Taiwan Today

Wang Cheng-chih, the Chinese-born Babe Ruth of the Orient, flew into Taipei from Tokyo December 4 for an eight-day visit that will be long remembered by the sports-minded among his fellow countrymen.

The 25-year-old son of a Chinese restaurateur in Japan was welcomed by officials and ordinary citizens as well as baseball fans. Even so, the crowds that greeted him at the airport and elsewhere were no more enthusiastic than those of Japan, where 30 million baseball fans idolize him.

Wang said he sensed a unique warmth and feeling of friendship in Taiwan. Born and brought up in Japan, Wang does not speak Chinese. But his blood helped bridge the gap, he said.

The visit was Wang's first to his fatherland. It was a dream come true. The slugger of the Yomiuri Giants of Japan's Central League had been around the world twice but had not set foot on Chinese soil. There had been indications that Peiping wanted the star first baseman to visit the Chinese mainland, where his father was born. But Wang's eyes have always been directed toward the free Chinese province of Taiwan. He passed up a chance to tour Europe to make the visit. He had a Chinese passport in his pocket and a "White Sun in the Blue Sky" flag in his hand.

All this helped establish a quick rapport between Wang and the people of Taiwan, who were impressed by his patriotism as well as his achievements on the diamond.

President Chiang Kai-shek received Wang and expressed his approval of both Wang's sportsmanship and support of the free Chinese cause. Many other government officials gave words of encouragement to Wang. They included Premier C. K. Yen, Foreign Minister Shen Chang-huan, Defense Minister Chiang Ching-kuo, Education Minister Yen Chen-hsing, Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission's Chairman Kao Hsin, and Government Information Office Director James Shen.

These honors were conferred on the young athlete:

—Haikuang Medal for meritorious conduct by Chinese abroad, awarded by the Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission. "Haikuang"—literally "sea light"—calls attention to the "glory of Chinese overseas".

—Youth Medal, a rare honor. It was presented by Chiang Ching-kuo as director-general of the China Youth Corps.

-Gold Medal of Letters, the highest honor the Education Ministry can bestow on an athlete.

—A gold medal from the China Athletic Promotion Association and the badge of the Chinese Olympic Committee.

Technique Demonstrated

Also showered on Wang were banners, plaques, gifts, letters, and requests for autographs. Some fans sent photos of themselves imitating Wang's famous "scarecrow" batting style. He autographed even articles of clothing.

When the home run king demonstrated his batting technique in Taipei December 7, a crowd of 20,000 jammed the municipal stadium. The exhibition came during a game between the Chinese Air Force and the Taipei Tenth Cooperative team. It lasted only 20 minutes, but people jammed the park and applauded wildly. Similar crowds greeted Wang in the central Taiwan city of Taichung when he gave another exhibition.

Wang crammed into his visit all he could learn about China and the Chinese. He was visibly impressed by the new Sun Yat-sen Museum, home of 300,000 priceless Chinese art treasures.

Newspapers devoted many columns to Wang and his exploits. One paper serialized a translation of Sadaharu Oh: the Home Run King, a 214-page biography just published in Tokyo. Sadaharu Oh is the Japanese pronunciation of Wang's name.

Unassuming and genial, Wang is popular among players as well as fans. In 1965, he won the "most valuable player" award and helped his team win the Central League pennant as well as the Japanese championship from the Pacific League. For last season, Wang led in home runs with 39 and runs batted in with 104. His batting average of .3243 was a shade behind the .3348 of Shinichi Eto of the Dragons. His average would be higher except for the bases on balls given him-144 in 575 times at bat in 1965.

Highest Paid Star

Standing 5 feet 10 and weighing 174 pounds, Wang is one of Japan's highest paid players. His salary in 1965 was 1.5 million yen (nearly US$42,000). Other income came from testimonials and for stage, radio, and TV appearances. He has starred in two feature films.

Wang's father, Wang Shih-fu, was born in a small village in Chingtien county in the coastal province of Chekiang. The late Vice President Chen Cheng was born in the same county. "Chingtien" means "green field" but the place was an impoverished area of hills. The people had to be hard-working and thrifty to survive. Shih-fu lost his father when he was five and was sent to live with an uncle. He went to Japan in 1924. Penniless then, he worked hard and saved his money. He was able to open a small Chinese restaurant together with another Chinese. Then he bought a little noodle house. His Japanese wife also worked hard. The Wangs were determined to give their children good schooling. "We've suffered enough from lack of education," they said. Wang Cheng-chih's older brother is a doctor of medicine. His oldest sister is married and another older sister helps with the restaurant, now housed in the Wangs' own five-story building. The close and affectionate family has been a principal source of Wang's drive to success.

Official records show Wang's birthday as May 20, 1940, but that is 10 days after the actual date. His twin sister was strong and healthy. But he was so weak that everybody expected him to die. Thus his birth was not reported until his parents felt sure he would survive.

His twin sister sickened suddenly and died at the age of one. Wang's mother still believes that her strength and energy went to Wang.

Left-handed Batter

Soon after Wang entered the seventh grade, a friend asked if he wanted to join a neighborhood baseball team. Wang's father thought he wasn't strong enough. But his brother, already a baseball player, told Wang to go ahead. "If Father learns about it, I'll take the blame," the brother said.

Wang's batting coach, Hiroshi Arakawa, recalls "discovering" the boy in Sumida Park in November of 1954. Wang, then an eighth grader, was pitching left-handed and batting right-handed. Arakawa suggested Wang try batting left-handed. The result was a double and Wang has batted left-handed ever since.

Arakawa was then in his second year with the Orions after graduation from Tokyo's Waseda University. He recommended Wang to the Waseda Industrial School, an affiliate of his alma mater. In the 10th through 12th grades at the school, Wang was a southpaw pitching ace. When playing, he batted in the clean-up position. In his junior year of 1957, Wang led the WIS team to the national high school championship.

Before graduation, he was signed by the Giants, the country's wealthiest team. He reportedly was paid 30 million yen as a bonus, a record at the time. At first he was a disappointment. His batting average was only .161 in 1959, .270 in 1960, and .253 in 1961. He had begun to doubt his future as a professional player when Arakawa joined the team and was assigned to coach him.

Pratice and Control

"Do what you want with me. My life or death as a ball player is in your hands," Wang said, bowing. That was late 1961. Arakawa prescribed practice and more practice. He taught Wang to control his breathing and his mental state. He borrowed the words iwa-no-mi-rock- like body-used by the famed Japanese swordsman Musashi Miyamoto three centuries ago. "Rock-like body," the master of the sword used to say, "refers to a frame of mind that is vast and mighty and in control of the body. The mind should be still and tranquil, like a huge rock, even in the face of death, fearing nothing and perturbed by no one." Applied to baseball, Arakawa told Wang, the body and heart should be one entity when a player takes his batting stance. Then the bat will move as he wishes.

The coach also helped Wang develop his unique "scarecrow" batting style. Wang raises his right leg slightly before hitting. The leg motion stabilizes his body and gives him more power.

Soon Wang became a terror to opposing pitchers. In 1962, the year after he entrusted himself to Arakawa, Wang led the Japanese major leagues in both home runs (38) and runs batted in (85). He has been Japan's top home run hitter since. His record and Japan's-is his 55 homers of 1964.

Fame and wealth have not changed the downtown Tokyo boy who used to play catch in a back lane. By his fans he is called "Wang-chan", "chan" being a pet-name diminutive. He wears No. 1 on his Giants' uniform.

Wang likes children, Latin music, and animals. He dislikes loud colors. He summed up his philosophy in these words: "You never can tell what's ahead of you. All you can do is be careful about each move you make."

His fans hope he will become triple batting champion in 1966- home runs, runs batted in, and average. He has not yet won the batting title. He also wants to break

Roger Maris' all-time home run record of 61 for the 162-game season of 1961 and Babe Ruth's record of 60 for the 154-game season of 1927. Another goal is to become a .400 batter. There have been nearly a dozen .400 batters in the United States but none in Japan.

Following his Taiwan visit, he has new impetus-the support of his free Chinese people. He is studying Mandarin, the official language of China, so he can talk to his compatriots when he returns to Taiwan in 1966 or 1967 with the Giants and another Japanese team for an exhibition series. "I hope to bring my parents and let them see the wonderful progress and prosperity of China," Wang said.