The 2026 Chinese Professional Baseball League Midsummer Classic in Taiwan: Two days of batting and fielding skills challenges, a Home Run Derby, two full all-star games, endless singing, dancing, cheerleaders, and three commemorative logo official game balls!
The OfficialGameBalls.com team headed to Taipei, Taiwan in July for a weekend baseball journey. I joined a few local Taiwan friends who were so generous to help host and coordinate the whole weekend.
Naturally, I’ll cover the official game balls used in the games and events somewhere below. But the whole Taiwan baseball experience needs to be shared. If you’ve ever considered a baseball road trip abroad, hopefully this will help motivate you.
TL;DR: If you have the opportunity to travel the world, to attend an All-Star Game or any professional baseball game in Taiwan, or anywhere in Asia… you absolutely should!
For the purpose of this site, and to not lose the attention of hardcore baseball collectors, you can always skip ahead for official baseball pics. Or you can cheat and find our museum-quality shots in our Museum of Baseballs, the global pro game ball database (requires some digging).
2026 CPBL ASG KEY INFO:
- 2026 Taiwan Excellence CPBL All-Star Game(s)
- Held on July 18–19 at the Taipei Dome
- Team Taiwan vs. Team Star
- Team Taiwan is a “developmental squad comprised of under-24 players who are eligible for the 2026 Asian Professional Baseball Championship (APBC).” Team Star features fan-voted veteran stars.
- Both teams were comprised of current CPBL players, with guest appearances by retired Taiwanese legends. Legendary players included those who played in the CPBL, Japan’s Nippon Pro Baseball (NPB), and in a few cases, Major League Baseball (MLB).
- Attendance: Both games sold out, reaching stadium capacity of 40,000 fans per game.
- Tickets: Face value was 1,890NT$ (New Taiwan Dollars). About $58 USD for a premier section, level 1, 3B side near home plate.
The CPBL baseball experience in Taiwan
I’ve been to one Major League Baseball All-Star Game. That was about 30 years ago. I am not trying to compare leagues or events. Obviously MLB is The Show, and nothing compares. But the CPBL’s All-Star Weekend stands on its own as an incredibly entertaining, more family-friendly laidback affair.
Imagine minor league events in smaller cities. More charm, less chaotic. And yet, 40,000 fans and seeming endless action and excitement. And far more affordable.
I’d call it a very high-value experience. It was a celebration of Taiwanese pro baseball and the league, and the fans. But it also had its competitive moments and drama.
Taipei Dome Ticket Details
Tickets sold out almost instantly. I had the help of a local friend who purchased from the secondary market with minimal markup. We paid approximately $60 per seat per game for the second best tier (based on price level). Section 116, row 32 for both games.
Our seats were great for behind-the-plate views, and if you enjoy watching dozens of cheerleaders dance on dugouts and lead player walk-up chants and songs all game long (that was a blast!). But be aware, if your row is too far back under the overhanging 2nd level, it can feel a bit claustrophobic.
I would not recommend sitting in these sections beyond roughly row 20–25. That is, if you want to take in the full Taipei Dome atmosphere.
The whole event was Monopoly themed. As in the American board game, Monopoly. It’s hard to see it unless you look close at signage or happened to see any of the league-produced hype videos leading up to the main event.
It was a fun concept, but not nearly as cool as last season’s Super Mario and Nintendo Switch-themed 2025 CPBL All-Star Game, where All-Stars actually played Mario Kart World from the field!
A set of Skills Challenges took place for a few hours pre-game on both days. It began with relay races that involved celebrities and cheerleaders, then a throwing competition from center field to home plate (far more entertaining that I’d expect) and a batting challenge that involved attempting to place hits to 9 positions around the field. That included the famous bunting challenge. These were also more interesting and suspenseful than I expected.
Could MLB do something similar? I honestly think so, but only as a supplementary exhibition during All-Star Workout Day, perhaps. The CPBL Home Run Derby, much like MLB’s, was the the highlight of the pre-game activities. The biggest difference was that it spanned two days, with the final round taking place before Game 2.
There was plenty of on-field entertainment leading up to game time.
There were a number of future and former upper-tier baseball prospects on the younger Team Taiwan, plus a few recognizable MLB vets who participated for Team Star. But as a casual fan who’s unfamiliar with most of the names in both the lineups, the in-game highlights for me were the CPBL and Taiwanese baseball legends. They made guest appearance at-bats and relief pitching stints during the actual All-Star games – not the side show skills competitions or some sort of celebrity softball game. Impressive!
The addition of Taiwan legends was a great surprise even for the locals. It was a new twist. The way team managers “summoned a legend” from the dugout to pinch hit or take the mound was a sight on its own. The two CPBL All-Star Games themselves pretty competitive at times at times. But the teams never took themselves too seriously. Even the league’s commissioner was summoned with a legend card and came to bat near the end of game 2.
Former NY Yankees Ace, No. 40, Chien-Ming Wang (王建民) and CPBL Commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌)
Perhaps the best highlight of the weekend, at least for an American who grew up on MLB baseball, was the appearance by arguably the greatest Taiwanese baseball player ever…
Former New York Yankees starting pitcher and two-time MLB 19-game winner, and current CTBC Brothers pitching coach Chien-Ming Wang (or Wang Chien-Ming), joined game 2 and took the mound to face a few batters.
He was the pitcher of record for the CPBL commissioner’s at-bat! Commish even got on base, albeit with a little help. That will be a core memory for me from this experience.
Video & Images from the Chinese Professional Baseball League
Check out this awesome highlight reel covering the full event.
The Taipei Dome at Taipei Cultural and Sports Park (臺北文化體育園區)
I won’t go into much more detail on the games or who won what. It was a month ago now and I hardly even remember the scores. And I admit, I did not recognize many players’ names. But before we move onto the baseballs, I should put in a word for Taipei and The Taipei Dome.
The ease of getting to Taipei Dome from my hotel, and navigating gates and food and beverage and beer purchases and Uber before and after and even the surrounding neighborhood shops… it was all simple. Seamless. And I know very little Mandarin or any local Taiwanese language.
The stadium is a great venue for watching baseball. It’s fairly cozy despite seating 40K for games and nearly 60,000+ for concerts. It’s a simple, smart layout, though I didn’t venture to the upper levels. It can feel very crowded when navigating the lower level concourse between innings, but it did not take long to his the restrooms or get in and out from the gates to our seats.
One negative: it was pretty lacking on food options and concessions. It’s wise to wait for the beverage servers (beer girls) to come through the stands to order (Taiwan Beer on Draft was delicious if you like traditional lagers). There were other options, too, beyond adult beverages.
The few concession stands I found had long lines. It seemed the best option for food stands was going to be a 7/11 inside the stadium, but I didn’t bother to wait. Because you don’t need to buy stadium food. A huge perk of the Taipei Dome and Taiwan baseball experience: you can just leave the stadium, go buy lunch or snacks or beers, and come back, again and again! And you can bring food and drink into the venue!
Each full day of events, from BP to skills to HR derby to game time, and the free concerts after (which I skipped) is probably a 10-to-12 hour extravaganza. That is a LONG time to be anywhere, especially a little seat in a crowded stadium. So the leniency of stadium rules and the logistics of the surrounding neighborhood, the Taipei Cultural and Sports Park and former Songshan Tobacco Factory, is especially appreciated. There are dozens of shops, restaurants, coffee shops, convenience stores, and even small quiet parks all around the stadium.
Last note on the Taipei Dome experience. The CPBL Official League shop would have been a nightmare to navigate during these two game days. The line was endless, all day, both days. If not for my buddy helping to pick up some souvenirs a day before game day, I may have been totally shut out on the rare official CPBL All-Star Game balls. They sold out at some point during the weekend. Which is a good segue to…
Sakurai 990s: The CPBL’s Official Game Balls
I mentioned last year that Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball League official baseballs are my dark horse pick for highest quality ball in universe. Well, the CPBL Sakurai gets its own accolade, but it has nothing to do with quality. The league is an untapped source for great commemoratives. The variety of creative logo designs and ink colors might be unmatched. Consider this was the lineup for just one weekend:
2026 Sakurai CPBL: Skill Challenges Standard Ball, Skill Challenges Gold Bonus Ball, and All-Star Game Ball
The league produces an great run of specially stamped official baseballs every season and almost all of them are used in games. Opening Day, Mother’s Day, All-Star, Taiwan Playoffs and Taiwan Series (league championship) and even an annual Draft Day ball to celebrate the league’s draft! Plus individual team events like player retirements, throwback uniform games, and international cross-league exhibition matches with NPB Japan teams.
Quantity and variety may be number one when you factor in the array of expressive logos, colors, and breadth of events. The quality, however, leaves something to be desired. Sakurai CPBL game balls are legit. They’re real leather, they hold up just fine. But they’re a bit rough and quality control is certainly below a Rawlings official ROMLB or Mizuno official NPB league ball.
There can be small marks, dents and dings, loose cotton threads (easy to pluck out with tweezers) or even small glue gobs sneaking out from between the seams. And if you look closer at some baseballs in our Taiwan galleries, you can see a teeny pinkish-red marker dot just inside the seams (check the blue ASG ball above, in the seams above the “26” in 2026). I believe that is a manufacturer’s “X-out” mark of some kind. Which means, that ball likely did not pass inspection and was designated for retail or practice. Just a hunch.
All manufacturers repurpose game balls that fail inspection as retail or practice balls, I believe. I just don’t want to see the evidence that my keepsake commemorative baseball is a failure.
But do not hesitate to collect these if you can find them. They’re still excellent pro gamers. Just anticipate a big step below Rawlings Minor League Baseballs. They’re similar to Rawlings NCAA official college baseballs. And those colors and designs make up for all the flaws!
The placement of logo stamps on the top/north panel, and manufacturer logos on lower/south panel, is still odd for me. I struggle to photograph these things. I’m still working on a standard, consistent format to stick with. So bear with us while we sort out the Taiwan galleries.
That logo on top does not make for a comfortable shot that includes the center league panel. It’s much different when the commemorative logo is on bottom. Also… sponsor logos on sweet spots? Not sure how I feel. It’s another unique quirk, but these baseballs are always sponsored by a bank, and banks are icky.
If you’re interested in attending a game in Taiwan, or just want to track down some Taiwanese baseballs, reach out to me on Instagram for advice. I’m happy to help. I plan to go to a few more games next season, and I’ll definitely return for the 2027 CPBL All-Star Game!
More scenes from Taipei and 2026 CPBL All-Star Weekend
