Team moves training site from Guam-Okinawa to Taiwan
![Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che, third from left, and Lotte Giants General Manager Park Joon-hyuk, fourth from left, pose for a photo after signing the memorandum of understanding on Oct. 8. [Photo courtesy of Tainan City]](https://cdn.newsarticleinsiders.com/news/photo/202410/2463_4453_1725.jpg)
South Korea’s Lotte Giants baseball team, known for its struggles in the lower ranks of the league, has announced plans to hold its winter training camp in Taiwan starting next year.
Taiwan media outlets reported on Oct. 9 that the Lotte Giants have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the city government of Tainan, Taiwan.
The agreement will allow the team to use the Asia-Pacific International Baseball Training Center in Tainan as their spring training camp from 2025 onward.
Tainan City officials revealed that Lotte would be the first overseas professional baseball team to train at the center.
In addition, the city aims to establish an independent and dedicated sports department with the goal of becoming a key baseball training hub in Asia.
Lotte Giants General Manager Park Joon-hyuk expressed optimism about the decision, stating, "Tainan’s winter climate is ideal for outdoor training, providing optimal conditions for our team."
The proximity of Tainan to Busan, Lotte’s home city, was also a key factor in the decision.
It takes only 2 hours and 30 minutes to fly from Busan to Kaohsiung Airport, located near Tainan, making travel convenient for the team.
In the past, Lotte has held its spring camps in Guam and Okinawa, but the team’s performance has remained unimpressive.
The Giants’ last Korean Series championship in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) was in 1992, and they have never finished first in the regular season. Their most recent postseason appearance was in 2017.