Tseng Hao-jiu is set to resume his role as manager of Taiwan’s national team for next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC), following his leadership during a challenging qualifier series in February.
Taiwan’s CPBL, which oversees the national team, announced Tseng’s return on Monday.
His appointment was supported by the Rakuten Monkeys — Tseng’s CPBL club — who called the invitation “a recognition of [his] expertise.”
Photo: Weng Jui-kun, CNA
The Monkeys in a statement on Monday said that they had reached an agreement with Tseng for him to prioritize the ongoing CPBL season, after which he would fully commit to the national team in preparing for the WBC.
The CPBL said that scouting efforts are already under way, and the team’s support staff would begin operations later this month.
The national team would hold their first monthly meeting next month, while training is set to begin in mid-January next year — earlier than usual — at Tseng’s request, the league said.
Tseng earned widespread praise for leading a modestly assembled roster to victory in the WBSC Premier12 in November last year, delivering Taiwan their first-ever world championship in a major senior-level tournament of the national sport.
Following that success, he was appointed manager for this year’s WBC Qualifiers, where Taiwan faced Spain, Nicaragua and South Africa in Taipei in February, vying for two tournament spots.
Despite high expectations, the team initially struggled — narrowly avoiding a mercy rule loss to Spain in its opener — but rebounded with a win in a rematch to secure the final qualifying berth.
In a vote of confidence after the qualifiers, CPBL commissioner Tsai Chi-chang said Tseng remained the best candidate for the job.
Tseng, citing intense pressure, declined to make an immediate decision, saying he needed time to rest.
On March 22, he confirmed he was willing to take the job again, pending discussions with the Monkeys to strike a balance between club and national duties.
“This opportunity was offered by the commissioner, the league and other officials who made our achievement possible,” Tseng said.
“All the players and coaches contributed to this honor, so yes, I’m absolutely willing to take on this mission,” he said.
Next year’s WBC would take place in early March, with Taiwan joining reigning champions Japan, along with Australia, South Korea and the Czech Republic in Pool C.
The team roster is expected to be finalized in early February next year, the CPBL said.
Tainan TSG Hawks slugger Steven Moya, who is leading the CPBL in home runs, has withdrawn from this weekend’s All-Star Game after the unexpected death of his wife. Moya’s wife began feeling severely unwell aboard a plane that landed at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday evening. She was rushed to a hospital, but passed away, the Hawks said in a statement yesterday. The franchise is assisting Moya with funeral arrangements and hopes fans who were looking forward to seeing him at the All-Star Game can understand his decision to withdraw. According to Landseed Medical Clinic, whose staff attempted to save Moya’s wife,
Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt yesterday backed Nick Champion de Crespigny to be the team’s “roving scavenger” after handing him a shock debut in the opening Test against the British and Irish Lions Test in Brisbane. Hard man Champion de Crespigny, who spent three seasons at French side Castres before moving to the Western Force this year, is to get his chance tomorrow with first-choice blindside flanker Rob Valetini not fully fit. His elevation is an eye-opener, preferred to Tom Hooper, but Schmidt said he had no doubt about his abilities. “I keep an eye on the Top 14 having coached there many years
ON A KNEE: In the MLB’s equivalent of soccer’s penalty-kicks shoot-out, the game was decided by three batters from each side taking three swings each off coaches Kyle Schwarber was nervous. He had played in Game 7 of the MLB World Series and homered for the US in the World Baseball Classic (WBC), but he had never walked up to the plate in an All-Star Game swing-off. No one had. “That’s kind of like the baseball version of a shoot-out,” Schwarber said after homering on all three of his swings, going down to his left knee on the final one, to overcome a two-homer deficit. That held up when Jonathan Aranda fell short on the American League’s final three swings, giving the National League a 4-3 swing-off win after
NBA team owners on Tuesday authorized league officials to begin an in-depth analysis regarding expansion, but NBA commissioner Adam Silver said there was no timetable for any changes. The NBA board of governors meeting in Las Vegas marked the first time team owners officially discussed expanding the league beyond 30 teams, but Silver said they went no deeper than requesting more research into the possibility. “There is a significant step now in that we’re now engaging in this in-depth analysis,” Silver said. “It’s something we weren’t prepared to do before, but beyond that, it’s really day one of that analysis. In terms
RSS