Taiwanese baseball makes a leap forward with Premier12 victory - a new rivalry is forged between Japan and Taiwan

There is a Japanese person living in Taiwan who has been watching Taiwanese baseball for over 20 years and has continued to share information about it with Japan. We look back on his journey while speaking with Hide Komada, a radio personality for a Taiwanese broadcasting station and also a writer.

The final match in which they achieved a resounding 4-0 victory over Samurai Japan.

This was a historic victory for Taiwan. It was their first win in an international tournament, including professional teams. In the previous two rounds of this tournament, Japan had defeated Taiwan twice before the final.

The countries that ended up in the same group as Japan in the opening round aimed to avoid a direct match against Japan, the strongest contender for first place, and instead aimed to advance in second place. Taiwan, which advanced from Group B in second place with a record of 4 wins and 1 loss, was scheduled to face Japan in the final match of the Super Round. However, on that day, the United States defeated Venezuela, and Taiwan's advancement to the final was confirmed without having to wait for the match against Japan. As a result, Taiwan paid a fine to change the starting player from the announced Lin Yu-min and replaced him with Chen Po-ching.

Chen Po-ching (Source: Getty Images)

In the final, their third encounter, Japan's starting pitcher was Shohei Togo, while Taiwan fielded their long-awaited 21-year-old ace, Lin Yu-min. The left-hander, who played in the Diamondbacks' Double-A affiliate and had also pitched in Triple-A, stepped onto the grand stage for the decisive battle.

Lin Yu-min, whose flamboyant tattoos on both arms have become a topic of conversation, used his powerful fastball and slider to his advantage, and his moderately wild pitches prevented the Japanese batters from getting consecutive hits. Togo also pitched well, resulting in a pitching duel, but in the top of the 5th inning, Lin Chia-cheng hit a solo home run to give Taiwan the lead, and then with one out and runners on first and second base, captain Chen Chieh-hsien hit a priceless three-run home run to seal the game. Japan's Sumida Tomoichiro, Fujihira Shoma, and Taisei also pitched well, but their offense was unable to score against Taiwan's relief pitchers.

Chen Chieh-hsien (Source: Getty Images)

Following Lin Yumin, Zhang Yi and Chen Guanyu pitched scoreless relief. Lin Kai-wei then took the mound as closer, securing a dramatic 4-0 shutout victory.

Numerous withdrawals from both Japan and Taiwan as representatives; pre-war predictions were

The Premier12 tournament took place after the end of the season, and the Samurai Japan team saw a number of players withdraw due to injuries. In addition to Munetaka Murakami and Kensuke Kondo being absent, Kazuma Okamoto, Hiroshi Ito, Naoki Yoshikawa, and Masanori Manami also withdrew.

Taiwan also saw a series of withdrawals. Komada Hide, mentioned earlier, says:

"The pre-war predictions from Taiwanese media, experts, and fans alike all suggested that it would be 'quite difficult.'"

Many top players, including former Major Leaguer Chang Chuan, top pitcher Gu Lin Rui Yang, and Phillies Double-A affiliate Pan Wen Hui, declined to participate, leaving only Lin Yu Min and Lin Chia Cheng as players based overseas among the 28 members of the Taiwanese national team.

How did the Taiwanese team manage to win the championship?

There isn't just one factor. Komada also reflects, "There are really a lot of points." "One of them is the thorough countermeasures taken by the scorers and analysts."

Thorough data analysis and countermeasures

The Taiwanese team lacks top-class starting pitchers other than their ace, Lin Yu-min, and Huang Tzu-peng, who has a proven track record in international tournaments. In games where these two weren't pitching, they had to rely on relief pitching from the early innings.

"They frequently changed the batting order, but what really stood out was their pitching rotation. Apparently, they were inspired by the MLB World Series. The pitching coach and bullpen coach understood each pitcher's condition and skillfully transitioned them into the best possible performances."

Behind this was a thorough analysis of the opposing team. The scoring team was quite large, with around 20 to 30 members.

"For example, against pitcher Togo in the final, we lined up left-handed batters. He doesn't throw many forkballs in the early counts, so we ignored the forkball and focused on the fastball. Chen Chieh-hsin started with a full count, but he was able to see through the breaking balls and ultimately focused on the fastball for a home run. The data made it easier to narrow down the pitches."

Togo (Source: Getty Images)

The match against South Korea was a crucial one; Captain Chen Chieh-hsien gave the team momentum.

Komada says that Taiwan's key factor was "the first match against South Korea."

"Every team will have their ace pitcher on games other than the one against Japan. Taiwan has home-field advantage at the Taipei Dome, playing South Korea in the first game and the Dominican Republic in the second. The key was how they would win those two games."

His team had imposed a limit of "two games" and "75 pitches" on Lin Yu-min. As a result, he was only scheduled to pitch in the crucial first game against South Korea and the final. In the game against South Korea, Lin Yu-min pitched 4.2 innings, giving up 2 runs. The offense seized the momentum when Chen Chen-wei hit a grand slam in the bottom of the second inning, followed by a two-run homer from Chen Chieh-hsien.

"From August to September, it was clear to everyone that Chen Chieh-hsien was in a slump. He was left out of the starting lineup for the practice games before the tournament. Coach Tseng Hao-ku told Chen Chieh-hsien the day before that he would be batting third. Chen Chieh-hsien was touched by this and responded well."

Captain Chen Chieh-hsien, who is also the team's mood maker, delivered an outstanding performance, giving Taiwan a boost of momentum.

"He's the type of person who thrives and performs at his best when given the opportunity to compete on a big stage. He's truly strong both mentally and physically. Wearing the national team uniform is a source of pride and a huge motivation for him."

They secured a significant victory against their rival South Korea, and then won their next match against the Dominican Republic with Huang Zipeng. The team suddenly became more cohesive, and the victories boosted their morale.

The results of other teams also helped Taiwan advance to the finals.

"Even in the matches we lost, we showed great tenacity. There was a sense that 'this time, Taiwan is different.' The team was very focused and highly motivated."

Shaking off the lingering shadow of "2013" until the very end

However, even as the final match unfolded in Taiwan's favor, the word "2013" repeatedly appeared on social media timelines. Comments included, "We can't relax," and "They might turn the tables again."

What came to the minds of the fans was the Japan vs. Taiwan game in the second round of the 2013 WBC. After a fierce battle lasting 4 hours and 37 minutes, Japan won 4-3. With Taiwan leading by one run, it was Hirokazu Ibata, the current manager of Samurai Japan, who hit the game-tying RBI single in the top of the 9th inning.

Hirokazu Ibata (Source: Getty Images)

Wang Chien-ming, who started that day and held the Japanese lineup scoreless through six innings, is now serving as the pitching coach for the Taiwanese national team. The main members of this tournament belong to a generation that watched the coaches, who were players themselves, on television.

"I think many players started playing baseball after watching that game. 2013 was a particularly tough year for international matches, especially after numerous match-fixing scandals in the CPBL. The people who supported the league during the most difficult times put up a great fight against Japan."

But there's a huge difference between winning and losing. This victory is truly significant for Taiwanese baseball."

This victory will change how people view Taiwan, and it will also increase the significance of the Premier12 tournament. Taiwanese baseball has many players with ties to Japan and is well-liked by Japanese baseball fans, but if they become stronger rivals, it will be a big step forward for baseball as a whole.

"When CBO Hideki Kuriyama came to discuss the contract with Rui Yang Gulin, he congratulated us on our Premier12 victory and said, 'This is a great victory for Taiwanese baseball, but it's also very good for baseball in Japan, Asia, and around the world.' I truly believe that."

Taiwan's "new generation," represented by ace Lin Yu-min

Lin Yumin (Source: Getty Images)

Komada says that "there has been a prodigy among Taiwanese high school students every year" from 2018 to this year. Lin Yumin is one of them.

"He's usually a kind person, but he's very assertive on the mound. Especially since he's been on the national team since U-12, he has a lot of experience in international tournaments despite being only 21 years old."

Aside from his respect for Japanese baseball, he represents a generation that doesn't believe they can't beat Japan.

"I'm quite used to big stages, and to begin with, I've never experienced being beaten badly by Japan or suffering a crushing defeat since I was a child."

In 2014, Taiwan won the U-21 World Cup. Furthermore, in 2018, they defeated Japan in the U-18 Asian Championship, and matches against Japan in the U-18 category have remained close. The current players, in their mid-twenties, have a different mindset when it comes to playing against Japan than before.

While the new generation is mainly heading to the United States and Japan, we hope they will contribute to making Taiwan even stronger in the future.

The future of Asian baseball: Japan and Taiwan to become true friends.

In Taiwan, where international matches are highly valued, the nation celebrated the Premier12 championship victory and showered the winning players with various forms of praise. The excitement of the dramatic victory is still palpable.

Both players and experts agree that they hope to prevent this enthusiasm from being a fleeting trend and instead use it to further promote baseball.

Taiwan has a strong youth baseball program in international tournaments and is ranked second in the world. The domestic CPBL (Chinese Professional Baseball League) also saw record attendance figures during its inaugural year at the Taipei Dome. Many Japanese coaches are involved in the CPBL, contributing significantly to Taiwanese baseball. Both countries, geographically and psychologically close, will undoubtedly continue to be invaluable to each other.

"I believe the ideal friendship is one where you respect each other and give it your all. I would be very happy if that kind of relationship deepened, and it would be a great thing for the baseball communities in both countries."