Taipei: Taiwan's national baseball team recently navigated the World Baseball Classic Qualifiers (WBCQ) without the assistance of a team athletic trainer, a situation that team captain Chen Chieh-hsien hopes will not repeat in future tournaments.
According to Focus Taiwan, Chen, who also leads the Taiwan Professional Baseball Players Association, expressed concerns about the absence of an athletic trainer during the qualifiers, which took place just days before Taiwan secured a spot in next year's World Baseball Classic. Despite the team's success in advancing, Chen highlighted the discomfort experienced by players due to the lack of medical support, which he described as an essential component of the game.
The absence of a trainer was attributed to stricter credential rules imposed during the qualifier series. Each team was permitted 39 official credentials, with 28 allocated for players. The remaining credentials were left to the discretion of the team's management. While other teams, such as Nicaragua and Spain, included athletic trainers among their support staff, Taiwan's team prioritized coaching and unspecified support personnel, leaving athletes without dedicated medical support.
The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL), responsible for assembling the national team, faced criticism for this oversight. Although Major League Baseball, the organizer of the WBC, provided a trainer who did not count against the credential limit, their unfamiliarity with the players' specific needs limited their effectiveness.
Chen emphasized the vital role of athletic trainers in managing players' physical conditions, assisting with stretching, injury treatment, and muscle relaxation before, during, and after games. The absence of these trainers disrupted the team's preparation, as seen in incidents involving players like Lin Chia-wei, who was injured during a game against Spain, and Sha Tzu-chen, who suffered from cramping during a match against South Africa.
Chen hopes that future tournaments will ensure the presence of essential support staff, allowing players to be fully prepared both physically and mentally, thereby enhancing their performance on the field.