Slowly, but surely, the bats of the President Lions have awoken.
While strong starting pitching allowed the President Lions to keep pace with the league-leading Sinon Bulls through the first dozen games or so, it is the Lions' bats that helped them pass the Bulls in the last five games to claim top spot in the league standings.
Before the Lions' recent offensive surge it was the solid pitching efforts of starters Joe Davenport (4-0) and rookie Pan Chung-wei (潘威倫) (4-0) that kept the Lions within striking distance.
In the past five games, four of which were against the Bulls, the red-hot Lions have overcome a 1 1/2 game deficit against the Bulls and taken a 1/2 game lead of their own -- over the team that had led in league standings since opening day.
Leading the way for the awesome Lions offense are right fielder Wang Chuan-jia (
Backing up
Batting third in the order is Wang, who joined the Lions in 1999, after having spent three seasons with the Bulls from 1996 to 1998, and two previous seasons with the former Jung Kuo Bears (俊國熊). He is currently tied with Sinon Bulls' Chang Tai-shan (張泰山) for the lead in the league in home runs with five, and second in RBIs with 18.
A career .291 hitter prior to this season, he has always been known for his "sticky bat."
"He [Wang] has the stickiest bat of all hitters in the league," last season's MVP ChinaTrust ace hurler Soong Jou-ji (
`Wild hog'
Behind Wang is Lin, nicknamed the "Wild Hog." Lin's aggressive hitting style has labeled him one of the premier hitters in the league with a batting average of .329, three home runs and a league-leading 21 RBIs.
The seventh-year veteran attributes his recent success to hitting coach and teammate Lou Ming-chin (羅敏卿) for providing him an effective hitter's mentality.
"Lou has helped me out tremendously with his understanding of pitchers around the league. I am a much more effective hitter now because he has taught me how to assess the game situation before every at-bat," Lin was quoted as saying in a local Chinese-language paper.
Taking on the regular designated hitter's duty this year for the Lions is former Whales power hitter Chen Lien-hung (
Chen was acquired by the Lions from the Whales after last season in a three-man trade. With the league's-second-best batting average of .400, Chen provides Lin with some much-needed protection because opposing pitchers can no longer avoid Lin by intentionally walking him.
Chen is the older brother of Chen Chin-feng (陳金峰), who became the first Taiwan-born player to play in a major leagues game late last season with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
In addition to the swapping of league leaders, it was a sad week for the CPBL because of an automobile accident involving three Sinon Bull players and one Lions player.
Fortunately for all parties involved, three of the four players are already in playing condition, while the fourth is still hospitalized but in stable condition.
The drive for a late-night snack by Bulls pitcher Ho Chi-shian (
All four players were fined one-month's salary for the incident, for infringing training rules. Though Ho had been drinking he was tested and was under the limit.
Upcoming Games
The newly crowned Lions will visit the First Securities Agan this week in Kaohsiung in a four-game series. Games 2 and 3 will be played in a day-and-night doubleheader tomorrow, while the series finale is scheduled for Sunday.
This is an excellent opportunity for the Lions to add to their lead, as they face the last-placed Agan.
The Makoto Gida will host the Bulls in Hsinchuang today and in Hsinchu on Sunday in a matchup that has Gida manager Tsau Shih-chiang (趙士強) concerned because his troops will be facing the Bulls.
The most anticipated series this weekend will be the showdown between the improved Brother Elephants and the third-placed Whales. Games 2 and 3 will be played at Tienmu tomorrow and Sunday.
‘SOURCE OF PRIDE’: Newspapers rushed out special editions and the government sent their congratulations as Shohei Ohtani became the first player to enter the 50-50 club Japan reacted with incredulity and pride yesterday after Shohei Ohtani became the first player in Major League Baseball to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season. The Los Angeles Dodgers star from Japan made history with a seventh-inning homer in a 20-4 victory over the Marlins in Miami. “We would like to congratulate him from the bottom of our heart,” top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters in Tokyo. “We sincerely hope Mr Ohtani, who has already accomplished feat after feat and carved out a new era, will thrive further,” he added. The landmark achievement dominated Japanese morning news
When Wang Tao ran away from home aged 17 to become a professional wrestler, he knew it would be a hard slog to succeed in China’s passionate but underdeveloped scene. Years later, he has endured family disapproval, countless side gigs and thousands of hours of brutal training to become China’s “Belt and Road Champion” — but the struggle is far from over. Despite a promising potential domestic market, the Chinese pro wrestling community has been battling for recognition and financial stability for decades. “I have done all kinds of jobs [on the side]... Because in the end, it is very
No team in the CPBL can surpass the Taipei Dome attendance record set by the CTBC Brothers, except when the Brothers team up with Taiwanese rock band Mayday. A record-high 40,000 fans turned out at the indoor baseball venue on Saturday for Brothers veteran Chou Szu-chi’s first farewell game, which was followed by a mini post-game concert featuring Mayday. This broke the previous CPBL record of 34,506 set by the Brothers in early last month, when K-pop singer Hyuna performed after the game, and the dome’s overall record of 37,890 set in early March, which featured the Brothers and the
With a quivering finger, England Subbuteo veteran Rudi Peterschinigg conceded the free-kick that sent his country’s World Cup quarter-final into extra-time before smashing his plastic goalkeeper on the floor in frustration. In the genteel southern English town of Tunbridge Wells, 300 elite players have gathered to play the game they love. “I won’t say this is the best weekend I’ve ever had in my life, but it’s certainly in the top two,” said Hughie Best, 58, who flew in from Perth, Australia, to compete and commentate at the event. Tunbridge Wells is the “spiritual home” of Subbuteo, which was invented there in 1946