VII WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup two weeks away; Tainan ready to welcome the world
TAINAN, Taiwan | The WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup is coming to Tainan for a second straight year and for the fifth time since 2015. Players and coaches from around the world will find the city has more to offer than ever on and off the field.
In addition to welcoming all the teams, Tainan Mayor Huang, Wei-Cher announced: “We will prepare stadium tours and make people feel they are in an amusement park, and we will also provide local delicacies that Tainan is most proud to offer to our friends from around the world.”
The WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup has called the Asia Pacific International Baseball Stadium home during the past four editions. In 2023 the event will happen during the year-long celebration for Tainan's 400th birthday in 2024.
As a warmup event for the 400th anniversary of its establishment, Tainan City is also the host of the National Games 2023. Baseball and Softball games will be played at the Tainan Asia-Pacific International Baseball Stadium and Xingying Softball Park.
Tainan City is the oldest city in Taiwan. It has been known as First Capital since the Dutch East-India Company came to the island in 1624 and established the first-ever early modern government at Fort Oranje, now known as An Ping Fortress (pictured above).
During Japanese colonial time (1895-1945), baseball was introduced to Taiwan, and a Major League Baseball All-Star Team led by Ernie Shore (Boston Red Sox) and George Ross (New York Yankees) visited Tainan City as the last stop of their Far East trip that included Yokohama, Tokyo, Taipei, and Taichung in 1920-1921.
In 1931 Tainan Municipal Baseball Stadium was built as the first and only stadium with artificial turf on the island. It remains the oldest baseball stadium in Taiwan for professional baseball and has been the home of the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) since 1990. The Tainan Municipal Baseball Stadium was the main venue for the WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup in 2015 and 2017.
The Lions were the first club in Taiwan’s professional baseball history to establish their own home field in Tainan City, the birthplace of the parent corporation Uni-President Group. The Lions are often referred to as The King of Southern Taiwan as they are the winningest club in CPBL history with 10 Taiwan Series titles.
The first Taiwanese Major League Baseball player and Taiwan Baseball Hall of Famer Chin-Feng Chen, former Yankees ace Chien-Ming Wang, former Dodger Chin-Lung Hu, and Hung-Chih Kuo are among the many outstanding baseball players from Tainan. Lions current manager Yueh-Ping Daddy Pie Lin won the Taiwan Series in his rookie managerial season in 2020 and was named manager of team Chinese Taipei in the World Baseball Classic 2023.
As a warmup event for the 400th anniversary of its establishment, Tainan City is also the host of the National Games 2023. Baseball and Softball games will be played at the Tainan Asia-Pacific International Baseball Stadium and Xingying Softball Park.
Tainan, arguably the city with the richest baseball history in Taiwan, will host at least two more U-12 Baseball World Cup editions through 2027. With the completion of the Tainan Asia-Pacific International Baseball Training Center, including a 25,000-seat main stadium, a 3,000-seat auxiliary stadium, an 8,000-seat U-12 main stadium, a 1,000-seat U-12 auxiliary stadium, and a couple of practice fields, Tainan will sure become the frequent host of international tournaments in the future, and maintain its status of Capital of Baseball in Taiwan for the years to come.
