As we move into the 44th Annual Junior League World Series (August 9-16) at Heritage Park, it pays to learn a little history before trying to take a bite out of the present.

It doesn’t take long to recognize how Chinese Taipei has won the last four Junior League World Series championships. Or 10 of the last 11 titles. Discipline and depth are two of the major ingredients to the dominance that the Asia-Pacific Regional Champions have possessed and all you must do is look at last year’s statistics.

Last August, Chung-Shan Junior Little League represented Chinese Taipei in the JLWS and won all five of its games to capture the overall world championship. During those five games, the team posted a collective batting average of .341 during a tournament in which no other team posted a batting average over .300 and five teams batted under .200. Nine of their 13-player roster hit over .300 – three finished with a .500 or better batting average.

Thanks to all those hits, Chinese Taipei averaged over 10 runs per game. Their 42 runs batted in were over twice as many as any other team in the tournament.

Many fans might come away thinking that Chinese Taipei is some type of steamroller, but they are more like a giant octopus. Once they get their tentacles around you, they strangle the fight right out of you. Why? Because they do much more than just hit the baseball.

On the mound, Chinese Taipei pitchers threw 30 innings and registered a collective earned run average of 0.47 (less than one run per game), allowing only 16 hits and two earned runs and five walks overall. Six of the team’s 13-player roster pitched in the tournament. Over the five-game tournament, Taiwan’s top two pitchers (Yeh Lei and Liao Cheng En) pitched just over 16 innings and gave up a single run.

Chinese Taipei handled 132 chances in the field and committed just two errors – that’s not a typo.

Taiwan’s 11 overall titles – all since 2010 – double their next-closest challengers in all-time JLWS crowns. Teams from Puerto Rico (last title in 1999), Florida (2012) and Southern California (2019) have each captured five championships. Other squads claiming multiple JLWS titles include Hawaii (four), Texas (3) and Arizona (2).

Aside from Chinese Taipei’s dominance, play in last year’s tournament was very balanced. Vine-Ingle Little League out of Macon, Georgia, the Southeast Regional Champion, used a first round bye and then solid wins over the Michigan District 5 from Taylor North LL; Naamans LL of Wilmington, Delaware, representing the East Regional; and finally, a one-run win over the Southwest Regional title winner from Needville LL of Needville, Texas, to qualify for the finals.

Needville was the perfect example of the tightness of play throughout the tournament. The team lost its first game and then reeled off three straight wins before losing in the U.S. Championship Game by a late run.


So, what’s up this year?

The opening ceremony (free admission) will take place at the JLWS World Series Field in Heritage Park. It will begin at approximately 8 p.m. on Saturday, August 8 and include a parade featuring all the teams.

The USA Bracket will be made up of American teams from the Central, East, Southeast, Southwest, West and the Michigan District 5 champion. The International Bracket will consist of Asia-Pacific, Australia, Canada, Europe-Africa, Latin America and Mexico.

Qualifying as of this writing for the JLWS are the Eastern Phantoms (Australian Regional); Emilia Romagna LL of Italy (Europe-Africa Regional); Matamoros (Mexico Regional); and Shing-Ming LL, Taoyuan, Chinese Taipei (Asia-Pacific Region). Opening games on Sunday, August 9 are:

-US Central-US Southeast, 10 a.m.
-Canada-Mexico, 1 p.m.
-US East-Michigan District 5, 4 p.m.
-Europe-Africa-Australia, 7 p.m.

Four teams drew first-round byes and will start the tournament on Monday, August 10. In the International Bracket, Asia-Pacific will play the winner of Canada and Mexico and Latin America will play the winner of Europe-Africa and Australia. On the US side, US West will play the Central-Southeast winner, and US Southwest will play the East-Michigan District 5 winner.

Fans should note that the starting times for all games have been moved by an hour this year, beginning at 10 a.m. and 1, 4 and 7 p.m. beginning Sunday, August 9 and running through Wednesday, August 12. There will be elimination games on Thursday, August 13 at 5 and 8 p.m.

After an off day on Friday, August 14, the International Championship will be held at 3 p.m. on Saturday, August 15 with the USA Championship at 6.

The JLWS Championship Game will begin at noon on Sunday, August 16.

Admission is $5 per car during the tournament and covers admission and parking.



Bring on the big crowds

In 2023 and again in 2024 the host team representing Michigan District 5 was Taylor North LL. Those teams claimed the USA Championship side of the tournament and advanced to the JLWS finals before losing to Chinese Taipei. A “host team” representing District 5 has never won a JLWS title.

While the reigning dynasty from Chinese Taipei may bring the beef, so to speak, having a host team in the tournament brought the crowds, filling seats and pitching tents on a regular basis. Every Taylor game is jammed with fans of all ages. That often-included cheering sections made up of school friends and others who followed the local team. They had fun, and they were loud.

Taylor’s final two games of the 2024 tournament – a 9-7 victory to win the USA title and the loss to the Chinese Taipei in the finals – drew nearly 5,000 fans each day. The year before showed the same trend. Until the advent of the host team in 2018, attendance was nowhere near as large as it has been over the past few Augusts.