Chinese Taipei wins WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup before sell-out crowd of 8,000, media explodes in host nation

Tainan, Taiwan, August 4, 2019: World No. 4 Chinese Taipei wins and defeated top-ranked Japan, 4-0, in the Final of the V WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup® before a sold-out 8,000-seat Tainan Asia-Pacific International Baseball Stadium on Sunday, marking three consecutive editions in which the Final sold out.

Chinese Taipei’s winning of the youth baseball world championship generated major headlines and a social media buzz across the island, highlighted by the island’s highest elected official, Tsai Ing-wen, sharing her congratulations to the Chinese Taipei players across her millions of followers on Facebook and Twitter.

WBSC President Fraccari said: “Congratulations to the athletes, coaching staff and Chinese Taipei Baseball Association for earning the title of world champion in this very strong youth category, as most of the world’s 30 million baseball players are 12 years old or younger.

“This youth world cup tonight generated a major-event atmosphere, further establishing the sport of baseball as a global leader in the youth sports space.

“I would like to thank our great hosts and partners CTBA and Tainan City for sharing and realising this vision of creating a world-class stage dedicated to our youngest athletes, the future of our sport — WBSC very excited to call Tainan City the home of the U-12 Baseball World Cup to 2027 and potentially beyond.”

The new $130 Million USD Tainan Asia-Pacific International Baseball Stadium and complex built to host five editions — 2019, 2021, 2023, 2025 and 2027 — of the WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup.

The win Sunday represents the second time Chinese Taipei has won the U-12 Baseball World Cup — the highest level of competition in the category — while the Samurai Japan National Team’s silver-medal finish is the nation’s highest-ever in the U-12 age group.

In the bronze medal match, world No. 5 Cuba defeated No. 3 Korea, 2-1, with winning pitcher Alejandro Prieto setting the record for the fastest pitch at the 2019 U-12 Baseball World Cup, at 125 Km/h (78 MPH).

WBSC U-12 All-World Team and MVP

Five nations were represented on the 2019 WBSC U-12 All-World Team, highlighted by tournament Most Valuable Player and top starting pitcher, Chinese Taipei’s Kai-Sheng Chen.

Chinese Taipei led all teams with four players selected to the U-12 All-World Team.

Cuba and Japan each had three players selected, while Korea and Venezuela each had one player named to the All-World Team.

The road to the Finals began with 34 nations competing in the continental championships/qualifiers from 2018.

As an official baseball world championship, the results from the U-12 Baseball World Cup and its continental qualifiers will impact the world rankings.

Final statistics can be found at the official website of the U-12 Baseball World Cup at u12bwc.wbsc.org.

Chinese Taipei wins/Final Standings

1. Chinese Taipei
2. Japan
3. Cuba
4. Korea
5. Mexico
6. Venezuela
7. USA
8. Czech Republic
9. Italy
10. Australia
11. South Africa
12. Fiji. —- WBSC