2024 was truly a transformative year for baseball in Taiwan.
In Part One, we explored how the addition of TSG Hawks as the sixth CPBL team, the historic opening of the Taipei Dome, and that unforgettable All-Star Game moment breathed new life into the league.
In Part Two, we’ll continue our journey through this memorable year, covering three major developments that further shaped 2024: the retirements of two iconic players who left an enduring legacy in CPBL, Taiwan’s historic championship victory in the Premier 12 tournament, and the notable player movements that signaled the league’s evolving market dynamics.
It’s ball time now!
Retirements of Two Iconic Players
In 2024, two iconic players in CPBL retired: Wei-Lun Pan of the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions and Szu-Chi Chou of the CTBC Brothers. They’re legendary in their own right. Below, I’m going to explain why.
Wei-Lun Pan (潘威倫)
Wei-Lun Pan, nicknamed Du-du (嘟嘟), is a righty pitcher with the most wins in the league’s history – 149 wins. Besides wins, he is also the record holder for the following stats:
- Most pitches: 31,242 pitches
- Most innings pitched: 2,125.1 innings
- Most starting games: 340 games
- Longest win streak in a season: 16 consecutive wins
- Consecutive innings without a single walk: 40 innings
Pan also participated in numerous international tournaments, including the Asian Baseball Championship, Intercontinental Cup, Olympics, WBSC’s Premier 12, and World Baseball Classic. I’m confident that if there is an international baseball tournament, Pan probably has attended it at least once.
Szu-Chi Chou (周思齊)
Szu-Chi Chou, nicknamed President Chou (周董) or king of the plate discipline in Asia (亞洲選球王), is a lefty hitter who retired with the Brothers in 2024. Three reasons made him a well-respected player in the league.
Refused to collaborate in match-fixing
Many players or coaches participated in match-fixing in the early days of the CPBL. Dmedia T-REXs, one of the teams Chou has played for, was a team controlled by a local gang in the shadows that actively participated in match-fixing in 2008. Dmedia T-REXs forced in-house players to collaborate by using money and force. It’s rumored that they put money, bullets, and a photo of a player’s family members on the table and “asked” the players to choose which way to go.
Match fixing was so bad back then a foreign player was rumored to be thrown from the rooftop, and a head coach was stabbed in the butt – solely because they refused to collaborate. Despite being under gunpoint and threats like being buried alive, Chou declined to be part of the scheme. “I’d rather retire than take the money,” Chou said how he responded then during an interview in 2024.
A good hitter in regular seasons and international tournaments
Besides being a player with high integrity, Chou is also a decent one – which is the main reason why he could play 19 years in CPBL. Below is his career stats:
- Batting Avg: 0.307
- Hits: 1,805
- HRs: 144
- RBIs: 948
- SBs: 100
Chou won the CPBL’s MVP of the year award in 2012 – the first outfielder in history. In the subsequent year, he had two memorable performances in a match between Japan and Taiwan during WBSC Premier 12:
- In the bottom of the 3rd inning, Chou earned a walk when the bases were loaded, helping Taiwan break the tie by 1:0. This is where the nickname “king of the plate discipline in Asia” came from.
- In the bottom of the 8th inning, Chou hit against Masahiro Tanaka, who had 24 wins and no losses in NPB in the previous season, making Taiwan lead again by 3:2.
What’s WBSC Premier 12
WBSC’s Premier 12 is an international tournament hosted by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. The participating teams are from the top 12 countries in the world on the WBSC Baseball World rankings, hence the name. For the next tournament in 2027, the lineup will expand to the top 16 countries worldwide.
For those wondering about the result of that game, Taiwan lost 3-4. At that time, we had never beaten Team Japan when they fielded a full professional roster.
Notable accomplishments off of the field
Chou has done numerous things off the field that are worth mentioning:
- He founded Basegarden, an NPO that issues scholarships to young players in difficult financial situations. One of the scholarship recipients now plays for Rakuten Monkeys in CPBL.
- He was the chairman of the Taiwan Professional Baseball Players Association (TPBPA), the union for CPBL players.
- He completed his master’s degree while chairman of the TPBPA. His graduation thesis concerns a team in Taiwan in the 1900s when imperial Japan still ruled the island.
After celebrating the retirements of two legends, CPBL fans witnessed another historic milestone in 2024.
WBSC Premier 12 Championship
WBSC’s Premier 12, Olpymics, and WBC are considered the top three competitive baseball tournaments in Taiwan. Since MLB doesn’t allow its players to join the game, most teams in Premier 12 consist of players from their domestic league or minor leagues for MLB teams. And it’s no exception for Team Taiwan. However, in Premier 12 in 2024, prominent players from the domestic league, like Ruei-Yang Gu Lin couldn’t join, and players like Po-Yu Chen from the minor leagues come with many restrictions, making the roster consist of players mainly from CPBL, except for Lyle Lin, who is currently a free agent, and Yu-Min Lin from Arizona Diamondbacks’ AA affiliate.
Upon seeing the roster, many baseball fans in Taiwan didn’t believe we could make it out of the opening round. Ashamed to say this – but I was one of them. Heck. Some haters even thought that we couldn’t even win a single game.
However, thanks to extensive intelligence gathering since early 2024, which was rumored to cost close to $1M, and hard work from players and coaches, we, against all odds, made it to the medal round and defeated Samurai Japan with a score of 4:0 in the championship match.
This championship is a massive deal for baseball fans in Taiwan because:
- It has been 32 years since we won against Japan for adult baseball. The first and only time we won before this game was in Olypmics 1992 when the roster for the Japanese team solely consisted of amateur players.
- It is the first time Taiwan has ever won against Japan with a roster consisting of professional players.
- It is the first time Taiwan has entered the top four in Premier 12. The previous record was fifth in 2019. Not to mention, this time, we’re the champion.
Knowing these, many hardcore fans, myself included, were in tears after the game concluded. We couldn’t believe what we were witnessing.
This championship proves that, with preparation, top players in the domestic league can compete against players in other leagues, even the ones from KBO and NPB. In fact, Team Taiwan performed so well that it led the following metrics across all of the participating teams:
- ERA 2.57
- WHIP 0.95
At the same time, Team Taiwan’s leader, Chieh-Hsien Chen, was named the leading hitter, the best defense player, and the MVP from WBSC.
See what Jon Morosi, one of the broadcasters for MLB Network, commented about Chen’s performance:
Notable Players Change Teams
If you’ve read the first part of this series, you know the financial dynamics of CPBL create a unique player market. Since baseball clubs typically operate at a loss, team owners wield considerable leverage in salary negotiations with players’ representatives. This has historically resulted in a more restrictive free agent market than other professional leagues.
However, the establishment of the players’ union, known as the TPBPA, and new free agency/posting systems have begun to shift this balance. Under current CPBL rules, players can pursue two paths to changing teams: they become eligible for posting to foreign clubs after three years of service (with their team’s approval) or declare for free agency after completing nine years in the league.
And we have good news on both fronts this year.
Gu Lin’s NPB Posting
Ruei-Yang Gu Lin, the most dominant ace in CPBL during the 2024 season, is set to make history as the first Taiwanese pitcher to be posted to Japan’s NPB, joining the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. His stellar 2024 campaign saw him lead the league with a 1.66 ERA and record 10.8 strikeouts per 9 innings—the highest rate among pitchers with over 100 innings pitched. These outstanding numbers earned him the league’s MVP award and placed him second all-time in ERA among domestic starting pitchers in CPBL history (third if including foreign pitchers).
What makes Gu Lin’s success particularly significant is his development path. Rather than signing directly with a major league organization after graduation, he chose to join the CPBL’s Uni-President Lions and developed his skills locally. His impending move to NPB represents a watershed moment for Taiwanese baseball, demonstrating to young talents that joining the domestic league can be a viable pathway to international success. His journey could inspire future generations of Taiwanese players to consider developing their careers through the CPBL before pursuing opportunities in more established leagues.
I wrote a post analyzing how good Gu Lin would be in NPB. Feel free to take a look.
Free Agency Market
Three major veterans declared to be free agents this year:
Tzu-Hao Chen
Chen is a lefty slugger of the CTBC Brothers. This season, his on-base plus slugging (OPS) is second among position players with over 50 games.
He’s the youngest among those on this list (29 years old), and it’s rumored that his new contract could be a five-year one, which is considered long in the league.
Yu-Hsien Chu
Chu is the lefty slugger of the Rakuten Monkeys. He also played in WBSC’s Premier 12 and secured the gold medal for the team with a reverse double play against Samurai Japan.
It’s rumored that his new contract is a three-year one worth around $1M.
Tzu-Hsien Chan
Chan, a right-handed hitter for the CTBC Brothers, faced diminishing opportunities this season due to injuries and competition from younger players. With his role on the team becoming more limited, Chan opted to test the free-agent market.
His new contract is estimated to be a four-year one worth around $1.2M.
While these negotiations are still ongoing, the active free-agent market marks a positive development for player compensation in the CPBL.
Looking Forward to 2025
The excitement from 2024 sets the stage for another promising year. Here’s what’s coming:
- Team Taiwan will compete in the 2026 WBC qualifiers in February, carrying the confidence from their Premier 12 victory.
- Exhibition games with Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in March, featuring Gu Lin’s return against his former CPBL teammates.
- New state-of-the-art stadiums will open in Tainan City and hopefully in Hsinchu City.
With rising attendance, improving facilities, and growing international competitiveness, 2025 looks poised to build upon what may well be remembered as the most pivotal year in Taiwanese baseball history.
