Apologies for the crappy photos!

In my 11 years watching baseball in Taiwan this was only the third time I've been to watch the All Star weekend and it looks as if they found the perfect formula. I wasn't gonna go but on Tuesday I discovered it hadn't sold out and ended up in block 206 at the Dome. L2 is always the best value for tickets at the Dome. 990 plus 30NT for 7 Eleven iBon pick up fee.

For those who don't know it was the CPBL All Stars v Team Taiwan Under 25s who have an Asian baseball championship later in the year on both Saturday and Sunday. The first 5 innings were taken seriously before the entry of league legends such as Lin Yueh Ping, Kao Kuo Ching, Kao Kuo Hui, Lin Chih Sheng. This is when the costumes came in with a Guardians pitcher pitching in a skirt and wig 😂.

On Saturday it was Guan Da Yuan and Lin Yueh Ping who gave up the runs that gave Team Taiwan the win.

On Sunday we saw Wang Chien Ming pitch to league commissioner Tsai Chi Chang. Retiring Chen Yung Chi hit the only run, a solo homer at 43 years old to give the All Stars the win and Dragons Kuo Tien Hsin came in to get the final out after 9 straight All Star game losses.

Just a few other notes:

1) Like it or not, the All Star weekend should stay at the Dome. It was hot and humid to the point of hell in Taipei this weekend.

2) The skills stuff may not be the greatest but it's good to watch. The home run tournament was at least better than that farce at Taichung 3 years ago with the strong wind from the north.

3) Take your own food in etc. CPBL is very relaxed on it. I went to Don Don Donki pre game. It's simply not worth getting anything at the Dome. I hope Taiwan continues with the relaxed policy of taking in food, beer.

Good fun. Better balance of fans this year too except Dragons who seemed to be in disguise. Brothers, Lions and Guardians dominated.

Great to see who so many players from the past play.

CPBL unveiled its Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) system during the 2026 All-Star Game, using it in the at-bat between the Commissioner Tsai Chi-Chang and CTBC Brothers pitching coach Wang Chien-Ming. The league hopes to fully implement the ABS system for the 2027 CPBL season.

Visiting Taiwan from July 27 through August 11 and looking to go to a game or two at Taipei Dome. I can't get en.cpbl.com.tw to work for me at all on any browser (my wife speaks but can't read Mandarin), but I have managed to find out that apparently there are games at TPD on Aug 1 and 2, which would be perfect timing for us.

Would appreciate help with these questions:

1. I want to get tickets to Aug. 1 and/or 2 in advance (ASAP)—what's the best way to do that? (I want to be able to pick our seats.)

2. Since I can't get the CPBL site to work, can someone point me to a full schedule so I can see what my options are for games at other locations? We have been to games at Tianmu and Tainan Municipal on previous trips.

3. Other than at the ballparks, where in the greater Taipei area can I get Taiwan baseball stuff for all CPBL teams as well as the national team? In particular I'd love to be able to find some Brothers stuff that would fit my 2yo twin boys or that they could grow into over the next couple of years. (I'll be in Hualien too, but I know it's less likely to find anything there).

4. Any other baseball related things I should know about ?

Thanks!

Fubon Guardians team duck, which is actually a goose, took part in last night's 1st pitch ceremony. According to the team, the players and coaches found this stray baby gosling at the farm team facility months ago and decided to adopt it as the "team duck".

As for why calling a goose a duck? Because at that time, they mistakenly thinking it was a duckling because of its yellow feathers.

My wife and I are going to be in Taiwan in parts of July and August and we'd love to catch a CPBL game. I found the schedule, but I'm having trouble figuring out what stadium the games are at. Some abbreviations on the calendar are not listed in the abbreviations at the bottom of the calendar (see screenshots above).

For example, we'd be interested in the July 21 game between the Monkeys and Dragons. It is listed as "TPD 212." When I google TPD it looks like this might mean "Taipei Dome," but I'm not sure. Is this correct? What does "212" mean? (Maybe a game number?)

Same goes for the Monkeys v U-Lions game on Aug 2. The game is listed as "API 239" but I don't see "API" in the abbreviations.

Thanks for your help!

Rakuten Monkeys have de-registered Sakakibara Motoki (榊原元稀). The 25-year-old Japanese RHP appeared in 1 game, posting a 1.50 ERA, 0.67 WHIP over 6 innings. Despite the release, the team said Sakakibara Motoki will remain with the Monkeys' 2nd team as a development player.

TSG Hawks closer Lin Shih-Hsiang suffered a ruptured ligament and a torn tendon in his right elbow. Diagnosed in early July 2026, he will undergo a surgery and miss the remainder of the 2026 season.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnUNqDZHdmU

Other source mentions that may take 8 months for rehabilitation, but in general a year is more reasonable time frame to recover.

Fubon Guardians have signed 23-year-old Japanese RHP Yamazaki Seigi (山崎正義) to a development contract.

The Rakuten Monkeys have announced the signing of 34-year-old American outfielder Adam Walker.

The Wei Chuan Dragons manager has confirmed to the media that the club is considering signing Stuart Fairchild.

According to SET News, several other CPBL teams are also reportedly interested in the 30-year-old Taiwanese American, who recently elected free agency.

王翊亘 (Wang Yihsuan) is a senior journalist, baseball commentator, and columnist in Taiwan.

Come across this. Did not know there are some information and stat data about this player on the internet.

A two-time Taiwan Select participant. Over the past year, Chen has added ~5 mph to his average bat speed, resulting in a clear uptick in average exit velocity and overall contact quality. A rare, physical infield profile to watch in the Class of 2026.

It occurred to me that it might be interesting for redditors here to make a list of rookie players you would like to pick up in 2026 CPBL draft, apart from those hot prospects such as Chen Po-Kai. It does not need to be a complete list.

Otherwise, you may want to participate the mock draft game held by Rebas. The deadline is 2026/06/29 6:30pm.

There are a lots of players in this podcast, but some may not enroll in 2026 CPBL draft like Lai Chien-Fan, for instance. So it may be interesting picking up a few after the next week's draft.

Fubon Guardians have signed 27-year-old American LHP Quinton Martinez from the Atlantic League.

Fubon Guardians have released Erick Leal. The 31-year-old Venezuelan RHP spent the entire 2026 CPBL season in the minor league and did not make a single appearance for the 1st team.

Rakuten Monkeys have released Morgan McSweeney. The 28-year-old American RHP finished his 2026 CPBL season with a 5.08 ERA, 1.74 WHIP over 44.1 innings.

Did not know this. There is still one more game today starting at 16:05. Uni Lion yesterday invited Saitama Seibu Lions' OBs, including Kimiyasu Kudo, Taigen Kaku, Tetsuya Shiozaki, and Watanabe Hisanobu.