WBSC U-18 Baseball Cup 2019: Chinese Taipei's World Champions all playing professional baseball
Pitchers Chen Po Yu and Lin Yu Min and infielders Cheng Tsung Che and Lee Hao Yu signed with MLB organizations, while pitcher Wang Yan Cheng moved to NPB. Every other player on the roster agreed to terms with CPBL teams.
The Chinese Taipei U-18 team made history in 2019 as they won the XXIX WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup. It was Chinese Taipei's third U-18 world title and the first since 2010 after beating four-time defending champions United States in the final.
In the following three seasons, the 20 players on that roster made history themselves by all signing professional contracts. It had never happened to a Chinese Taipei U-18 team previously.
Infielder Tsung Che Cheng currently plays at the Single-A level for the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball. Right-handed pitcherPo Yu Chen also plays at Single-A for the Pirates.
Left-handed pitcher Yu Min Lin (Single-A) and Infielder Hao Yu Lee (Advanced Single-A) play for MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks.
Left-handed pitcher Yan Cheng Wang moved to Nippon Profession Baseball (NPB) and made his debut for the Rakuten Golden Eagles in the 2022 season.
Every other player on the roster agreed to terms with Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) clubs, including right-handed pitcher Chien Yu (pictured in cover photo), the 2019 WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup MVP. He made his debut for the CTBC Brothers in 2022, then spent his winter playing for the Auckland Tuatara in the Australian Baseball League.
When he joined the Brothers, Chien reunited with outfielder Cheng Hua Yueh, who made his CPBL debut in 2021.
Infielder Tzu Hao Lin also made his CPBL debut in 2022 for the Uni-President Lions
Outfielder Chia-Yen Tsai became the last 2019 U-18 World Champion to sign a professional contract when he agreed to terms with the Fubon Guardians in 2022.
