Softbank Hawks Hawks president Sadaharu Oh (85), a national hero in Taiwan, gave a speech to local baseball officials before the game. "It's the basics. Practice hard and be able to express it with your body. You just have to repeat it," he said passionately. baseball fever in Taiwan is on the rise, with the team winning the Premier 12 in 2024. To develop baseball in Asia, including Korea and China, Oh stressed, "Japan needs to take a leadership role. We've won the WBC, after all. I think it would be good to have a sense of leadership."