WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC: POOL C - JAPAN VS CHINESE TAIPEI

March 6, 2026

Yu Chang

Tokyo Dome

Team Chinese Taipei

Pregame Press Conference

Q. Previous WBC in 2023, you played so well. But the previous round in the tournament, your primary round, you didn't play against Japan. This is the first time you've faced Team Japan. What's in your mind right now?

YU CHANG: Yes, in 2023, WBC I won the Most Valuable Player but that was the past. But as a team we are trying to go for it and take the result of 2023. We have advanced scout enough, and we have a very well preparation, and myself, I'm trying to pick up the right pitch to hit hard. As a team, we are trying to gather together to score.

Q. Two of your key players got lost, and I think that caused you to change your role in your national team. Do you have any comment or thought on it?

YU CHANG: Yes, this is a fact that two of our key players got hurt, and these two players are so important. But we have 30-man rosters and each one of them, one of us, has a great potential, and this is a bitter taste and difficult situation, that two of our key players got hurt. Still we have a strong unit and we play as one team and we believe in each other.

Q. Previously, you had a lot of international matches in Chinese Taipei but this is 2026 WBC, you are playing as the visiting team. Are you having good preparation to play international matches abroad?

YU CHANG: Yes. The atmosphere of the differences of home or away, it is not so much important to me. All I can say is just play hard, play baseball hard. I am expecting to today's audience, most of them are Japanese fans but what I can do is first I'm trying to swing hard to get some score for the team.