The Group A preliminary of the 2023 World Baseball Classic started in Taichung today (8th). The National Baseball Hall of Fame star and the legendary defender of the Yankees' patron saint, Mariano Rivera, was invited to serve as the kick-off guest of the opening game of the Classic. He arrived in Taichung with his wife on the 7th of yesterday. Mayor Shiow-Yen Lu issued a certificate of honor and a medal of an honorary citizen to express the courtesy and welcome of Taichung City to Rivera to recognize the contribution of the first player in the MLB Hall of Fame to the World Baseball Classic held in Taichung.

Mayor Lu warmly welcomed Rivera's arrival and thoughtfully prepared a Taiwanese-flavored baseball nine-square division fruit gift box. She also introduced to Rivera nine samples of abundant fruits in Taichung and Taiwan, including Dongshi's honey tangerine, Taipin's loquat, Waipu's dragon fruit, Xinshe's grape, etc. Rivera, after tasting them, happily said that he was so glad to have this opportunity to eat so many delicious fruits at one time. He had never tasted loquat and custard apples before and felt that the tastes were unique and novel, among which dragon fruit was his favorite. He also complimented that the fruits from Taiwan are sweet, crisp, tender, and juicy, each with its characteristics.

Moreover, Mayor Lu introduced Taichung, the birthplace of pearl milk tea. Rivera, who tasted pearl milk tea for the first time, raised his glass and looked at it curiously. Also, Mayor Lu gave Rivera a Mid-Lake Pavilion lacquer art cookie box and Taichung Taiping blue-dyed tie and silk scarf. The unique style of Hakka's handmade blue dyeing amazed Rivera.

Mayor Lu said that, when Chien-Ming Wang, the bullpen coach of the Chinese Taipei team in the classic game, played for the Yankees in the past, Rivera served as a closer pitcher. He defended one victory after another for the team with his precise and sharp cutter, becoming baseball's most famous patron saint. As the mayor and fan of the host city, Lu is delighted to welcome Rivera and other guests on behalf of the city government and all citizens.

Director (of Sports Bureau) Lee mentioned that the official game of the 2023 World Baseball Classic will start today. The world will once again pay attention to Taichung after ten years. Taichung City was awarded the "World Baseball Capital." And Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium is a leading international standard baseball stadium. The Chinese Taipei team belongs to the same Group A as Cuba, the Netherlands, Italy, Panama, and other groups in this competition. They will fight for the top two in the group, with the primary goal of getting tickets for the Tokyo semi-finals.

Mayor Lu indicated that Taichung is a famous pastry city in Taiwan. This time, the city government prepared the top ten souvenirs and tangerine compressed tea as Taichung special refreshments. Also, they readied the Mid-Lake Pavilion lacquer art cookie box with Rivera's favorite Lishan oolong tea, which presents Taichung's exquisite tea culture. Taichung is also the birthplace of world-famous pearl milk tea. Therefore, she especially invites foreign guests to taste the pearl milk tea at the founding store of Chun Shui Tang to market the brand image and city characteristics of "Taichung Sweet."

The guests of honor at today's welcome dinner are the legendary star Rivera, his wife Clara, and his family Yamileth. The city government, including Mayor Shiow-Yen Lu, Deputy Mayor Guo-Rong Huang, Director of Sports Bureau Yu-Rui Lee, Director of Transportation Bureau Chao-Fu Yeh, and Secretary-General of the Secretariat Jia-Zhen Xie, accompanied the reception. Moreover, Secretary-General of the Chinese Taipei Baseball Association Zong-Cheng Lin, Head of the International Division Jian-Fan Dai, Deputy General Manager of Taiwan Sports Lottery Ming-Zhe Tsai, founder of BROS SPORTS MARKETING CO., LTD Yun-Zhi Chang, and Senior Consultant Yun-Mao Chen, also attended the exchange. The atmosphere at the scene was pleasant and warm.