The 2002 TML Championship Series which starts tomorrow promises to be more than an ordinary championship series between two great baseball teams; it will also be the stage where two managers, Hsu Shen-ming (徐生明) of the Kaohsiung Fala and Wu Fu-lien (吳復連) of the Taichung Agan, will attempt to outmaneuver each other in order to claim the honor of the best manager in the league.
Hsu has the most wins in Taiwan's professional baseball history -- 440 over 10 seasons in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) and the Taiwan Major League (TML). Wu has the highest single-season winning percentage amongst all managers in both leagues, at 0.729.
Both men also enjoyed stellar careers as players.
Hsu baffled hitters all over the country with his signature pitch -- the "butterfly." The "butterfly" was so effective during Hsu's prime years that it earned him a position in the Korean Cosmetics team in the highly competitive South Korean Amateur Baseball League during the early 1980s -- and it made him a legend in the Taiwan pitching community.
Wu, on the other hand, is a natural-born leader who earned his reputation as the best shortstop in Asia during which his sure-handed and acrobatic style of play turned fielding into an art form. His performance on the field made him the logical choice among his teammates to assume the leadership role for the teams that he played for.
Hsu returned to Taiwan after his stint in South Korea to become manager of the Weichuen Dragons in the CPBL in 1990 -- and it did not take long for him to shine in his new role.
Hsu took his team to four championship series in seven seasons and ended his tenure with the Weichuen Dragons of the CPBL on a high note with three straight championships from 1997 to 1999, a feat that remains unmatched to this day.
In his managerial debut last season, Wu not only led the Taichung Agan's campaign into the Championship Series, he also won the title on his very first attempt.
Even though he has just two full seasons under his belt, Wu's coaching brilliance is most evident in his career winning percentage of 0.692 percent.
Wu's success in his first two seasons should undoubtedly put him on the shortlist of any team owner who is searching for a good manager.
As the opening pitch for tomorrow's Game 1 of the 2002 TML Championship Series draws near, the two managers will unquestionably try to rally their troops to peak at the right moment.
Known for their unpredictable style of management against different teams, the two managers often defy conventional baseball wisdom by using strategies that leave commentators and analysts scratching their heads.
The secret of Hsu's success lies in his aggressive play on the bases.
Though he may not always have had the best players in his teams, Hsu seems to always find ways to produce runs in the key moments of a game by sending runners into situations that conventional baseball wisdom would consider risky. He is known to tell his players: "Just get on base, and leave the rest to me."
Unlike Hsu, Wu defies conventional baseball wisdom in a completely different manner. Rather than "managing from the top down," Wu seems to be able to gain his players' trust by keeping a very low profile around them.
To him managing is simply an "extension" of his playing days, when he was the spiritual leader of the team, instead of the authoritarian figure that many managers strive to be. His "anyone can start, as long as he can perform" policy is especially popular amongst budding younger players. This style of managing led Wu to many very bold personnel moves over the past two seasons -- most of these proved to be very good decisions.
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