Chinese Taipei - more commonly known as Taiwan - will be facing defending champion Japan, China and Korea in the first round of the World Baseball Classic from March 5-9 in Tokyo. The top two in the group will advance to a second round of eliminators against two teams from the Mexico City group consisting of Mexico, Cuba, South Africa and Australia.
Taiwan Stars Missing
A couple of Chinese Professional Baseball League teams have said that they will not allow their players to participate. And some of Taiwan's top stars are not on manager Chih-Hsien Yeh's provisional 45-man roster, which will be trimmed to 28 players - including a mandatory 13 pitchers - by February 24. The biggest name expected to definitely miss the Classic is New York Yankees starter Chien-Ming Wang, who did not get clearance from the Major League team.
Kuo And Hu Not On 45-Man
Two surprising emissions on the preliminary roster were Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Hong-Chih Kuo and Dodgers prospect shortstop Chin-lung Hu. But both can still be added later.
Yeh Not Without Top Talent
One MLB player on Yeh's roster is Kansas City Royals right-handed pitcher Chin-hui Tsao. And the Chinese Taipei squad also includes outfielder Che Hsuan Lin, who is a top prospect in the Boston Red Sox system.
Chinese Taipei's 24-Man Roster
Name, Bats/Throws, Height, Weight, Birth Date
PITCHERS
Hung-Wen Chen, R/R, 5'11" (180cm), 210lbs (95kg), 02/03/1986
Chi-Hung Cheng, L/L, 6'1" (185cm), 210lbs (95kg), 06/20/1985
Kai-Wen Cheng, R/R, 5'9" (175cm), 165lbs (75kg), 07/26/1988
Po-Hsuan Keng, R/R, 6'1" (185cm), 235lbs (107kg), 10/15/1984
Chen Lee, R/R, 5'11" (180cm), 175lbs (79kg), 10/21/1986
Yu-Cheng Liao, R/R, 5'10" (178cm), 175lbs (79kg), 09/04/1980
Ko-Chien Lin, R/R, 5'9" (175cm), 155lbs (70kg), 05/05/1986
Po-Yu Lin, R/R, 6'0" (183cm), 215lbs (98kg), 09/16/1986
Yueh-Ping Lin, R/R, 5'9" (175cm), 155lbs (70kg), 01/28/1982
Chia-Jen Lo, R/R, 5'11" (180cm), 181lbs (82kg), 04/07/1986
Fu-Te Ni, L/L, 6'0" (183cm), 170lbs (77kg), 11/14/1982
Chia-Chun Tang, L/L, 5'10" (178cm), 170lbs (77kg), 12/21/1984
Sung-Wei Tseng, R/R, 5'10" (178cm), 195lbs (88kg), 12/28/1984
CATCHERS
Chih-Kang Kao, R/R, 5'10" (178cm), 165lbs (75kg), 02/27/1981
Yi-Feng Kuo, R/R, 6'0" (183cm), 205lbs (93kg), 03/24/1976
Kun-Sheng Lin, R/R, 5'10" (178cm),180lbs (82kg), 03/08/1987
INFIELDERS
Chih-Hsien Chiang, L/R, 6'2" (188cm), 170lbs (77kg), 02/21/1988
Kuo-Ching Kao, R/R, 5'11" (180cm), 205lbs (93kg), 10/06/1978
Yen-Wen Kuo, L/R, 5'10" (178cm), 165lbs (75kg), 10/25/1988
Han Lin, R/R, 5'9" (175cm), 185lbs (84kg), 01/24/1985
Yi-Chuan Lin, R/R, 5'11" (180cm), 180lbs (82kg), 08/06/1985
Cheng-Ming Peng, R/R, 6'0" (183cm), 200lbs (91kg), 08/06/1978
Sheng-Wei Wang, R/R, 5'10" (178cm), 155lbs (70kg), 04/01/1984
OUTFIELDERS
Chih-Yao Chan, L/L, 5'10" (178cm), 170lbs (77kg), 01/02/1983
Tai-Chi Kuo, R/L, 5'11" (180cm), 170lbs (77kg), 10/16/1981
Che-Hsuan Lin, R/R, 6'0" (183cm), 180lbs (82kg), 09/21/1988
Wei-Chu Lin, L/L, 5'10" (178cm), 175lbs (79kg), 01/22/1979
Wu-Hsiung Pan, L/L, 5'10" (178cm), 180lbs (82kg), 03/11/1981
