The Uni-President Lions and the Brothers lost their managers this week in a major shakeup that took Taiwan’s pro baseball scene by surprise.
Wu Fu-lien lost his job, with the Brothers on Friday announced his dismissal, along with his entire coaching staff.
“I respect the ballclub’s decision,” Wu said. “It is expected that I take responsibility for losing in the finals. However, failure to capture the title does not mean we are a bad team. The players and the coaching staff have done their best.”
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
Brothers supporters and pundits were caught by surprise, as Wu led the club to the top of the table in the regular season this year, finishing 68-50, although they were beaten 4-2 in the Taiwan Series by the EDA Rhinos.
The league might get a manager from Major League Baseball next season, as Chinatrust executives said they are exploring that possibility.
Brothers general manager Yang Pei-hung told reporters yesterday that the club is in talks with two MLB coaches.
“The team did well in the regular season and went into the post-season in good shape, but we lost the championship finals the past two years running,” Yang said. “We have spent the off-season drafting young players to patch up our weaknesses and bolster the line-up.”
“Our fans have high expectations for next season,” he said. “We want the team to perform to the highest level to get the results in the regular season and in the playoffs, so we have replaced the manager and the coaching staff.”
“It is a big change made bigger by looking for a MLB manager to lead the team,” he said.
While they wait on a new manager, Chiu Chang-jung is to assume an interim role as head coach.
The former star outfielder played under Wu with the Macoto Cobras in 2006 and 2007.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the Lions confirmed that head coach Chen Lien-hung had agreed to part ways with the club.
Although Chen said leaving was his decision, there was speculation that he was pushed out following the team’s lackluster form.
They were third in the CPBL this season and were last among the four ballclubs last year.
Chen said he quit the Lions to bear responsibility for the team’s declining record after the euphoria of winning the CPBL in 2013, his first season at the helm.
Chen said he planned to go to Japan or the US to learn baseball management with a major-league team over the spring training period and would return home in a year or two to vie for another manager’s post.
In Winter League action yesterday, South Korea defeated Europe United 14-9 in Taichung, while in Yunlin County’s Douliou City, Taiwan’s National Trainees drew with Japan East 2-2 and Japan West clobbered CPBL Select 13-3.
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