen as the third base coach, Chih-Kang Kao as the bench coach, and Yueh-Ping Lin as an added coach.
Taiwanese media have not confirmed whether former MLB pitcher Chien-Ming Wang will return as Chinese Taipei’s pitching coach for the 2025 WBC Qualifiers after leading the staff to victory at the 2024 Premier12.
The Chinese Taipei official roster for the 2025 WBCQ is located on MLB.com.
News and updates on the Chinese Taipei national team are available on the CPBL’s official website, as well as their Instagram and Facebook pages.
Chinese Taipei won the Formosa Series, sweeping the two-game exhibition series against the Korean Baseball Organization’s Lotte Giants at the Taipei Dome. They secured a 4-3 victory on Feb. 12 and followed up with a 7-3 win in Game Two on Feb. 13.
Ranked No. 2 in the World Baseball Softball Confederation rankings, Chinese Taipei will compete in the 2025 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers at the Taipei Dome from Feb. 21-25, facing No. 24 Spain, No. 16 Nicaragua, and No. 31 South Africa with hopes of securing a spot in the 2026 tournament. Rankings published by the WBSC.
Chinese Taipei did not qualify for the 2026 WBC, even though they ended up with the same record as Panama, Italy, Cuba, and the Netherlands at 2-2. The team was eliminated due to the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s (WBSC) Team Quality Balance run differential rule.
Chinese Taipei will have to compete at a high level once they take the field at the Taipei Dome to open up the first day of the WBCQ on February 21. They will face a Spain team that will have players mostly from all over Latin America that have played in the minor leagues in the United States, the División de Honor de Béisbol league, which is organized by the Real Federación Española de Béisbol y Sófbol, and players that have played this past winter league season outside of free agents.
Chinese Taipei went 1-2 in the first WBC in 2006 and did not qualify for the second round. They finished 0-2 in Pool A of the 2009 WBC, suffering losses to China and South Korea.
In 2013, Chinese Taipei had to qualify for the tournament and did so convincingly, defeating New Zealand 10-0, the Philippines 16-0, and New Zealand again 9-0 in the final qualifier game at Xinzhuang Baseball Stadium in Xinzhuang, New Taipei, Taiwan.
Chinese Taipei went 2-1 in Pool B of the 2013 WBC at Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium in Taichung, Taiwan and ended tied in first place with South Korea and the Netherlands. However, they were eliminated in the double-elimination Pool 1 second round, losing to Japan 4-3 and Cuba 14-0.
At the 2017 WBC in Pool B at Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium, Chinese Taipei went winless at 0-3 and finished in last place against Israel, South Korea, and the Netherlands.
The 2025 WBCQ and a potential berth in the main tournament will be critical in shaping the future of Chinese Taipei’s baseball program, with many players aiming to make their mark in Major League Baseball or solidify their careers in the Chinese Professional Baseball League.
Chinese Taipei will open up on home soil at the Taipei Dome on February 21 against No. 24 ranked Spain at 6 a.m. EST.
International Baseball Researcher Jeff Duda reported on February 10, that Chinese Taipei’s starting rotation in the WBCQ will be Tzu-Chen Sha, Jo-Hsi Hsu, Po-Yu Chen, and Chen Zhong-Ao Zhuan reported by Yi-Gen Wang of NOWNews on Feb. 10.