Taiwan’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) team yesterday set out for friendly games in Miyazaki, Japan, before heading to Tokyo for the WBC pool stage.
Led by 2024 World Baseball Softball Confederation Premier12 Most Valuable Player Chen Chieh-hsien, nicknamed “Captain Taiwan,” the team are to play at Miyazaki’s Sokken Stadium against Nippon Professional Baseball’s Orix Buffaloes tomorrow and against Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks on Tuesday as part of the WBC official exhibition games.
Speaking to reporters before departure, Chen pledged that the team would do their best to reach Miami for the elimination round of the competition.
Photo: CNA
The Taiwanese team are to play on Thursday their first pool stage match against Australia at the Tokyo Dome to compete for one of two spots in the quarter-finals in Miami on March 13.
Taiwan took off from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport six players short of their official 30-man roster.
Six of Taiwan’s overseas-based players joined the team in Miyazaki.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
The six players are all MLB-affiliated, including pitchers Sha Tzu-chen, Zhuang Chen Zhong-ao, and Lin Wei-en, who play in the Athletics, as well as pitcher Lin Yu-min in the Diamondbacks.
The other two players in the MLB system are Cheng Tsung-che of the Boston Red Sox and Lee Hao-yu of the Detroit Tigers.