Five out of the six teams have Japanese coaches, and Fubon, where Wei-Chieh Lin serves as deputy GM, has a record-breaking seven!

In Taiwan Pro baseball, starting from the latter half of 2020, the coefficient of rebound for official pitches was reviewed, eliminating the issue of 'high hitting and low pitching,' and placing greater emphasis on defense, base running, and tactics. Amidst this, the number of Japanese coaches has surged in recent years, and last season's Taiwan Series was the first-ever showdown between Japanese coaches.

The Rakuten Eagles Monkeys, then manager Kenji Furuku, advanced to the post season by finishing third and then won three straight to advance after finishing third in the post season, and continued their momentum to the Taiwan Series, defeating the season-ranked Brothers, led by Keiichi Hirano, with a 4-1 record, winning the 'Gekokujō' (Undermined Clash) to claim their first Taiwanese championship since the team was acquired.

Rakuten Eagles later postponed signing extra inning a contract with Manager Kokubo, but Wei Chuan The Dragons, recognizing his extensive experience, invited him. In his eighth year in Taiwan, this season as Wei Chuan's first and second team general coaches, he played a role in assessing the team's strength and acting as a bridge between the two teams.

As a result, this season, five of the six teams (excluding Uni-President) had Japanese coaches, and two teams led by Japanese managers each had new Japanese coaches.

Led by Hirano, the Chushin Brothers have appointed former Yakult Akio Nishida as batting strategy coach and former Orix Buffaloes and Chunichi Shunta Goto as batting mechanics coach, aiming to raise the overall team's batting power.

Meanwhile, Fubon, with Takesuke Hayashi, who had previously played for Hanshin Tigers, serves as assistant GM, decided to promote Mitsutaka Goto, who was highly valued for his autonomy-driven coaching and communication skills, to the first foreign manager.

Hirano of the Chinatrust Brothers and Goto of Fubon coincidentally were drafted by Orix Buffaloes in the 2001 NPB Draft. Both have competed for positions and will serve as managers of Taiwan Professional baseball.

This offseason, Fubon newly appointed former Chunichi Masahiko Morino as the first-team head and hitting coach, and Tetsuya Matoyama, who played for three teams including Kintetsu as a player, as the catcher coach for the Softbank Hawks and has developed many notable catcher. Additionally, Tadaharu Sakai, who has 18 years of experience as a player and 10 years as a coach, was appointed as the second-team manager. Shungo Fukunaga, who served as the pitcher development coach for the Taigang The Hawks until last season, was appointed as the second-team rehabilitation development coach. Including second-year conditioning coach Junpei Nemoto and second-pitcher team coach Takeshi Shimazaki, the total number of Japanese coaches reached seven, the highest number in history.

Regarding the coaching staff with a strong "Japanese flair," Vice GM Hayashi said that personnel decisions were made after internal discussions within the team. He expressed hope that inviting experienced Japanese coaches was not only to instruct the players but also to absorb various aspects from Taiwanese coaches.

After acquiring the team, Fubon made active investments in both hardware and software, and attendance soared, but except for 2019, when it ranked first for the year, its performance has been sluggish. This season's slogan is "Different (Different)," and with new manager Goto and other Japanese coaches teaming up, attention is focused on how Fubon's team will transform the team and see how they will perform.

Text by Hide Komada (Information as of April 14)