Have trombone, will travel: Passionate Chinese Taipei fans light up Tokyo Dome

TOKYO -- When Jyun-Yue Tseng raced out onto the mound in the seventh inning of Chinese Taipei's 14-0 victory over Czechia on Saturday, over 40,000 fans lifted their phones and flipped on their flashlights, turning the stadium into a sparkling globe filled with screaming, cheering fans.

But this wasn’t the Taipei Dome, or even Xinzhuang Baseball Stadium, where Tseng pitches for the Fubon Guardians in the CPBL. This was Tokyo Dome, home to Samurai Japan.

“For a moment, I thought I was home,” Tseng said.

It’s been a remarkable showing from Chinese Taipei’s fans at the World Baseball Classic. They have turned out by the tens of thousands for every contest and have continued singing all game – whether in victory, like against the Czechs, or in defeat like when they lost 13-0 to Japan.

“The environment is something special,” Red Sox prospect Tsung-Che Cheng said. “It is not a home game, but on the other hand the Tokyo Dome has such a special atmosphere with a long history of hosting baseball games. It’s such an honor to play here to represent my country. All the fans who flew from Taiwan are spoiling us and that gives me extra energy. I always have fun playing for them and we never give up no matter the result.”

Part of that special energy comes from the cheer squads that have joined the team here in Tokyo. Dancers and cheerleaders come out atop the dugout, inspiring the crowd to keep the energy up.

This year, the team has also brought its largest band, too, with eight trumpeters, four trombone players, and two saxophonists filling the stands with music.

“Our members come all the way from Taiwan, all around, everywhere – like from Taipei City, Kaohsiung, Taichung,” Hung-Yu, a tenor saxophone player for the group, said. “As soon as we knew about these games, we booked our plane tickets immediately just so we could watch these games.”

Cheer squads are a common sight in Asian baseball, but each team’s style is different. Korea tends to have a quasi-soccer-style capo, leading almost call-and-response chants. Japan’s “oendan” waves flags and mixes thunderous taiko drums with trumpets.

“We combined some Taiwanese elements in our music and our dances, and also we have a large group, so we believe that we're the best cheerleading team,” David – or Da-Chang, the drummer and “champion” – said. “So, we’ll win against Korea tomorrow.”

The band plays only when Chinese Taipei is up to the plate, and each of the players has a “unique song for themselves,” David said. “And if we have an opportunity to score or if it’s a long inning, we’ll play some chants.”

Players and coaches have noticed the music and the thunderous applause from down on the field, too – how could they not?

“We’ve had a huge support behind us, and the fans touched all of us,” manager Hao-Jiu Tseng said. “Whenever we play, all the fans give us extra energy, and we are thankful.”

It’s been a dream come true for the band, but also for Chinese Taipei’s fans, who have been able to turn Tokyo Dome into such a raucous environment for their team.

“Imagine that we can stock the Tokyo Dome with all the Taiwanese people?” Hung-Yu said. “It's truly a dream, but we're really fascinated by it now.”

But other than David, who is the official cheer captain for the CTBC brothers, each member of the band has a day job and is using vacation time to be in Tokyo this week. Should Chinese Taipei advance to the Miami pool, some members will need to return home – but not all of them.

“Some of us [have to go home] because we still have our day jobs, but if we went to Miami, there’s got to be someone to play for the team.”