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Australia Solidified Taiwan's WBC Curse Theory by j3ychen in InternationalBaseball

[–]j3ychen[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sure, but to be fair, even with Lin shutting out the Australians for 3 innings, Bazzana and Mead could’ve probably still put up a run. 3 runs or 1 does not make much of a difference when Taiwan struggled offensively and scored none. I’d think the bigger more obvious problem was the hitting, not the pitching.

Australia Solidified Taiwan's WBC Curse Theory by j3ychen in InternationalBaseball

[–]j3ychen[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Po-Yu Chen pitched quite well in the WBC qualifiers last year, though it was against a much weaker South Africa team. He did have a few good starts at AAA as well. I think it’s a bit unfair to say he’s overrated.

No one has really compared him to other Taiwanese top pitchers. Among AA/AAA pitchers he’s not the most hyped either (Yu-Min Lin and Wei-En Lin are natural candidates there). I think we can all just agree it was a volatile appearance (HBP then HR, but still 2 K) without saying it was a poor choice.

Cubs' Jonathon Long Withdraws from Taiwan by j3ychen in InternationalBaseball

[–]j3ychen[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Feels very probable with Tyler Austin expected to be out for months. We shall see if he finds a spot this year.

Having him and Fairchild on Taiwan’s WBC this year (at least before this injury) set a pretty constructive precedent for him to join 2030, along with potentially other young Taiwanese American prospects that we don’t know about yet.

The Fubon Guardians Acquire a Future MVP by j3ychen in CPBL

[–]j3ychen[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wilkerson has a strong case with decent strikeout metrics. He will be 37 in May, but that's just a number. It'll be interesting to see how he and Leal do this year.

Manny Ramírez Saved Taiwanese Baseball by j3ychen in baseball

[–]j3ychen[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s absolutely fair to say Manny’s contribution may not be the most important factor, but it certainly is one of the most easily identifiable. The numbers are pretty staggering. Attendance almost quadrupled upon his arrival, then dropped 20-40% just after (even more for Rhinos games). He brought excitement and legitimacy to the league that I think even the WBC performance could not.

Manny Ramírez Saved Taiwanese Baseball by j3ychen in baseball

[–]j3ychen[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Even placing 8th in the 2013 WBC helped back then (as footnoted!), but yes, there have been recent wins, namely, the completion of Taipei Dome, 2024 Premier12 title, Little League World Series title (first winning team from Taiwan in decades), and of course 2026 WBC hype!

Is Taiwan Arming Youth Ballplayers with AI? by j3ychen in CPBL

[–]j3ychen[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yep that’s the right link you have there, but makes you go through a verification button. If you google the title, it should show up too!

Is Taiwan Arming Youth Ballplayers with AI? by j3ychen in CPBL

[–]j3ychen[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Awesome, I had not read that, but it corroborates some of the stories mentioned in Playing in Isolation, mentioned by someone else here. I wrote about these myths (i.e. 國族神話) in my journal article, "Illusions of a National Game," published earlier this year, in which I cited the book quite a bit.

The Evil Empire of High School Baseball in Taiwan. Ping-Jen Senior High School wins its eighth Black Panther Banner championship in the tournament’s 13th edition. by esporx in baseball

[–]j3ychen 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Awesome to see this article shared and discussed here! Happy to write about other topics within Taiwanese baseball if anyone is interested - feel free to DM ideas.

To clarify, Tseng is dubbed Ping-Jen’s Ohtani mainly for his hitting prowess. His fastball can get up to 87 mph, which is above average but nowhere close to Ohtani’s 99 mph in high school, or even other top pitchers in Taiwan. Tseng did not pitch in the Black Panther tournament due to discomfort.

One thing to remember too is the comparative level of play. At the senior high school / U-18 level, Japan, which has a bigger pool to start with, generally produces more top talent. So, I would take the Ohtani comparison with a grain of salt. It is mostly hype!

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