Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/07/25
By: Lee Yu-cheng and Romulo Huang

Taipei, July 25 (CNA) Taiwan beat Brazil 28-2 in a 4-inning called game Saturday to score its second straight win in the 2015 U-12 Baseball World Cup of the World Baseball and Softball Confederation (WBSC) that opened Friday in Tainan City.

In the five other games played Saturday, Korea blanked Russia 12-0, Nicaragua whitewashed France 17-0, the U.S. beat Japan 8-0, Cuba got past Venezuela 8-2 and Mexico topped Australia 9-1.

As of Saturday, the second day of the opening round of the tournament which is being conducted on a round-robin basis and divided into two groups of six national teams each, Taiwan and Cuba were in the lead, each with two wins and no losses. Korea and Venezuela were next with one win and one loss each, followed by Brazil and Russia with two losses and no wins.     [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date:  Jul 26, 2015
By: Jason Pan  /  Staff reporter

US Major League Baseball legends Jason Giambi and Ivan Rodgriuez were the special invited

guests for the ceremonial first pitch at yesterday’s opening of Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) All-Star Weekend festivities at Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium.

The two retired superstars and former teammates of Taiwanese pitcher Wang Chien-ming in the US were greeted with applause and enthusiastic cheering from the more than 12,000 spectators in the ballpark.

Giambi and Rodriguez, who is also known as “I-Rod” or “Pudge,” were joined at the ceremony by Taichung Mayor Lin Chia-lung, CPBL commissioner John Wu, World Baseball and Softball Confederation president Riccardo Fraccari and Johnson Fitness chairman Lo Kun-chuan.

Befitting his reputation as a power hitter, Giambi was the batter at the plate for the ceremonial first pitch, while, in another setup, Rodriguez replayed his familiar role as a star catcher to receive the pitch tossed by Lin.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/07/24
By: S. J. Yang and Flor Wang

Taipei, July 24 (CNA) Taiwan opened its 2015 U-12 Baseball World Cup campaign in Tainan with a convincing 7-2 victory over arch-rival South Korea in Tainan on Friday.

Taiwan is considered one of the favorites of the tournament, held every two years by the World Baseball and Softball Confederation (WBSC), and it scored a much needed win in what appears to be a tough preliminary round group.

South Korea jumped to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first with the help of an error and an infield hit, but Taiwan answered in the bottom of the inning on an RBI double by Wu Ping-en (吳秉恩).

Taiwan took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the third, but the Koreans pulled even in the top of the fourth on a solo home run by Kim Myeong Hwan.     [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date:  Jul 25, 2015
By: Jason Pan  /  Staff reporter

The U12 Baseball World Cup got under way in Tainan yesterday, with the traditional Little

League powerhouse nations expected to vie for the title.

Twelve U12 national squads have arrived in Tainan to participate in the week-long tournament, organized by the World Baseball and Softball Confederation (WBSC).

The top three teams from the two groups advance to the playoffs after the opening round-robin games.

Taiwan are in Group A along with Cuba, South Korea, Brazil, Venezuela and Russia.

Group B consists of Japan, the US, Mexico, Nicaragua, Australia and France.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/07/24
By: Lee Chin-wei and Bill Lin

Taipei, July 24 (CNA) Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen (周天成) and Tai Tzu-ying (戴資穎) improved

their Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings in men’s and women’s singles, respectively, after strong performances at the Yonex Open Chinese Taipei 2015 last week.

Chou, who lost the final of the men’s singles event in Taipei to world No. 1 Chen Long (諶龍) of China, 15-21, 21-9, 21-6, saw his ranking improve from eighth in the world to a career-high sixth.

Tai, who was ranked fifth entering the Taipei tournament, reached the semifinals before losing to her nemesis Li Xuerui (李雪芮) of China 21-17, 21-14.

It was Tai’s 10th consecutive loss to Li without a victory dating back to October 2011, according to the BWF website.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/07/23
By: Chang Jung-hsiang and Romulo Huang

Taipei, July 23 (CNA) The 2015 U-12 Baseball World Cup of the World Baseball and Softball Confederation (WBSC) is set to open Friday in Tainan City, southern Taiwan, with the participation of 12 countries.

The opening round of the competition will be conducted on a round-robin basis and divided into two groups, each of which will consist of six nations. Group A is composed of Cuba, South Korea, Brazil, Venezuela, Russia and the host country — Taiwan, meanwhile group B consists of the United States, Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Australia and France, the organizers of the tournament said.     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2015-07-23
By: Ko Lin, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Former Major League Baseball (MLB) superstars Jason Giambi and Ivan Rodriguez will hold

an event at the Leofoo Village Theme Park in Hsinchu to meet little baseball fans before heading to the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball stadium later in the day, reports said Thursday.

The former professionals landed in Taiwan late night Wednesday from Los Angeles in preparation for Taiwan’s All-Star Weekend, where both have been invited to take part in Sunday’s Home Run Derby.

According to the Leofoo park staff, the two stars will arrive at around 2 p.m. to meet baseball players from the Dongshan Elementary School in Chunghwa and Hsinchu’s Guangxi little leaguers.

The event will include autograph signing and photo taking with the superstars, whom will also give out free baseballs to their little fans.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/07/21
By: Lee Chin-wei and Romulo Huang

Taipei, July 21 (CNA) The Orioles of the Major League Baseball of the United States are

reported to offer a one-year US$16 million-plus contract to Taiwanese left-hander Wei-Yin Chen this offseason, according to a analysis published Monday by the daily Baltimore Sun.

Chen, who has joined the Orioles since 2012, is to become a free agent after concluding this season.

During the past years, Chen has appeared in a total of 103 games on the mound as starter, pitching 625.1 innings with an accumulated 39-29 won-lost record and a 3.67 earned run average (ERA).

During the current season, Chen has appeared in 17 games, pitching 110 innings with a 4-5 W-L record and a 2.78 ERA.