FEATURE/Taiwan back on top at Little League after 29 years, with more than a title

By Chao Yen-hsiang, CNA staff writer

When Taipei's Dong Yuan Elementary School shut out Las Vegas 7-0 to win the Little League World Series in Pennsylvania on Sunday, the victory carried more than just a championship trophy.

It was Taiwan's first Little League crown in 29 years, and Dong Yuan's first since 1972.

Team manager Lai Min-nan (賴敏男), who has coached student players for more than three decades, said the win was the culmination of years of effort, after four straight third-place finishes and a runner-up spot in 2024 by Taiwanese teams.

"With the whole country counting on us, we finally pulled it off this year," Lai said.

For Lai, the triumph also evoked memories of 2015, when he last brought a Dong Yuan team to Williamsport only to exit after four games. Quoting a local saying that "it takes 10 years to sharpen a sword," he described this year's title as the fruit of a decade of dedication.

For the players, though, the moment might be simpler.

"Being able to play with my teammates, to get this championship in my last elementary school game, I'm really happy," said ace pitcher Lin Chin-tse (林晉擇).

Taiwan's Williamsport legacy

In Taiwan, the annual tournament is better known simply as "Williamsport," after the town where it is played.

Taiwan first won the title in 1969, just a year after Hongye Elementary School stunned Japan's reigning Little League champions 7-0 in a friendly game -- a victory that sparked a nationwide baseball craze.

From 1969 to 1981, Taiwanese teams captured 10 of 13 championships, their midnight broadcasts becoming a collective memory.

The dominance, however, drew controversy, with Taiwan's drawing of players from a nationwide talent pool rather than a district one being questioned.

Taiwan withdrew from Little League in 1997 before rejoining in 2003.

More than a game

Taiwan's Little League success has always carried political undertones. The country has long wrestled with how it is represented on the international stage amid pressure from China.

At the 1960 Rome Olympics, when decathlete C.K. Yang (楊傳廣) won Taiwan's first medal, the delegation competed under the name "Formosa."

The team appeared as "Taiwan" in 1964 and 1968, and as the "Republic of China" in 1972 -- the same year Taipei and Washington severed diplomatic ties.

Even in baseball, former President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) once called it Taiwan's "national game," though the sport's roots trace back to Japanese colonial rule.

A layer of victories in the sport was thus outplaying the masters at their own game.

Today's stage

The questions of identity and politics still hover.

At the 2024 WBSC Premier12 final in Tokyo Dome, Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) homered against Japan and gestured toward his jersey with two hands, forming a screen in front of his chest, where there was no country name but only a "CT" mark beside, standing for Chinese Taipei.

The moment sparked debate back home, and he later said he intended it to declare "We come from Taiwan."

But for the Dong Yuan players in Williamsport, those burdens felt far away. In the final inning, with one Las Vegas runner on base and two outs from history, coach Lo Cheng-yu (駱政宇) walked to the mound.

"You've been cool all game. It's my turn to be cool now," he joked, reminding them to lock in for the last out: "Your girlfriends back in Taiwan are all watching."

That attitude was lauded back in the hometown, as many saw in it the spirit of "enjoy the game," which had been rarely seen in Taiwan's student field.

The boys sealed the win, celebrating with a huge ROC national flag in hand. This time, there is no one complaining.

At least for a moment, they were at peace with their own game.

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