The Republic of China (Taiwan) won its first professional world baseball title last Sunday.

The nation that plays under a different flag and national team name as Chinese Taipei has conquered the baseball world once again, but this time on the world-class stage.

The second most important event in the baseball world took place in November in five cities: Taipei in Taiwan, Guadalajara (Jalisco) and Tepic (Nayarit) in Mexico, and Nagoya and Tokyo in Japan.

Group A opened first in the Americas and saw the excitement for the first two places go to the final day.

While Venezuela had already advanced and Puerto Rico had already been eliminated, the Netherlands, the United States, Mexico and Panama were all 2-2 and several tiebreakers allowed each nation a chance to finish in the top two and head to Asia.

Panama did their job earlier that night to go 3-2, but they needed Mexico to beat the United States as they did Mexico themselves.

The Mexican fans came out in full force, hoping to beat the Americans like they did a year ago in the city of Phoenix in the United States.

But, this time, the United States defeated Mexico in Guadalajara, 12-2! The United States and Venezuela were on their way and would take flights to Asia.

Next was Group B, which started later as the last rounds would also be in Asia.

Group B was less exciting in terms of standings, but more exciting in terms of level of play and general atmosphere.

The brand new Taipei Dome served as the main stadium for the big games and saw high attendances with roaring sounds. Taiwanese fans are known for their extreme devotion to baseball with cheerleaders and other unique traditions.

Group B also featured many of the best players in the world, such as those in the KBO, Nippon League, and CPBL.

So, it was not a surprise when Japan, Chinese Taipei, and South Korea finished in the top 3, but it was a surprise that they finished in this respective order. Japan won all 5 games, and Chinese Taipei had upset South Korea in their opening game en route to a 4-1 Group B record.

This meant that the top 2 teams of Group B were decided before the last night.

Now, it was off to Tokyo for the round-robin Super Round!

For the Americans and Venezuela, it was a good show to get to this point. While the two nations, along with the Dominican Republic, contain the most Major League Baseball (MLB) players, contract issues often limit MLB talent in the Premier12 unlike the all-important World Baseball Classic (WBC) which awards the title of baseball’s world champions.

Consequently, this mostly affected these three nations, as well as other major nations from the Americas such as Mexico and Puerto Rico.

However, both nations were determined for gold.

The first game of the Super Round saw Venezuela win 2-0 over Chinese Taipei. Then, the United States went up 1-0 against Japan in the top of the 5th.

But it was all downhill from there as the Japanese scored 9 unanswered runs to win.

The Asian nations dominated the following night with Chinese Taipei winning 8-2 over the United States and Japan winning in a thrilling 9-6 come-from-behind victory over Venezuela.

Technically, all nations still had a chance to qualify for the Gold Medal Final, but most expected Japan’s 5-year undefeated streak across the Premier12, the Olympics, and the World Baseball Classic to continue in their national stadium.

The experts were correct. While the United States was able to get a 6-5 win over Venezuela, Japan won 9-6 over Chinese Taipei.

With three teams tied 1-2, the tiebreaker went to Chinese Taipei.

The Republic of China was in the final at the Tokyo Dome.

The Final:

The Tokyo Dome was sold out for a final final between two rival nations.

While the two share strong bonds politically, they do not extend to the baseball diamond.

And, the game started as every championship final should.

It was near non-stop between Chinese Taipei and Japan.

Both teams traded shutout innings through the 4th.

No Taiwanese person felt safe. Usually at this point in the game, Team Japan slides past the opposition. After all, Japan does not lose in Japan, and they were 2-0 against Chinese Taipei this tournament.

But, that all changed in the top of the 5th Inning for Team Chinese Taipei.

First, catcher Chia-Cheng Lin scored on a solo home run to put the Taiwanese on top.

Then, team captain Chieh-Hsien Chen hit a three-run home run to make the score Chinese Taipei 4 Japan 0!

Taiwan held the rest of the way.

It would all come down to the bottom of the 9th Inning with one man on base for Japan and one out.

A hit to the first baseman, Yu-Hsien Chu, flew quickly into the air, leaving everyone to believe it was going to be a hit. But no, Yu-Hsien Chu caught the ball and then tagged the bases for a double play for the final two outs of the game.

CCC-Combo Breaker!

Team Taiwan snapped Japan’s 27-game winning streak in major international tournaments with a 4-0 win, securing the 2024 gold medal. #WBSC Tournament Premier12. 🏆 pic.twitter.com/9B8LiADjmJ

— CPBL STATISTICS 🪬🔮 (@GOCPBL) November 24, 2024

Chinese Taipei had won the Premier 202412!

What does this mean for Taiwan? Baseball?

Taiwan has long been considered a baseball powerhouse.

In the Little League World Series, Taiwanese teams won the second most titles when they were 17 years old.

Chinese Taipei won gold medals at the U12, U15, U18, and U23 world championships as well.

But, these successes always came with a big question mark!

Can Taiwan ever dominate at the top level? Or were the players only good as children?

Fortunately, Chinese Taipei answered this question.

Previously, baseball had a World Cup, Intercontinental Cup, and Olympic Games that served as the three major championships at the world level and Taiwan won medals in all three.

But these results came before the full professionalization of international baseball.

Similar to the pre-World Cup soccer days or the pre-Dream Team basketball days, the best players were not allowed to play and this limited prestige.

It wasn’t until 2006 that this changed with the World Baseball Classic.

And while the Premier12 may not have as many MLB players, players from MLB and all other leagues are eligible to compete.

Therefore, the Premier12 became the #2 tournament for international baseball.

Despite having one of the best and most watched professional leagues, Chinese Taipei have struggled for relevance in these competitions.

Chinese Taipei finished 12th, 15th, 8th, and 14th in the first four editions of the WBC for a combined record of 3-10.

In the Premier12, Chinese Taipei fared better in 9th and 5th in the first two editions.

The Olympics saw Chinese Taipei qualify once in the professional era to finish 5th in 2008.

Therefore, the fans had grown restless for the success of the national team.

Finally, 2023 saw Chinese Taipei go 2-2 in the WBC group stage, but their group was tied five-way for first and Chinese Taipei finished last in the tiebreaker.

Therefore, despite this high level of play, Chinese Taipei entered Premier 202412 as a team in need of extra qualifications to qualify for the 2026 WBC.

This lost status as a top 16 team seemed foreshadowing for Taiwan’s future status.

Against this background, it is easy now to see how relieved the Taiwanese fans are to have finally won a world title in a major profession.

The work is not done yet as Chinese Taipei still needs to have a good 2025 to qualify for the 2026 World Baseball Classic.

In order to qualify, they must finish top 2 in a qualifying group featuring Nicaragua, South Africa, and Spain.

But, the sport has never been in a better place after the monumental victory as can be seen from the reaction in the nation and in the press.

Final Ranking:

1. Chinese Taipei: 6-3
2. Japan: 8-1
3. United States: 5-4
4. Venezuela: 5-4
5. South Korea: 3-2
6. Panama: 3-2
7. Australia: 1-4
8. Mexico: 2-3
9. Dominican Republic: 1-4
10. Netherlands: 2-3
11. Cuba: 1-4
12. Puerto Rico: 1-4

Highlights from the Final