Chinese Taipei National Baseball Team

Chinese Taipei National Baseball Team

The Chinese Taipei baseball team (Chinese: 中華臺北棒球代表隊; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Táiběi Bàngqiú Dàibiǎoduì), is the national team of the Republic of China (commonly known as "Taiwan"). It is governed by the Chinese Taipei Baseball Association. They are generally recognized as one of the elite national baseball teams. They are currently the fifth ranked baseball team in the world, just behind Canada. They have consistently maintained a top position in Asia, with occasional drops, such as after the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and rises in ranking, as after the 2009 Asian Baseball Championship. The team comprises amateurs and professionals from Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League, Japan's Central League and Pacific League, and North American major (MLB) and minor leagues.

Due to political pressures from the People's Republic of China on international sports organizations, the delegation had to reach a compromise name, changing it from the National Baseball Team of the Republic of China (Chinese: 中華民國棒球國家隊; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Mínguó Bàngqiú Guójiāduì) to Chinese Taipei Baseball Team.

The team has participated in many of the international and regional tournaments and has achieved many successes. It has won six titles in Asian Baseball Championship, a bronze medal at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, and a silver medal at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. Its recent success was the winning of the gold medal at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha in a sweeping victory by beating South Korea, Thailand, China, Philippines, and finally all-time rival Japan.