The Lamigo Monkeys’ Lin “Big Brother” Chih-sheng won the Home Run Derby at Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium yesterday, hammering five shots over the outfield boundary in the final round, two better than teammate Chen Chun-shou.
In the other Home Run Derby competition, two US Major League Baseball legends went head-to-head, with Ivan “I-Rod” Rodriguez prevailing after hitting five home runs compared with Jason Giambi’s four.
“Since my retirement, I haven’t swung a bat in some time. It takes a good swing to hit it out, and I am now a bit tired,” Giambi said about his efforts for the night.
In another setting with media, Giambi thanked the Taiwanese public, saying: “You have so many passionate fans here, and they love their baseball. It has been a wonderful experience. Thank you all for treating me like a family member. I will definitely come back to Taiwan again.”
Rodriguez shared Giambi’s sentiment, saying that he would like to return to Taiwan.
“I really enjoyed my stay and had a great time here in Taiwan,” Rodriguez said. “I see people love baseball here. As long as the game is being played, we can expect to see more Taiwanese players in the US major leagues.”
Before the Home Run Derby, the two former MLB stars signed autographs for fans and then headed over to a section near third base reserved for charity organizations, where they also autographed baseballs for groups of physically and mentally disabled children.
Earlier yesterday, the starting lineup for the CPBL All-Star Legend Star Game featured current and retired local baseball superstars, with most of the retirees active during CPBL’s first decade after its founding in 1989.
For the shortened three-inning contest, Lin “Old Monster” Chung-chiou, of the now-defunct Mercuries Tigers, and Lee “Mr Baseball” Chu-ming, of the then-Chinatrust Brother Elephants, led the Legend White Team, which was skippered by the Tigers’ inaugural manager, Lin Shin-chang.
The Legend Red Team was headed by Wei Chuan Dragons pitcher Huang “Golden Arm” Ping-yang and slugger Lo Shi-shin.
Despite only playing three frames, the old-timers piled on the hits and scored a total of 11 runs, with the White Team edging out the Red Team 6-5.
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen has become the first female player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after the Golden State Valkyries selected her in the third and final round of the league’s draft on Monday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship earlier this month. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament’s most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen (陳凱玲) has become the first player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after being selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the third and final round of the league's draft yesterday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship on April 6. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament's most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as a
Japan yesterday secured a second consecutive Billie Jean King Cup finals appearance with a 2-1 win over 2023 champions Canada, thanks to Ena Shibahara and Shuko Aoyama’s 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 win over Kayla Cross and Rebecca Marino in the qualifying doubles decider. Shibahara and Aoyama powered through the opening set 6-3, breaking twice for a quick 3-0 lead. Cross and Marino hit back in the second, edging it 7-5 to level the match, before the Japanese pair regained control in the third. Canada’s 18-year-old Victoria Mboko edged Shibahara 6-4, 6-7 (8/10), 7-5 in a marathon opening clash. Mboko fired eight aces to
DAY OF BLOWOUTS: Elsewhere, the Lakers clinched the third seed in the Western Conference with a 140-109 pounding of the under-strength Houston Rockets The Denver Nuggets on Friday improved their playoff position, with a triple double from Nikola Jokic helping them to a 117-109 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. The Serbian put up 26 points, 13 assists and 16 rebounds. The triple-double performance, his 34th this season, ensured that he will finish the regular season as just the third NBA player to average a triple double across an entire season. The win meant the Nuggets improved to 49-32 on the season and gave them a real chance of grabbing fourth place and home-court advantage in the playoffs. Aaron Gordon top scored with 33 points for Denver,
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