On October 12th, Pacific League Marketing (PLM) held a live viewing event for the second game of the first stage of the 2025 Persol Climax Series first baseman between the Hokkaido Orix Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters and The Buffaloes at a shopping center in Taipei, northern Taiwan.

Wu, who previously played for Saitama Seibu Lions for eight years and is currently a member of the Tai Steel The Hawks of the Taiwan Professional baseball, led the Taiwanese national team in the WBC qualifiers at the end of February this year, earning a spot in the tournament and being the leading hitter in the regular season, was to serve as commentator, and in addition to Tai Steel and Taiwanese national team members, many fans wearing jersey from their days with Saitama Seibu also came to the event.

The event was hosted by Shih Hsi-hsien, an announcer for DAZN Taiwan, which broadcasts and streams games hosted by the six Pacific League League teams every day in Taiwan. The event, which lasted for approximately two and a half hours until the end of the fifth inning, was a huge success, with commentary coming from the perspective of an active player and from Wu, who has played on the same ground as many of the other players, creating a great deal of excitement.

"CS has a different kind of tension than the regular season"

Prior to the start of the game, Wu was asked about his impression of the Climax Series. Based on his experience in the 2022, first baseman stage with Fukuoka Softbank Hawks which he played in, Wu said, "pitcher made up 70% of the field. It was hard to score a single run. The stadium was filled with The Hawks fans, and there were only a few The Lions fans in left field, so there was a lot of pressure. It was a different kind of tension than in the regular season," he recalled.

Wu says he still checks the Japanese pro baseball through DAZN Taiwan. The Fighters He analyzed the team's history, saying, "When I was playing against them, they were in a rebuilding period right after Takeshi Shinjo took over as manager, but every year they have more young players, they are growing, and they are becoming a better and better team. Chusei Mannami He also pointed out that the players who have grown the most since Shinjo took over as manager are the ones who have grown the most.

On the other hand, he said of The Buffaloes, "When I was The Lions with the team, the pitcher power was just as stable. fielder The team also won three consecutive championships with each of them establishing their own offensive style. Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitcher and Hiroya Miyagi pitcher I was desperate for the third game every time so that I wouldn't get beat three times in a row. He looked back on the game. Among the members of the team Kotaro Kobayashi He mentioned a player, "He is an excellent short stop in both offense and defense, and at the age of 19, he made it into the starting line-up opening game against Saitama Seibu. He is strong in short-term battles and on the big stage, and could be called a festival man," he hoped.

Regarding the host stadium, ES CON FIELD HOKKAIDO, he said, "I have never been to a major league stadium, but ES CON FIELD is just like a major league stadium. The locker rooms are huge and each person has a gaming chair," he exclaimed. "Actually, the catering is great, too. The main meat dish changes daily, and there are udon and soba noodles and salads, so I eat more on days when I'm not starting.

Commentary from an active fielder

After reviewing Game 1, the conversation turned to The Fighters pitcher Hiromi Ito, who remarked, "My first home run was hit by him," earning cheers from the crowd. "He started against The Lions in his first professional appearance as a rookie in 2021, and I was in top form after being promoted from the minor leagues, so I thought I could do it. It was at Sapporo Dome, where wall was high, so I was happy," he said with a smile. He then became a commentator and praised Ito, saying, "He puts soul into every pitch, and he's a fantastic pitcher overpowers his opponents with his spirit. He reminds me of Yu Darvish, and is truly pitcher is a true ace of Japanese baseball."

When asked about his impressions of past matches against the two pitcher in Game 2, The Fighters 'Koki Kitayama and The Buffaloes 'Hiroya Miyagi pitcher he confessed, "I wasn't really good with pitcher." When he first faced pitcher, he was surprised that his pitching form was "just like Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitcher" recalling that his fastball in the mid-150 km/h range had power, good control, and a sharp fork.

On the other hand, when it comes to pitcher Miyagi, he said with a grin, "Actually, I quite like Miyagi, and I think our record against him is pretty good." He clearly remembers that in 2021, with the bases loaded, a hit to the left field line was ruled a foul, and with a wry smile, he recalled the scene from four years ago, saying, "After that, struck out."

Pay attention to Reyes's use of the "torpedo bat"

The gear that supported Wu's success in winning the top hitter spot in the Taiwan Pro baseball this season was the "torpedo" bat. He had a poor start to the season, but when he was demoted to the farm due to injury, he reviewed his batting mechanics and picked up the Torpedo bat, which he says "feels lighter than a normal bat because the center of gravity is in front of it, so it comes out more smoothly when I swing. In June, he produced a lot of hits with a monthly batting average of .463, and he continued to maintain a high batting average to win his first title. The Lions His nickname from his days, "the devil in scoring position," is still alive and well, and this season his batting average with runners in scoring position exceeded 40% at .402.

Wu said of The Fighters player Reyes, who entered the batter's box with a torpedo bat in his hand in his third at-bat toward the bottom of the fourth inning, "The Buffaloes Alen Kuri pitcher switched to a different bat after the switch, he noted that it may be because Kuri pitcher is a more technical player with more breaking ball and can see the ball longer. Although it was not until after the event that Reyes hit an auspicious comeback homer in the bottom of the eighth inning, the fans in attendance must have felt the depth of baseball the game.

He also has special feelings for the players of his generation who worked hard together at the farm team.

When asked which player he is closest to among the players on either team, Wu first named The Fighters player Go Matsumoto. "Not only are we in the same year, but we also train at the same facility during the off-season. We often called out to each other when we were on the farm team, so I was really excited when we met again on the first team," he recalled.

He said that his close friends on The Buffaloes are former The Lions players Tomoya Mori and Yutaro Sugimoto, and that Sugimoto in particular spent a long time with him in the farm team, so it was especially moving for him when they both made their first appearance in the 2021 All-Star Game. After Sugimoto hit a solo home run to open the scoring in the top of the second inning, he called out, "I'm going to do the 'ascension pose' in front of the bench after this, so pay attention," and even explained his nickname, "Raoh," to Taiwanese fans.

"My first commentary experience was fun," he said. He told Japanese fans, "Please come to Taiwan to support us and enjoy sightseeing at the same time."

After the event, Wu reflected on his first commentary experience, saying, "It was fun to be able to convey various information from a player's perspective and to commentate to the fans. I would be happy if they realized, 'I see, playing in person is harder than watching it on TV.' I'm sure some fans have noticed things like players changing bats depending on the situation, but that's one of the joys of watching baseball. I hope I was able to convey how to enjoy it."

Regarding his success this season, in which he has changed number and cheer song to those of the familiar Saitama Seibu Lions, he said with a smile, "It was a season I was satisfied with. I left Seibu and returned to Taiwan in a state where I could perform well, so winning the first title of my life has given me confidence." He also appealed to his fans, saying, "I think the Japanese fans know how hard I'm working in Taiwan, so please come and support me at Taipei Dome or Kaohsiung, home of Taiwan Steel, and enjoy sightseeing at the same time."

At this point, the candidates for the Taiwanese national team have not been revealed, but I'm sure I'm not the only one hoping to see Wu Nien-ting on ground at Tokyo Dome in the Japan-Taiwan match at the WBC in March next year. I look forward to seeing the "scoring demon" Wu Nien-ting's future success.

Written by Hide Komada