Pan “TAKE” Wu-hsiung claimed his place in the record books earlier this week by batting above .400 for 51 games and counting.
The slugger, who hails from renowned baseball powerhouse Pingtung Mei Ho Senior High School, opted to forego college in favor of a professional baseball career for the Uni-President Lions. He showed his true colors by storming through most of the first half of the season with a coveted .400-plus average, an accomplishment that no player has attained for the entire season in the history of the league.
“It’s hard to imagine that going two-for-five on any given night would actually drop your average, that’s how tough it is to keep a .400-plus average,” Yang Ching-long, a baseball commentator and member of the national team’s coaching staff, said about Pan earlier this week.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
The record that Pan broke was Brother Elephants slugger Peng “Chia Chia” Cheng-min’s 49 games, set in 2004. Peng wound up with a league-best .376 average for that year.
“It’s an honor to be mentioned in the same sentence as ‘Chia Chia’ given what he has accomplished over the years,” a very modest Pan said after he broke Peng’s record on Sunday evening.
Peng has won five batting titles in the past nine seasons, making him one of the greatest hitters in league history.
Much to Pan’s credit, the red-hot hitting has put him in a good position to take this year’s batting title to land the seventh-year veteran his second such honor. He won the distinction in 2009 with a .367 average for the season, maintaining an above-.400 average for the first 26 days of that season.
“Being better with [Pan’s] pitch selection is what it will take for him to go the distance if he wishes to have an above-.400 batting average for the entire season,” Yang said earlier this week, referring to a hitter’s ability to draw walks to cut down on the number of at-bats, which figures directly into a hitter’s batting average.
A player with two walks and a base hit on a night with four plate appearances is considered to have gone one-for-two in terms of his batting-average calculation.
Pan has seen his batting average dip in a recent “slump,” when he went two-for-16 since July 5, to watch his batting average drop from .429 (on July 5) to last night’s .403. He could be in danger of ending the impressive streak should he fail to produce any hits in the game against the Sinon Bulls tonight.
All eyes will be on his performance because every at-bat will count immensely in his quest to maintain an above-.400 batting average for the season.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
The sacred flame for the Paris Olympics was lit yesterday in Olympia, Greece, the birthplace of the ancient Games, in a ceremony inspired by antiquity and marked by messages of hope amid multiple global crises. “In ancient times, the Olympic Games brought together the Greek city states, even — and in particular — during times of war and conflict,” International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said. “Today, the Olympic Games are the only event that brings the entire world together in peaceful competition. Then as now, the Olympic athletes are sending this powerful message — yes, it is possible to compete fiercely