On Monday, CPBL Stats on X reported that Tseng Hao-Jiu has agreed to serve as manager for Team Chinese Taipei at the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
Under Tseng’s leadership, Chinese Taipei defeated Japan 4-0 in the 2024 WBSC Premier12 championship game. He led his squad to a 6-3 overall record and a first-place finish in the tournament despite Japan going 8-1.
The victory against Japan was one of the most significant moments in Taiwan’s baseball history, but Tseng believes there’s still more work to do to catch up with the No. 1-ranked nation on the WBSC’s world baseball rankings.
“To get closer to Team Japan, that’s what we really wanted to do, but we actually got a win against them,” Tseng told MLB.com’s Michael Clair after the Premier12. “That’s so big. I think we got a little closer. But you know, this one win is not everything. I know they’re a better team, so we need to make more effort, get even closer to the team in Japan, so that we can battle against them like that many more times to come.”
Tseng was also Chinese Taipei’s manager at the 2023 WBC and the 2025 WBC Qualifiers. Taiwan, which goes by Chinese Taipei in sporting events like the Olympics and international baseball tournaments like the WBC and the WBSC Premier12, advanced to the 2026 WBC with wins against South Africa and Spain in February.
All games of the Taipei Qualification Pool in the WBC Qualifiers occurred at the Taipei Dome in Taipei, Taiwan, potentially giving Chinese Taipei a favorable edge regarding home-field advantage.
Chinese Taipei seeks a better overall performance in next year’s WBC after going 2-2 in pool play in 2023 and failing to make the quarterfinals.
They’ll compete in Pool C with Japan, Australia, Korea, and Czechia at the 2026 WBC. The Pool C games will be held from March 5 to 10 at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan.
