Pro baseball takes off after leagues merge

As the 2003 Chinese Professional Baseball League season comes to a close, here's a look at the top 10 events of the year.

The merger of the two leagues at the start of the season was the just the shot in the arm that local professional baseball needed. The merger consolidated resources and provided fans with a single venue to enjoy the game.

As far as player achievements, Sinon Bulls slugger Chang Tai-shan (張泰山) set a new mark by becoming the youngest player to hit 100 home runs.

He was also the first local player to reach the "double-century" mark (100 home runs and 100 stolen bases); he had the most home runs in a single season by a local player (27); and was the first player to have a 20-20 season (20 home runs and 20 stolen bases).

President Lions first baseman Wang Chuan-jia (王傳家) also found a place in the record books by becoming the first local player to slam three home runs in consecutive at-bats, joining four other foreign greats.

Wang's awesome display of power undoubtedly changed the way fans look at the local hitters.

Osvaldo Martinez of the Bulls surpassed former Lions pitcher and current manager Hsieh Chang-hern's (謝長亨) career strikeout mark of 855 on June 29, reaching a career total of 993 by the end of the season.

The race for most stolen bases between Chinatrust Whales speedster Chi Jung-lin (紀俊麟) and four-time defending champ Huang Kang-lin (黃甘霖) of the Lions was particularly entertaining since Huang snagged more than 20 stolen bases in six weeks to edge out Chi by one base in the final days of the season for his record-tying fifth consecutive title.

As far as team achievements, the top honor goes to the dramatic turnaround of the entire Brother Elephants squad. After starting out the first month with a 3-10-1 record, the Elephants pulled together and completed the season with the best winning percentage in league history at .670.

Despite the Bulls' losing effort in the Taiwan Series, the first-half champs deserve mention for their overwhelming dominance early in in the season. It took the Bulls only 11 games to reach the 10-win plateau, the fastest in league history.

Changes during the course of the season played a key role in First Securities Agan's turnaround.

The most crucial coaching adjustment came with manager Hsu Sheng-ming's (徐生明) resignation in May. The move allowed the last-placed Agan ample time to regroup under the direction of Tsai Rong-tsung, (蔡榮宗).

Elephants manager Lin Yi-tseng's (林易增) decision to waive a red-hot Miguel Martinez of Panama in favor of Japanese veteran Nakagomi Sin for the Aug. 31 deadline was initially questioned by critics.

Sin's amazing run in September (4-0 with 1.00 ERA) with a victory in Game 1 of the Taiwan Series proved the decision to be correct.

The most critical play of the season was during the four-game series between the Lions and Elephants in the first week of September.

Leading the second-placed Lions by a slim 1/2-game margin, the Elephants' were able to gain a three-game edge over the Lions that essentially put the Lions out of the title race. The scrappy Elephants did so by forcing a tie and winning two one-run games.