Chinese Taipei has been nothing shy of dominant this Series
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With every tournament, it's always the dream for the competition to be evenly matched through its entirety, or at least as its approaches its conclusion. But sometimes, reality produces a team from another stratosphere and suddenly, second place becomes the more realistic goal for the other contenders.
While there's still being plenty of baseball to be played here at the Little League World Series, it does seem like Chinese Taipei may be that team this year. That became the verdict following its dominant 10-0 win over Japan, a game which was expected to be close but ended early by way of run rule.
"We know (Japan) has been the empire for many series," said Chinese Taipei manager Lee Cheng-Ta through a translator. "We always prepare to have very hard competition. For today, I prepared three or five pitchers just to compete."
It's not a huge surprise if you've been around Little League Baseball for a while, as Chinese Taipei headlined the 1970s, 80s and 90s in the Series with titles and has steadily been returning to form since its return to the tournament in 2003.
"Baseball is our national sport, and every kid wants to play baseball," said Cheng-Ta when discussing the league's consistent success before the tournament. "This is our ultimate pride, to get here. That's why I've been coaching here for 33 years. Trying to get here again, this is the third time I've brought them in this century, 2009, 2012 and this year."
It's even less of a surprise when you look at their regional results.
Though a controversial title closed out what had been an incredible regional run up to that point, it doesn't take away from the fact that Chinese Taipei outscored its four opponents on the way to it 63-1 — an average of just under 16 runs per games. That included back-to-back victories where it scored a combined 39 runs in the span of two days.
"This year, we are a powerhouse in batting," said Chinese Taipei manager Lee Cheng-Ta through a translator before the tournament. "That is what made the scores so high (during the regional)."
That's been proven, with the team putting up a combined 16 runs in its first two series outings and run-ruling Japan in four innings. But it certainly hasn't been the only strength on display, or even its defining one.
In its ten total innings played so far, Chinese Taipei has yet to allow a hit. It not only achieved the 63rd and 64th no-hitters in Little League World Series history but also the eighth perfect game against Canada, going six innings without allowing a runner on base.
Through incredible play from ace pitcher Fan Chen-Jun, who's struck out 15 batters in 6 2/3 innings pitched this tournament and pulled off the unicorn that is an immaculate inning against Canada, it's been able to start games off on the right note.
But whenever he's been taken out, his relievers haven't missed a beat, evident by their back-to-back no-nos. Through a combined 3.1 inning pitched, Chiu T and Cai Y have struck out eight batters and allowed zero runners on base.
"It's interesting. The kids like to be pitchers. I let the kids compete with themselves," said Cheng-Ta after Chinese Taipei's win over Japan, crediting competition and passion with his bullpen's success.
"Who gets to play, who gets to start, who gets to close, who performs well, who works hard. This team has a lot of kids that want to be a pitcher, want to be a good pitcher. And then, the whole level just picked up," he added.
Its passion and preparation have clearly shown, as the team's ability to mitigate mistakes to a minimum proves its discipline. But while it's clearly taking this tournament seriously, evident by its success, Cheng-Ta says the focus is less on winning – like in years past - and more on the kids going out, playing their best and having fun.
"As an Asia Pacific representative, we have to do our best to represent our country, and also the whole region," said Cheng-Ta. "Since I've been back three times already, I understand that this is every kid's dream to be here," said Cheng-Ta. "I just want to keep the tradition of Little League baseball alive to give the kids the hope, happiness and a goal to reach."
Chinese Taipei faces off against Curacao this afternoon and, with one more win, could find itself in the International title game of the Little League World Series and that much closer to a World Series championship title.