Chinese Taipei Goes Into WBSC Premier12 with Young Team|12強中華隊正值換血 均齡27歲7個月

The World Baseball Softball Confederation Premier12 tournament is underway, with Group B starting play on Nov. 5. The Chinese Taipei national team is currently in a transition stage, and the average age of the 28-man roster is just 27 years and seven months. The 13 pitchers have an average age of 26 years and seven months. Nevertheless, the team is as cohesive as ever.


Bullpen coach Wang Chien-ming offers tips and smiles occasionally during practice. Pitcher Chiang Shao-ching, who currently plays for the Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians, says he has felt the team's cohesion ever since the players started practicing together.

These players are all pretty young, and everyone is energetic and conscientious with each other. For example, even when we have days off, everyone still comes in to train on their own.

The Chinese Taipei national team is currently playing in Group B of the World Baseball Softball Confederation Premier12 tournament. There are only 10 players on the 28-man roster over the age of 30. The average age is 27 years and seven months. For the 13 pitchers, the average age is even younger, 26 years and seven months. They were able to quickly build team cohesion. Pitcher Lin Kai-wei, who is 23 years old and plays for a Class A minor league team affiliated with the Arizona Diamondbacks, is considered to be the life of the party.

Everyone is pretty fun, but sometimes they won't let their hair down until someone else starts to do so.

While the young players bring energy to the national team, the veterans such as Hu Chin-lung, Wang Sheng-wei, Lin Che-hsuan, Kuo Yen-wen, and Chen Chun-hsiu are contributing leadership with their ample international experience. The coaching staff says the camaraderie is perfect so they don't worry about it.

There's one great thing about the young players, which is they are fast. What's important is how we can exploit this advantage.

You watch them, and you can see the young and old talking amongst themselves. Perhaps they're passing knowledge on, I don't know.

Manager Hong I-chung says no one is nervous about the games that are coming up. He has told his players to focus on playing their roles and not on results to increase their chances of winning games.



旅美大前輩，牛棚教練王建民隨時在旁提點，不時露出會心一笑；傳接練習空檔，也能和隊友談笑，印地安人3A投手江少慶集訓以來，就感受到隊裡的融洽氣氛。

中華隊投手 江少慶表示：「這一批選手都很年輕吧，大家的拚勁都很足夠，跟每位選手都很認真，像我們平常放假，有安排放假，然後大家還是自主會來到球場，自己做多餘的訓練。」

28位選手只有10人超過30歲，平均年齡27歲7個月，13位投手平均26歲7個月，因為年輕，馬上就打成一片，效力響尾蛇1A的23歲投手林凱威，堪稱這次中華隊開心果。

中華隊投手 林凱威表示：「大家都很嗨啊，只是他們比較，可能我們有人先開始，他們才會那個(放輕鬆)。」

年輕球員注入新活力，陣中還有胡金龍、 王勝偉、 林哲瑄、 郭嚴文、 陳俊秀，國際大賽經驗豐富的選手，教練團認為，氣氛對了，不會管太多。

中華隊副隊長 王勝偉表示：「年輕球員他們有一個很好的條件，就是速度是他們最大的優勢，怎麼去發揮這個優勢，才是最重要的。」

中華隊總教練 洪一中表示：「看他們都是，有時候，老少都會交頭接耳，這個有時候，就是一個，或許是一種傳承吧，我也不知道。」

面對這次比賽的強隊，洪一中總教練說，哪次大賽誰不緊張，但就是告訴球員，先不去想結果，只要做好本分，贏的機會就會大增。