The Taiwan Professional League baseball plays 60 games in each of its first and second halves. A little over four months into the season, the first half has already concluded, and one-fifth of the second half has been completed. In this column, which brings you updates on the Taiwan Professional League baseball from the field, we’ll once again highlight the major topics and standout players so far.

Last season, the Taiwan Professional Baseball League baseball saw an average attendance of 10,373 per game, marking the first time in the league’s 36-year history that it surpassed the 10,000-mark. Attendance remains strong this season as well. Although the first half was affected by the slump of the CTBC Brothers—one of the league’s most popular teams—Unified The Lions, which began using its new home stadium—the “Asia-Pacific International baseball Training center fielder Main Stadium”—this season, has seen a significant increase in attendance. With 219 of the season’s 360 games already played, the average attendance stands at 10,118, remaining nearly on par with last year’s figures.

Held a bit earlier than the Japanese professional league baseball, the All-Star Game took place at the Taipei Dome on July 18 and 19, drawing a massive crowd of 40,000 on both days.In the “entertainment-focused” Taiwan Professional Baseball League (baseball) All-Star Game—specifically during the bottom of the 7th inning of Game 2 on the 19th—a reunion of the former “Orix Buffaloes” middle infield pairing took place, featuring CTBC Brothers manager Keiichi Hirano and Fubon manager Mitsutaka Goto.with Manager Hirano displaying nimble footwork to complete a 5-4-3 double play—a scene that Japanese fans certainly wouldn’t want to miss.

Be sure to check it out on the CPBL’s official YouTube channel.

Wei Chuan, with its strong pitcher staff and enhanced hitting and running abilities, won the first half of the season! Fubon, led by manager Mitsutaka Goto, also put up a good fight.

Let's look back at the first half of the season. On June 20th, the Wei Chuan The Dragons, who needed just one more win to clinch the championship in the first half of the season, traveled to Chengcing Lake Stadium in Kaohsiung City, southern Taiwan, to play against the Taiwan Steel The Hawks as the away team.

The game was a pitching duel between Wei Chuan's Drew Gannon and Tai Steel's David Buchanan, who had previously played for the Tokyo Yakult. However, in the top of the 8th inning, after pitcher change, Wei Chuan scored three runs, added another in the 9th inning, and in the final inning, Lin Kai-wei, the "winning pitcher" of the WBSC Premier12, closer the side in order, securing their sixth half-season championship since the second half of 2023.

In the first half of the season, Wei Chuan was overwhelmingly strong. They took sole possession of first place on April 24th, extended their winning streak to a team-longest record of 9 games, and on May 26th, lit up the magic number for winning the championship at 17. From there, they held on to win the championship without any trouble. In the 55 games leading up to the championship, they had a record of 37 wins and 18 losses, with a winning percentage of .673, which is better than the pace of a 2-1 record.

The team has always boasted a stable pitcher staff, but with the addition of Gannon, who is in his sixth year in Taiwan, Mercedes, who transferred from Uni-President, Martinez, who transferred from Rakuten Eagles Monkeys, newcomer John Gant, and Woodall, who is now registered as a Taiwanese player, "foreign" pitcher started 48 of the 55 games leading up to the championship. Their starting ERA was an impressive 1.88, and they didn't seem to miss the Taiwanese ace, Hsu Hsu Jo-Hsi, who transferred to Fukuoka Softbank. Furthermore, their relief pitching staff, which is mainly composed of Taiwanese pitcher, also boasted the best stability in the league.

Meanwhile, the batting lineup, which had been a weakness in recent years, saw its main slugger, Gili Gilgilau Congquan, suffer a long-term injury shortly after the season began, and Chen Tzu-hao struggled. However, key players such as Lee Hoi-wei, Chang Cheng-yu, and Chu Yu-hsien, along with June's Monthly MVP Kuo Tian-hsin, performed well, and 24-year-old Wang Shun-he also had a breakout season. While the team batting average of .250 was second in the league, their 31 Home Run and .287 batting average with runners in scoring position were the best in the league. With pickoff attempts and stepping off plate limited to two times (previously three times), and an expanded base introduced, they recorded 66 stolen base in 55 games, and led the league with 227 runs scored and 215 RBI.

After securing the championship, head coach Ye Jun-chang, with tears in his eyes, expressed his gratitude, saying, "Every player, staff member, and scorer is a key player. We were able to win this half-year championship thanks to everyone's efforts."

Among those who supported Wei Chuan's victory this time were Kenji Furukubo, the roving coach, and analyst Tetsuya Ijiri. Furukubo, who led Rakuten Eagles Monkeys to the Taiwanese championship as manager last season, was not given a contract extra inning, but Wei Chuan, who valued his extensive experience, made an offer to him.

His main task is developing second-string players, but at the same time, he also keeps track of the first-string situation and strengthens the team by acting as a bridge between the two. In addition, Mr. Ijiri, an analyst who is a graduate of the University of Tokyo baseball team and previously played for Hokkaido Nippon-Ham, has brought out the potential of The Dragons' players through advice based on data analysis.

Meanwhile, although they didn't win the championship, Fubon, which saw a record-breaking seven Japanese coaches across both its first and second teams this offseason, including newly appointed manager Mitsutaka Goto (who was promoted from second-team manager to first-team manager), new head coach and hitting coach Masahiko Morino, and battery coach Tetsuya Yamato, performed admirably in the first half of the season, winning a record-high 34 games and finishing second, just five games behind the leader. As their team slogan for this season, "It's different," suggests, they have been reborn.

Despite having many players with high potential, Fubon has struggled for many years to integrate its pitching and hitting, and has consistently performed poorly since the team was acquired in 2016. However, since the appointment of Deputy General Manager Lin Wei-Chu in October 2024, the team has been undergoing reforms.

Manager Goto and Head Coach Morino, both classmates, emphasized communication with players and Taiwanese coaches, unified coaching between the first and second teams, and shared information to provide many opportunities and boost the motivation of young fielder in particular. They also instilled a strong sense of win by thoroughly teaching fundamental plays and conveying a "strong player's mindset."

Among pitcher, Lee Dong-ming had a breakout season, becoming only the fifth Taiwanese pitcher in history to achieve 10 wins in the first half of the season. Shunsuke Suzuki, who joined the team midway through last season and is now in his third season in Taiwan, has shown significant improvement in control and is working hard as one of the pillars of the rotation. The team's performance has declined somewhat in the second half of the season, but if they can overcome the "jinxed month of August" in the past, they should be able to make post season and even be in contention for the championship in the second half of the season.

The CTBC Brothers, led by manager Keiichi Hirano, who were champions in Taiwan two years ago and had the best winning percentage last season, got off to a surprising start this season with 12 losses in their first 15 games. Their team ERA was a dismal 4.23, the only team above 4, and their offense was also sluggish until May. In June, their offense rallied, achieving a monthly winning percentage of 50%, but in the end, they finished the first half of the season in last place, 17.5 games behind the leader, with a record of 20 wins, 37 losses, and 2 ties in 59 games (1 game unplayed).

However, amidst the tough competition, the team has actively given opportunities to young players, and it seems they are seeing positive results not only from the growth of fielder like Zhang Renwei and Zhang Shilun, but also from the increased professionalism of the players. With a team that has many passionate fans, the pressure on manager Hirano and the newly appointed coaches Nishida Akio and Goto Shunta must be immense, but we hope to see more smiles in the second half of the season.

The top individual performers include members of the WBC Taiwan team, and some familiar faces to everyone in Japan.

Let's also take a look at his individual stats so far. First, let's talk about the batting category. Currently, with a .310 batting average and 83 hit, the leader in both average and hit is Soko Yu (Taigang), who participated in Saitama Seibu Lions 's autumn camp in 2024. Ranking second in batting average is Wu Nien-ting (Taigang), last season's leader hitter and a familiar former Saitama Seibu Lions player, with .307.

Home Run are former Major League player and WBC Taiwan representative Zhang Yucheng (Fubon), and Stephen Moya (Taigang), who previously played for Chunichi and Orix Buffaloes and is aiming for the home run king for three consecutive years, each with 12 home runs. Moya has already scored 62 RBI, far ahead of Su Chih-Chieh (Uni-President) in second place with 39 RBI and Wang Po-Jung (Taigang) in third with 38 RBI.

stolen base is led by WBC representative Chen Chen-Wei (Rakuten Eagles) with 20 points. The Wei Chuan duo of Chang Cheng-Yu with 19 and Kuo Tian-Hsin with 17 are chasing after them.

In the pitcher category, ERA is led by John Gant, who was once with Hokkaido Nippon-Ham but did not pitch in the first team due to injury, with an average of 1.42. In Taiwan pitcher, sidehand Huang Tzu-Peng (TSG), who transferred from Rakuten Eagles this offseason, ranked third with 1.81 and 92 1/3 in innings pitched pitches, marking the most significant contract.

The top hurler derby will be led by Li Dongming, who has 10 wins, drawing attention to whether a Taiwanese player with the most wins in the league in 12 years pitcher will be recorded. Also, Mercedes (Wei Chuan), who previously played for The Giants and Lotte, has tied for second with 8 wins, and ERA is 2.13 (5th), contributing to Wei Chuan's rise. Shunsuke Suzuki (Fubon), a right-hander representing the BC League, has 7 wins and a ERA of 2.14, ranking high in the pitcher rankings that include former Major League players.

In saves, 22-year-old right-hander Zhong Yunhua (Uni-President), who was chosen as closer and boasts a top speed of 155 km/h, leads with 20 saves due to the injury of Chen Yunwen (Uni-President), who holds the league's all-time save record. Zeng Junyue (Fubon) has 19 saves, and Lin Kaiwei (Wei Chuan) has 18 saves, leading the WBC lineup.

Leading the hold is 18 hold former Hanshin Tigers Lu Yanqing (CITIC). In recent years, his performance had declined due to 'long-term fatigue,' but this season he has revived with a ERA of 1.41 and a WHIP of 0.81, supporting his struggling bullpen. Also tied for third place with 16 hold are WBC representatives, former NPB players Zhang Yi (Fubon) and Chen Guanyu (Rakuten Eagles). Rakuten Eagles closer Zhu Chengyang was injured while covering base and was sidelined, so Chen Guanyu is likely to be used more as a substitute closer closer to the team.

Text by Hide Komada (information as of July 27)