*This content was translated by AI.
Ahead of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in March, Taiwanese national team coach Zeng Hao-ju (47) expressed strong confidence and expectations for a showdown with Japanese national team "Ace" Yoshinobu Yamamoto (28, LA Dodgers), who won the Major League.
Taiwan coach Tseng Hao-ju said in an interview with multiple media outlets including Taiwan's Yahoo on the 28th, "Japan is a team that always has a strong lineup in international competitions. The WBC is the best international competition. I was very happy to hear that Yamamoto was likely to take the mound against Taiwan. It's an honor because a great pitcher can face us. We will also do our best to prepare."
According to Japanese media, the Japanese national team is very likely to start Yamamoto against Taiwan, the first group match of the WBC C qualifying round. This is because if you take the mound in the first game on March 6 and move to the United States, where the quarterfinals tournament will be held, you can secure a week off. In particular, there is a clear atmosphere that Japan should take revenge because it lost to Taiwan in the Premier 12 final in 2024.
Manager Zeng Hao-ju said, "It's an honor to always meet the best pitcher in the world. We also have to prepare and fight with the best power to match it," he added. Taiwan will play Group C in the order of Australia, Japan, the Czech Republic, and South Korea. In the end, it is predicted that Taiwan and South Korea will compete for tickets to the quarterfinals given to the top two countries due to objective power.
Currently, the Taiwanese national team has been holding a convocation training session since the 15th. It is known that he also called in players active overseas to check their physical conditions himself. Even Wang Yancheng, a left-hander of the Hanwha Eagles, called the national team to check his condition before moving on to Korea. Coach Zeng Hao-ju said, "We will closely check the players' conditions until just before the preliminary list submission in early February and confirm the final entry."
Finally, Taiwan declared the operation of the bee mound for good performance at the WBC. Manager Zeng Hao-ju said, "Considering that all teams playing in the WBC are in spring camp, it is difficult for one pitcher to throw many balls. "We are considering one or two starting pitchers per game, and Taiwan will also take 15 to 16 pitchers," he said.
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*This content was translated by AI.
