The 37th International Baseball Federation (IBAF) World Cup commences today with Taiwan taking on Italy at 6pm in Tianmu. Coach Kuo Tai-yuan has hinted that the starting pitcher will likely be selected from Lin En-yu, Lin Ying-chieh or Hsu Ming-chieh.
As for the batters, Chen Chin-feng is the only certain starter.
Yesterday coaches from 16 participating countries attended a pre-tournament press conference at the Howard Hotel in Taipei. Guests included IBAF president Harvey Schiller, Chinese Taipei Baseball Association president Huang Wen-chung and Taipei Deputy Mayor Samuel Wu.
PHOTO: PAN SHAO-TANG, TAIPEI TIMES
Huang said Taiwanese fans will not miss out on the opportunity to cheer on their team as the nation plays host to the Baseball World Cup again after six years.
He also said that the event will increase the international visibility of Taiwan's enthusiasm for sport and capacity to hold a prestigious sporting event.
Mat Galante, head coach of the Italian team, said that his starting pitcher will be either Anthony Fiore or Junior Oberto. As Fiore played for the La New Bears in the Chinese Professional Baseball League last year, Galante hopes that he will be familiar to Taiwanese fans.
Teams at the tournament are divided into two groups of seven. Group A consists of Taiwan, Italy, Spain, Panama, South Africa, Japan, Mexico, and the US while Group B includes Cuba, Australia, the Netherlands, Thailand, South Korea, Canada, Germany, and Venezuela.
Group A games are scheduled in Taichung whereas group B games will take place in the Taipei area.
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