Mystery donor helps Taiwan's Babe Ruth little league champs join World Series in US

神秘捐款者幫助臺灣貝比魯斯聯盟冠軍參加美國世界錦標賽

National champs in Pingtung County were unsure they could cover expenses to join August tournament


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The little league baseball team representing Pingtung County on May 17 won the Babe Ruth League’s Cal Ripken Division national championship in Taiwan.

The Pingtung County team, which is jointly comprised of students from Yu-Tian Elementary and Daping Elementary Schools, is scheduled to join the international Babe Ruth World Series in the United States this August. However, the Babe Ruth League is not recognized by the Ministry of Education as an event eligible for subsidies to assist the schools cover expenses, reported UDN.

The schools began taking donations for the trip, but worried they would not be able to secure the funds to cover the participation fee and travel expenses, an estimated NT$4.8 million (US$150,000) for the team.

On Saturday (May 25) morning, Daping Elementary was contacted by a woman who said that she would like to fund the full cost of the team’s trip to the U.S. so that they could join the Cal Ripken World Series tournament. School officials were shocked by the news and doubted the sincerity of the offer, but the funds were deposited in the school’s account later that afternoon.

Daping Elementary, Yu-Tian Elementary, and baseball lovers around Taiwan expressed their gratitude to the generous benefactor, who is reportedly based in Kaohsiung but refused to offer further information about her identity.

In 2023, the team from Penglai Elementary School in Yilan County won the national Babe Ruth Cal Ripken Division tournament in Taiwan. The team went on to represent Taiwan in the World Series, and finished an impressive 2nd place, losing the final match to the U.S. team.

With knowledge of the Yilan team’s experience, which required donations from private businesses and the public, the Pingtung schools had a good idea of the necessary expenses for the 21-day trip to the U.S. Thanks to the donation, the Pingtung Schools are in high spirits and ready to show the world their skills on the baseball diamond.