A home run king sets out to win crown

In Taiwan, one of the highest honors a batter can aim at is winning the Triple Crown -- and home run king Hsieh Chia-chien (謝佳賢) is on target to do just this.

The Triple Crown -- which comprises the domestic batting title, the home run title and the RBI title, all in the same season -- has a place in baseball history that can only be matched by a perfect game thrown by a pitcher.

No other hitters have come even close to accomplishing such a feat in the six years of the Taiwan Major League (TML).

Currently in the fifth season of his professional career, Hsieh is in his prime and in a league where power hitters are rare and in high demand.

He has won the home run title the past two years and is looking to make it three years in a row, as he leads the league in that category by four shots going into this week's games.

The 26-year-old Agan first baseman is a native of Taipei County and as a youngster he was recognized more for his dominance on the mound than his batting potential.

But it was the left-hander's early success as a double threat throughout high school that won him a spot on the Taiwan national team, for which he played twice in the annual Big League's World Series.

An injury after high school to Hsieh's throwing arm prevented him from developing into a professional-caliber pitcher, but did allow him to concentrate entirely on hitting.

By the time Hsieh was drafted by the Taichung Agan in 1998, he was already considered one of the premier power hitters in the amateur league.

Success did not come that easily for Hsieh, however, as he had to overcome a possible career-ending shoulder injury late in the 2000 season.

A successful operation during the offseason enabled him to resume his playing career, but his batting average dropped from 0.349 in 2000 to 0.246 last year.

Now, with the season coming to an end, Hsieh is back on target, trailing teammate Mejia by 0.02 in the batting averages and making a serious run for the coveted batting Triple Crown.

After being selected for the national team at the upcoming Asian Games in South Korea, Hsieh said he was satisfied with his season so far, but still had the ambition to achieve even more.