The expanded six-team 2005 China Baseball League was in full swing over the weekend with several strong team and individual performances in week two of the 90-game schedule.
Baseball experts say that pitching is ninety per cent of the grand old game. This adage held true to form throughout the long weekend of action. Highlighting the baseball battles in leading his expansion Sichuan Dragons (2-4) to their historic inaugural CBL win on Saturday over the new China Hopestars (1-5) was powerful right pitcher Chen Kun. Chen, the hard-throwing 25-year-old standing at 1.85cm, earned a spot on the China National Team this past autumn and was selected for special training by MLB's Colorado Rockies. He worked his way out of several tight spots in a determined manner to post a hard fought 5-4 complete game victory.
"It is so exciting for our team to capture our first victory in the CBL. The hitters in this league are the best in China so today I needed to keep my concentration, throw strikes and trust in my team-mates," said the excited Chen.
Moving south the action was as hot as the weather as two undefeated teams in the Guangdong Leopards and the Tianjin Lions, both on three game winning streaks, squared off at Tianhe Stadium in Guangzhou. The opening game saw the home team Leopards roll out their two Dominican Republic import pitchers Ventura and Gonzales to combine to quiet the Lions roar en route to a convincing 10-3 victory. Not one to be tamed for long, the Lions, three-time CBL regular season and 2002 champions recaptured a share of first place by sweeping the final two games of the series by scores of 5-1 and 9-7 (10 innings).
The two-time defending CBL champions Beijing Tigers entered the weekend in their customary top of the table position undefeated at 3-0, but over the weekend were mightily challenged by the young Eagles of Shanghai. After suffering through a three game sweep by Tianjin in week one, the Eagles flashed a look at their bright future with a convincing 7-3 triumph in game one of the series. Beijing, however, is just too talented and with a well stocked pitching staff of National Team hurlers like Zhang Jianwang, Wang Nan and Li Weiliang, brought the upstart Eagles back to earth clipping Shanghai's wings in the final two games of the weekend by scores of 5-2 and 9-5 to draw even with Tianjin at 5-1 after two weeks of CBL action. The 2004 CBL Most Valuable Player, Beijing's Sun Lifeng, who is quickly becoming the equivalent of China's Ichiro with his amazing bat control and blinding world-class speed commented: "As a lead-off hitter it is important for me top get on base and stir things up on the base paths for my teammates. This puts pressure on the opposing pitchers and gives the hitters who follow me some better pitches to hit. As CBL champions it is critical for us to give our best every game because all the CBL teams point to us as the team to beat."
This week's upcoming games feature Guangdong at Shanghai, Sichuan at Beijing and Tianjin at the China Hopestars.
(China Daily 04/12/2005 page15)
