Japan’s Hansin Tigers eye top slugger Wang

By Jason Pan / Staff reporter





Taiwan’s baseball circles were buzzing with excitement yesterday at the prospect of Lamigo Monkeys slugger Wang Po-jung playing pro ball in Japan next year, as scouts from Nippon Professional Baseball powerhouse the Hansin Tigers attended Lamigo’s home game in Taoyuan last night.

It was the second time this year that the Tigers’ scouting team observed Wang after they visited in May, indicating high interest in signing Wang at the end of the season.

The outfielder’s hitting prowess has helped the Monkeys to three CPBL titles in the past four years and earned him the league’s MVP award the past two seasons.

As of Tuesday, Wang leads most offensive categories with 135 hits in 98 games, including 13 homers, 27 doubles, two triples, 72 RBIs and 81 runs, as well as a 0.353 batting average.

Although experts have said that Wang’s power and hitting have declined this season compared with last year, it could be attributable to injuries and pitching adjustments.

Wang during his second and third CPBL seasons drew attention after earning the “best Taiwanese hitter of his generation” moniker.

He finished 2016 with 29 homers, 40 doubles, 105 RBIs and a 0.414 average batting average, then followed it up last year with 31 homers, 33 doubles, 101 RBIs and a 0.407 batting average.

Wang had made it known that he wants a challenge in a foreign major league next year, since his contract with the Monkeys is to end this season.

“As a pro player, I would like to challenge myself at a higher level, when given the chance, but right now, I have to focus on today’s game, since our team has to get wins and prepare for the playoffs,” he told reporters yesterday.

As of Tuesday, Lamigo are on top of the table for the second half of the season, a half game ahead of the Brothers, with the Uni-President Lions in third and the Fubon Guardians in fourth at two-and-a-half and three games behind respectively.

In other news, 20-year CPBL veteran Chang Tai-shan yesterday announced that he would retire this year.

He finished his CPBL career in 2015 and has played in the Australian Baseball League and in Japan’s Shikoku Island League. He played on the amateur Taiwan Life Insurance team this year.

Known as the “Jungle Prince,” Chang played for the Weichuan Dragons, Sinon Bulls and Uni-President. He accumulated many league records, including most RBIs (1,338), most home runs (289), most doubles (377), most hits (2,234), most runs scored (1,075) and most games played (1,863).

Lamigo won last night’s game against the Brothers 5-1.

Wang was 0-4 at bat, dipping his average to 0.350.