19 November 2023
Australia wins hearts of Japanese baseball fans, but loses Bronze Medal heartbreaker
MORE TO COME – story by Eric Balnar
A plucky effort. A heartbreaking loss. An incredible, surreal experience at the Tokyo Dome.
Australia showed they are strongly in the conversation when it comes to competing with international baseball powerhouses. They just haven’t figured out how to control the chat.
Team Australia suffered a third agonising defeat in four days at the Asia Professional Baseball Championships against a top-ranked team. This time, to world #5 Chinese Taipei in the bronze medal game.
CPBL All-Star centrefielder Tien Tsin Kuo had a walk-off RBI single in the ninth inning to win it 4-3 for the proud Taiwanese baseball national.
Other tight losses include extra innings defeats to Korea (World #4) on Thursday, and Taiwan again on Friday.
What happened off the field is almost as exciting as what happened on the field.
Australia trailed 3-0 but they sparked a rally to tie the game late. The Japanese fans greatly assisted with that effort in a “you have to see it to believe it moment.”
Team Australia has gone viral in Japan in recent days. The Aussie baseballers struggle to find any space in media outlets at home, but in Japan they’ve been headline news in every format. Some tweets have over one-million views including a plea for support at the game.
Japanese people formed a cheer section down the left field line, singing traditional baseball cheer songs for their second favourite baseball team – the boys in the green & gold.
This wasn’t just lazy cheering – they were singing, clapping, chanting and dancing Australia on. They were throwing out joyful chorus for Australia like it was their hometown team. The newly formed ‘Kangaroo Club’ was invested.
The support built at exactly the right time. Australia had just made a mess of the third inning.
An infield hit, a walk, an error, a hit-by-pitch and a botched double-play attempt put a crooked ‘three’ on the scoreboard for Chinese Taipei. In international baseball, teams can ill afford a lapse like that.
Australia didn’t quit. In the next half inning, Alex Hall reached on a single. The newly dubbed ‘Kangaroo Club’ of frenetic Japanese supporters rained down support on Chris Burke.
He delivered an RBI double to put Australia on the board.
Just watch.
Australia started the game with Sam Holland, Dan McGrath and Kai-Noa Wynyard on the mound. They turned it over to Coen Wynne.
He was brilliant. The returning World Baseball Classic pitcher held his nerve. He threw a perfect fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth inning – no walks, no hits, no runs.
As any good pitcher needs, Wynne benefited from superb defense.
His stone-cold performance allowed Australia to hang tough and wait for a time to strike.
The moment was the seventh inning.
New Japanese fan favourite Chris Burke knocked a deep RBI-double off the wall. Mitch Edwards legged out an infield hit. Luke Smith had a gutsy pinch-hit single to load the bases.
With two outs, Liam Spence hung tough. He fouled off multiple pitches and waited for one he liked.
He got it. Tie ball-game.
Unfortunately, the seemingly red-hot bats, which collected seven hits in the middle innings, dried up.
Chinese Taipei pitching needed just 11 pitches to retire the final six Australian outs.
Cheng-Yu Chang, the gun shortstop for the newly ordained CPBL champion Dragons side, broke up Coen Wynne’s perfect relief appearance in the bottom of the ninth. He was advanced on a bunt.
Two- CPBL All-Star Tien Hsin Kuo cashed him in on a heartbreaking hit to right-field.
A heartbreaking end. Close.
Players will return to Australia for the ABL season.




























