Taiwan on Monday announced their final roster for next month’s World Baseball Classic (WBC), with general manager Lin Yueh-ping saying it was tough to leave some players off the team.
Pool A of the WBC start competing on March 8 in Taichung, with New York Yankees legend Mariano Rivera to throw the opening pitch
Speaking after a news conference announcing the 30-man squad, Lin said that he felt sorry for the five players from the CPBL who trained with the team from Jan. 29, but were not selected.
Photo: CNA
“It’s extremely tough for players to accept not being chosen after participating in training. I can fully relate with how they feel,” said Lin, the CPBL record holder for most saves, adding that the decision “does not mean they are not good enough.”
He said his most difficult decision was not selecting right fielder Lin An-ko of the Uni-President Lions, where Lin Yueh-ping has been general manager since 2020.
“The concern was that I plan to start Lin Tzu-wei in right field, which means Lin An-ko would only be a pinch hitter,” he said.
Lin Tzu-wei, 28, played in the MLB for five seasons from 2017-2021, mainly playing second and third base, and occasionally the outfield.
The announcement came two days after pitching standout Chang Yi was forced to withdraw from the national team after being diagnosed with shoulder bursitis during spring training with Japan’s Saitama Seibu Lions.
Taiwan’s WBC roster of 14 pitchers, three catchers, eight infielders and five outfielders includes star former MLB player Yu Chang and CTBC Brothers’ third baseman Wang Wei-chen as captain.
“We have all the best talent in Taiwan in terms of their experience and the stages their careers are at,” Lin Yueh-ping said.
He has not yet finalized the starting lineup, he said, adding that he is still watching how players interact and perform in training.
“We are not afraid, we will work harder and we will keep striving to win, to get to face Japan and the US,” Wang, 31, said.
Taiwan and Cuba are to play a series of warm-up games against CPBL teams at Xinzhuang Baseball Stadium in New Taipei City from Feb. 25 to Feb. 28, while official WBC warm-up games are to be held at Douliou Baseball Stadium in Yunlin County on March 5 and March 6.
Tickets can be purchased through tixCraft’s Web site.
Taiwan is in Pool A with Cuba, Italy, the Netherlands and Panama. Pool B in Tokyo consists of Australia, China, the Czech Republic, Japan and South Korea. The top two teams of the pools advance to the quarter-finals in Tokyo on March 15 and 16.
Canada, Colombia, Mexico, the UK and the US are competing in Pool C in Phoenix, Arizona, while the Dominican Republic, Israel, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico and Venezuela are playing in Pool D in Miami, Florida.
US national team star Folarin Balogun was among the scorers as AS Monaco on Friday won 3-1 at Paris Saint-Germain, dealing a blow to the side from the French capital before they face Chelsea in a crunch UEFA Champions League round-of-16 tie. Maghnes Akliouche gave Monaco a first-half lead at the Parc des Princes, and Aleksandr Golovin doubled their advantage early in the second half of the French Ligue 1 clash. Bradley Barcola pulled one back for the reigning European champions, but Balogun struck shortly after with a fifth goal in his last five games as Monaco claimed a precious
Teenage star Lamine Yamal’s superbly-taken goal on Saturday earned Barcelona a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao in Spanish La Liga. The champions restored their four-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid, who had on Friday temporarily closed the gap by beating Celta Vigo. Atletico Madrid tightened their grip on third with an entertaining 3-2 win over Real Sociedad. Yamal, 18, curled into the top corner after 68 minutes to split the sides at Athletic’s San Mames stadium. “We’re already seeing what Lamine can do — he puts it right in the top corner, and there’s nothing the keeper can do,” Barca
Liverpool on Tuesday suffered an embarrassing 2-1 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers as Andre’s stoppage-time strike sealed a dramatic victory for the English Premier League’s bottom club. Arne Slot’s side fell behind to Rodrigo Gomes’ strike in the closing stages at Molineux. Mohamed Salah hauled Liverpool level with his first goal in 11 top-flight games dating back to November last year. However, Andre’s first goal for Wolves inflicted the latest humbling loss in a chastening season for Liverpool. It was the first time the Premier League’s bottom club had beaten the reigning champions since Crystal Palace defeated Chelsea in 2017. Liverpool
CHANCE TO QUALIFY: Both teams now have three points from two games, and Taiwan sit ahead of Vietnam and behind Japan, who last night beat India 11-0 Taiwan yesterday defeated Vietnam 1-0 to move into second place in Group C at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup with one match remaining. Su Yu-hsuan scored the decisive goal in the 26th minute after Taiwan midfielder Saki Matsunaga’s shot hit the crossbar, leaving Su to nod the rebound into an empty net for the team which won the last of their three Asian Cup titles in 1981. It was a deserved victory for Taiwan, 2-0 losers to Japan on Wednesday, who created several chances to extend their lead. Vietnam, the 2022 quarter-finalist, beat India in their opener, but struggled to
RSS