TAIPEI (TVBS News) — The World Baseball Classic (WBC, 世界棒球經典賽) training camp for the Taiwan team kicked off on Thursday (Jan. 15) at the National Sports Training Center in Kaohsiung. Lin Chia-cheng (林家正) and Cheng Tsung-che (鄭宗哲), among other international players, have arrived to prepare for the upcoming competition.
Lin expressed his openness to returning to Taiwan to play in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL, 中華職棒) in the future. However, he is currently focused on the national team's preparation. Lin revealed that head coach Tseng Hao-chu (曾豪駒) personally called him at the end of last year to invite him to join the team, and he accepted without hesitation, stating that wearing the national team jersey is an honor.
After being released by a Major League Baseball (MLB) team last year, Lin joined an independent league and later paid his way to participate in the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) system's autumn training to boost his competitiveness. Regarding the catchers' adjustment, Lin noted that under the guidance of pitching and catching coach Kao Chih-kang (高志綱), they aim to quickly adapt to the rhythm and devise strategies based on the tournament format and opponents.
Meanwhile, Cheng Tsung-che (鄭宗哲), reflecting on his designation for assignment by the Pittsburgh Pirates and Tampa Bay Rays, admitted his performance was lacking. He intends to focus on adjusting his condition for the future.
