Taiwan Today

The Uni-President Lions grabbed their record third consecutive Chinese Professional Baseball League title Oct. 25 by beating the Brother Elephants 5-2 in the final game of the best-of-seven championship series. It marked the Lions’ seventh title in 20 years, also a new CPBL record. In front of a packed house at Tainan Municipal Stadium, the overpowering Lions stormed out of the gates, taking a 3-2 lead after five innings of play. The reigning champs then sealed the victory with two runs off a hit by batter Kao Kuo-ching in the seventh inning. In the bottom of the ninth, Lions pitcher Pan Wei-lun came on in relief, striking out the first two batters he faced. Peng Cheng-min then stepped up to the plate and knocked out a single, but Pan extinguished any hopes of an Elephants rally by striking out the next batter to end the game, setting off fireworks and sending the Lions fans into a frenzy. After the game, a confident Lions manager Lu Wen-sheng told his players and fans, “Next year, we’re going to bring home our fourth straight title.” In the Elephants corner, the atmosphere was decidedly less festive, with players hanging their heads down in dejection and many fans driven to tears at the loss. Team general manager Hung Ruei-ho thanked the players for their hard work during the season and tried to console them by saying “Never mind, we’ll be back next year.” Elephants manager Shin Nakakomi announced after the game that the team will start its new training camp on Nov. 1 to gear up for the 2010 season after a break of just one week. “Next season is a new beginning, and we’ll push toward our goal of winning the championship,” he said. Lu voiced his highest regard for the Elephants, whose battling determination forced the final series to the full seven games despite their underdog status in the league. He also expressed hope that the two teams would meet at the same time next year to fight it out for the crown once again. “The Elephants are a hard team to deal with, and they command a lot of respect,” Lu said. “The skill with which Nakakomi utilizes his pitching staff so effectively is something that we can definitely learn from,” he added. Kao was named Most Valuable Player of game 7 for his key RBI numbers, while Lions starting pitcher Luther Hackman, who earned his third straight post-season victory, won the series MVP award. More than 12,000 fans came out to see the final game of the season at the stadium in Tainan City in southern Taiwan. The seven games drew a total of 96,214 spectators, marking the second highest total for a championship series in the league’s history. (SB)