I was watching the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary about the LLWS and was surprised at the deference (for lack of a better term) given to the Taiwanese sides. Turns out between 1969 and 1996 Taiwanese teams won the LLWS 17 times.
Given that I am wondering why their impact on the MLB has been so minimal. It seems weird that none of these junior teams would have players who continued to progress. Is it just about attractiveness of the domestic league, a focus on amateur sports above professional?
Hey there,
Just to let you know, your question is fine, and we're letting it stand. However, you should be aware that questions framed as 'Why didn't X do Y' relatively often don't get an answer that meets our standards (in our experience as moderators). There are a few reasons for this. Firstly, it often can be difficult to prove the counterfactual: historians know much more about what happened than what might have happened. Secondly, 'why didn't X do Y' questions are sometimes phrased in an ahistorical way. It's worth remembering that people in the past couldn't see into the future, and they generally didn't have all the information we now have about their situations; things that look obvious now didn't necessarily look that way at the time.
If you end up not getting a response after a day or two, consider asking a new question focusing instead on why what happened did happen (rather than why what didn't happen didn't happen) - this kind of question is more likely to get a response in our experience. Hope this helps!
This may not answer your question fully but I found it interesting: https://thediplomat.com/2013/08/what-happened-to-taiwans-little-league-champs/#!%23:~:text=Many%20of%20the%20Little%20Leaguers,in%20the%20U.S.%20Major%20Leagues.
In my opinion (I was once a young Taiwanese boy that watches a lot of baseball): Americans baseball is more athletic / physically gifted at the professional level. The much bigger market also attracts talent and competition, creating an environment competing at a much higher level