CTBA and CPBL reach agreement

Taiwan’s national team in 2017 left the World Baseball Classic after the first round, following a row between the nation’s professional and Olympic bodies

The Chinese Taipei Baseball Association (CTBA), Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) and Sports Administration yesterday signed a cooperation agreement they said would help Taiwan qualify for next year’s Tokyo Summer Olympics, after a conflict between the organizations was blamed for the nation’s loss in a tournament.
Taiwan is to host the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier 12 tournament in November due to the joint efforts of the CTBA and the confederation, so the association would be in charge of hosting the championship and with the full support of the CPBL, the agreement said.
It stipulates that the league is in charge of forming and training the national baseball team for the tournament, but is to select its training committee with representatives from the CTBA and the administration.
The committee would still be subject to the league’s guidance and planning, it says.
The CPBL is to lead the formation of a national team and train players for all top-tier international competitions, including the World Baseball Classic, Premier 12 and Olympics, the agreement says.
The league is also responsible for analyzing other countries’ players at the competitions, as well as Taiwanese players’ insurance and medical treatments, it says, adding that the CPBL can register and use its logo in accordance with the WBSC rules for national teams.
The national team’s coach is to be selected by the committee and submitted to the administration for approval, the agreement says.
However, the CTBA is to host top-tier competitions and train players for non-top tier games, it says.
Following criticism that the association had made too many concessions, CTBA chairman Jeffrey Koo Jr (辜仲諒) said that he disagreed.
Taiwan would make a great leap forward because of the agreement, he said.
“It is all worth it if we manage to build the strongest national team,” Koo said. “We have to qualify for the Olympics, whatever it takes. We must beat South Korea — that is my biggest dream.”
The national team coach is to be chosen from among the league’s four teams and confirmed by mid-April, CPBL Chairman John Wu (吳志揚) said, adding that winning the Premier 12 championship would be a crucial step toward qualifying for the Olympics.
As part of training, the league would up the ante by having the national team’s players compete against star players at the CPBL All-Star Game this year, Wu said.
A conflict between the CPBL and CTBA over the national team’s formation was widely blamed for Taiwan’s loss in the first round of the 2017 World Baseball Classic.