SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, PA — If you wonder why Lin Chin-Tse throws so hard, look at his legs. They’re a pitcher’s legs, built to drive his motion toward the plate and the ball past opponents.
They’re also a boxer’s legs. His dad made sure of that.
“He used the physical training part for boxing to train him on the baseball part,” says Kenny Yen, an interpreter who helped assist families of Chinese Taipei’s team at the Little League World Series.
What does that entail?
“A lot of running,” his father tells Yen to relay to a reporter while flashing a smile. “A lot of cardio.”
Lin Shih-Hua, 56, coaches the national boxing team for Tawain, also known as Chinese Taipei. He tried to get his son to follow his footsteps into the ring.
“He doesn’t like boxing,” Lin Shih-Hua says through Yen. “He likes team sports, so baseball has a lot of teammates. And when it’s boxing, he feels by himself. He wants to be a part of a team.”
After his son, 12, powered Chinese Taipei past (Las Vegas) Nevada 7-0 on Aug. 24 to win the Little League world title, they all took a long victory lap around Lamade Stadium with their championship banner. They slid into third base. They picked dirt off the mound. They stood in a line and bowed to their fans.
From the stands, the pitcher’s father watched with his mother, Huang Yung-Ling, his sister, Lin Yen-Hsi and his grandmother, Yu Pei-Ying. They all spoke to USA TODAY Sports via Yen.
“He works really, really hard and he’s been thinking about coming to the U.S to play ball,” Yu Pei-Ying said. “And he finally achieved that. That was his goal.”
There’s a story behind every Little Leaguer: the early life dreams, the escapades with teammates, the coach who leads them, the family that sacrifices, the little sister who tags along.
What was she most proud about?
“The first home run that he hit,” the 10-year-old said brightly.
That moment came earlier in the tournament. During the championship game, her brother one-hit Vegas in five nearly flawless innings. His fastball, which notched above 80 mph at least a couple of times, according to ESPN, cut through the zone. His slower curve served to be as much as a force against hitters expecting the heater.
It was his bat, though, that put the game away. Hitting from the right side, he drove a hard grounder down the third base line in the fifth inning that cleared the bases. The triple put his team ahead 5-0 and well on the way to victory.
His manager, Lai Min-Nan, had told him to not try and hit a home run all the time. Just hit the ball solidly, like the player he admires over all others.
“Acuña Jr.!” his mother says with a laugh.
“No pitchers, only Ronald Acuña,” Yen says, speaking for the whole family.
When her son was young, his mother says, he liked to watch a lot of videos about baseball, which made him realize how much he liked it. His father got into boxing in middle school but had played Taiwan’s national sport as a boy. His son started in third grade.
His manager, Lai Min-Nan, played the game until around college age but but got injured and decided to become a physical education teacher. But he realized he could contribute to the baseball community by coaching Little League.
Over two-plus decades, he led the team to Chinese Taipei championships in 2003, 2008, 2015, 2017 and 2025. The only time he made it to Williamsport was in 2015, when his team was eliminated by Mexico.
When the group was in fourth grade, Lin Chin-Tse recalled they probably won one tournament out of 20 or 30. But their coach thought they might be something in 2 or 3 years.
Lai Min-Nan developed an array of arms that pushed him over the top. Lin, his ace, topped 82 mph when he arrived here, striking out 20 in 11 innings overall during the team’s 5-0 run that included four shutouts.
“Try to catch (that) in that short distance,” team interpreter Phillip Chang said after the LLWS championship game. “Nobody wants to. Even the coach will say, ‘I’m not gonna do it.’’
He pointed to catcher Tsai Yu-Ge: “He’s the guy who will say, ‘I’ll do it.’ He’s the unsung hero.”
“If I’m the one who votes the MVP because I’ve been living with this group for over two weeks, that guy is the MVP, in my heart,” Chang said. “(Manager Lai Min-Nan) would say he’s the MVP, too.”
They believe in the team concept, that the opponent can’t beat you if they can’t score against your pitchers or defense. After Lin Chin-Tse had sailed through five innings, a single the sole blemish standing between him and a perfect game, his manager opted to go to Chen Qi-Sheng.
Lai Min-Nan wanted the closer to enjoy the moment, too. He had confidence in everyone on the team, which brought home a Little League title for the first time in 29 years.
It has been quite a run for Lin Chin-Tse and his father, a 30-year boxing coach. Lin Yu-Ting represented Taiwan, over which China claims sovereignty, when she won an Olympic boxing gold medal at the 2024 Paris Games. Lin Shih-Hua’s pupil trained her.
“He didn’t get involved,” says Yen, our interpreter. “He let his student teach her.”
Lin Shih-Hua has been to the United States before to coach boxing, but the other family members were making their first trip.
I asked him what he liked better these days, boxing or baseball?
“Now he likes baseball,” Yen said.
Then his daughter chimed in: “She says he’s betraying boxing!”
Her brother wants to learn English when he returns home, a souvenir from the new friends he met here and an emblem of the dream he carries to reach the major leagues.
Maybe if he gets there, Acuña will still be there waiting for him.
Steve Borelli, aka Coach Steve, has been an editor and writer with USA TODAY since 1999. He spent 10 years coaching his two sons’ baseball and basketball teams. He and his wife, Colleen, are now sports parents for two high schoolers. His column is posted weekly. For his past columns, click here.