The first-ever Asia Professional Baseball Exchange Series, featuring three teams from CPBL, NPB, and KBO, was held in Taoyuan, Taiwan, as the CPBL 2025 Taiwan Series winner, Rakuten Monkeys, took on their Japanese counterpart, Rakuten Golden Eagles, and KBO’s KT Wiz from Korea.

Hosted by the Taoyuan City Government, the three teams from the CPBL, NPB, and KBO gathered at Taoyuan Rakuten Baseball Stadium to play from 7-9 November, showcasing diverse playing styles and baseball cultures to fans in Taiwan as the Rakuten Monkeys claimed two wins, with Japan’s Rakuten Golden Eagles and KT Wiz from Korea recording a draw and a loss.

Hajime Miki managed the Golden Eagles, leading the team to a 67-74 (.475) record in 2025, while KT Wiz manager Kang-Chul Lee finished the season with a 71-68 (.511) record. Lee previously led Wiz to the Korea Series title in 2021.

The Taiwan Series 2025 winner Rakuten Monkeys were led by Kenji Furukubo, whose 62-51 (.521) qualified for the third spot of the postseason before the Monkeys defeated the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions (first half-season winner) and CTBC Brothers (Taiwan Series winner 2024), in playoff series and Taiwan Series, respectively, and won the Taiwan Series for the first time since Rakuten took over the ownership of the club.

Game 1: Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles 1-1 KT Wiz

The first game of the series featured teams from NPB and KBO, and the game between the Golden Eagles and Wiz also marked the first time major-level teams from NPB and KBO had played head-to-head in Taiwan since the Asia Series 2011, when the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks defeated the Samsung Lions, 9-0, in the Preliminary Round, before the Lions defeated the Hawks, 5-3, in the final to win the first Asia Series title.

The Golden Eagles sent Kosei Koga (5-5, 4.31 in minor league) to the mound to face Cha Hyeon Han (6-5, 4.15) from KT Wiz. Both starters dominated and held their opponents scoreless through the first three innings before Golden Eagles’ Soshi Yoshino drove in the first run of the game in the fourth.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Wiz managed to have runners on base before Gang Min Lee took the plate, and the Golden Eagles’ defensive error allowed the Wiz to score the tying run.

The Golden Eagles once loaded the bases with no outs in the sixth, but Wiz reliever Yong Ju Jeon managed to hold on and allowed no runs to be scored. The Golden Eagles and Wiz played nine innings, and the game ended with a 1-1 tie.

Wiz manager Kang-Chul Lee praised both pitching staff for pitching a solid game, and Golden Eagles manager Hajime Miki also gave recognition to his Taiwanese player Po Hsiang Yang for his performance on the field.

Koga was named MVP of the game for his five shutout innings against Wiz.

Game 2: Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles 1-3 Rakuten Monkeys

The second game featured the 2025 Taiwan Series champion, the Rakuten Monkeys, and the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles from Japan. The Golden Eagles started Seiya Ohuchi (3-4, 4.26 in minor league) to face the Rakuten Monkeys’ Tzu-Wei Lin (1-3, 3.38).

The Golden Eagles started their offence right from the first inning as Hiroto Kobukata led off with a double and subsequently scored a run to give the Golden Eagles a 1-0 lead.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Monkeys scored the tying run on Chao-Hung Chang’s double to even the score before another two runs were scored on Chang’s double in the seventh to give the Monkeys a 3-1 lead en route to victory.

Monkey’s manager Furukubo gave high regard to the performance of the pitching staff: “Our pitchers did not issue any walks tonight.” Golden Eagles manager Miki also praised his Taiwanese pitcher Chia-Hao Sung: “His dominance on the mound provided our team with a sense of stability.”

Chao-Hung Chang was named MVP of the game for both his doubles and driving in all the runs for the Monkeys.

Game 3: KT Wiz 3-6 Rakuten Monkeys

The rubber game of the Exchange Series saw KBO’s KT Wiz taking on CPBL’s Rakuten Monkeys as Chia-Hui Tseng took the mound for the Monkeys and Dong Hyun Kim was sent to start the game.

The Wiz scored the first run of the game in the second inning and added another run in the fourth for a 2-0 lead. The Monkeys scored one run in the fourth to make it a one-run game before Chao-Hung Chang belted a two-run home run in the fifth to take the lead, 3-2.

In the top of the sixth, Wiz tied the game on a throwing error, but the Monkeys’ Tzu-Chieh Liu’s two-run home run helped his team to retake the lead in the bottom of the same inning. The Monkeys held on to the lead before adding another run in the eighth to defeat Wiz, 6-3.

Tzu-Chieh Liu was named MVP of the game.

Lady Wiz, Tohoku Golden Angels, and Rakuten Girls

In addition to presenting the fans with different playing styles from NPB, KBO, and CPBL on the field, the clubs participating in the Exchange Series also brought their own cheering squad to Taiwan to perform for the fans.

Six members from “Lady Wiz”, including Hae-Ri Kim, who choreographed the famous KT Wiz Strikeout Dance, came to Taiwan, while the four members of the “Tohoku Golden Angels” were introduced to the fans. As hosts, the “Rakuten Girls” sent their 11 members to entertain the crowds during the three-game series.

Over 22,00 fans came to Rakuten Taoyuan Baseball Stadium over the three-game weekend series.

Photo: Care of Rakuten Monkeys