BASEBALL/Team Taiwan coaching staff for WBSC Premier12 confirmed

Taipei, April 8 (CNA) Taiwan's professional baseball league confirmed the national team coaching staff for the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier12 on Monday, three weeks after naming Tseng Hao-chu (曾豪駒) as the manager.

Kao Chih-kang (高志綱) of the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions will serve as the primary coach, second only to Tseng. Former MLB pitcher Wang Chien-ming (王建民), now the CTBC Brothers' pitching coach, will supervise the pitchers.

Brothers' batting coach Chen Chiang-ho (陳江和) and former manager Peng Cheng-min (彭政閔) will be the infield fielding coach and batting coach, respectively, with Chang Chien-ming (張建銘) of the Wei Chuan Dragons taking charge of outfield fielding and base running.

The list was proposed by Tseng and approved by the preparatory committee of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). Tseng previously worked with all the coaches at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, though Wang is the only one he also cooperated with in the 2019 Premier12.

Tseng said additional coaches could be brought in in the future if necessary.

Meanwhile, according to CPBL secretary-general Yang Ching-lung (楊清瓏), the next preparatory committee meeting is expected to be held in mid-May, when they will come up with a list of 80 players for further selection. Both professional and amateur players will be considered.

The league is working on planning a scouting trip overseas for Tseng but has not finalized the dates.

The Premier12, scheduled for November, is a WBSC flagship tournament featuring the 12 highest-ranked national baseball teams from around the world.

From Nov. 13, Taiwan will compete on its home turf in Group B games against Japan, South Korea, Cuba, Australia, and the Dominican Republic for two super round berths.