Pan Wu-hsiung
Encyclopedia
Pan Wu-hsiung is a Taiwanese baseball player who currently plays for Uni-President Lions
of Chinese Professional Baseball League
. He currently plays as an outfielder for the Lions, and has been constantly shifted between all three outfield positions. His nickname "Take" derives from the Japanese
pronunciation of the first character of his given name.
, "Take" began formal baseball training in fifth grade in his hometown elementary school, as many other Taiwanese baseball players had. He was invited to attend the famed Meiho Middle School and Meiho High School , a secondary school system which has a long history in the development of baseball. He played on the baseball team during his six years in Meiho, playing in the outfield. He stated in an interview that he originally asked to become a pitcher, but was refused by the coach who instead given him a position in the outfield.
After graduating from Meiho, he joined "Taiwan Cooperative Bank Baseball Team
, a team in Taiwan's amateur league. He entered the draft in 2004, and was selected by the Sinon Bulls
in the first round. However, he and the Bulls could not reach an agreement on a contract, so he elected to return to the amateur league and waited for almost two years before entering the draft again.
in 2005 in the second round, and immediately reached an agreement with the Lions. He made his debut on March 21, 2006 as the starting right fielder
, and struck out on his first at-bat. He played only 14 games with 40 at-bets in 2006 before injury ended his season. As a result of the limited game time in 2006, he was eligible for the Rookie of the Year award in 2007, which he won. He was able to recover before the playoffs
, and subsequently hit his first career home run in the against the Sinon Bulls
on October 21. His first home run in regular season came on April 10, 2007 from Macoto Cobras.
Between June 22 and July 5, 2008, Pan hit home runs in six consecutive games. He was named to the Chinese Taipei national baseball team for the 2008 Olympics
.
Uni-President Lions
The Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions are a professional baseball team based in Tainan City, Taiwan. The organization is named after the Uni-President Corporation, one of Taiwan's largest conglomerate whose sub-company Uni-President Baseball Team Company oversees operations of the team...
of Chinese Professional Baseball League
Chinese Professional Baseball League
The Chinese Professional Baseball League , or CPBL, is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 2003...
. He currently plays as an outfielder for the Lions, and has been constantly shifted between all three outfield positions. His nickname "Take" derives from the Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
pronunciation of the first character of his given name.
Early life
As a native to Pingtung, TaiwanTaiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, "Take" began formal baseball training in fifth grade in his hometown elementary school, as many other Taiwanese baseball players had. He was invited to attend the famed Meiho Middle School and Meiho High School , a secondary school system which has a long history in the development of baseball. He played on the baseball team during his six years in Meiho, playing in the outfield. He stated in an interview that he originally asked to become a pitcher, but was refused by the coach who instead given him a position in the outfield.
After graduating from Meiho, he joined "Taiwan Cooperative Bank Baseball Team
Taiwan Cooperative Bank baseball team
The Taiwan Cooperative Bank Baseball Team , also known as TCB Baseball Team , is one of the two amateur baseball teams in Taiwan's First Division amateur baseball league that are owned by government sponsored corporation. The team is owned by Taiwan Cooperative Bank....
, a team in Taiwan's amateur league. He entered the draft in 2004, and was selected by the Sinon Bulls
Sinon Bulls
Despite a nice start, this club had been performing poorly throughout its short history, mainly due to the controversial leading styles of Jungo Corporation's then chairman Chen I-ping...
in the first round. However, he and the Bulls could not reach an agreement on a contract, so he elected to return to the amateur league and waited for almost two years before entering the draft again.
Professional career
"Take" was drafted by Uni-President LionsUni-President Lions
The Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions are a professional baseball team based in Tainan City, Taiwan. The organization is named after the Uni-President Corporation, one of Taiwan's largest conglomerate whose sub-company Uni-President Baseball Team Company oversees operations of the team...
in 2005 in the second round, and immediately reached an agreement with the Lions. He made his debut on March 21, 2006 as the starting right fielder
Right fielder
A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound...
, and struck out on his first at-bat. He played only 14 games with 40 at-bets in 2006 before injury ended his season. As a result of the limited game time in 2006, he was eligible for the Rookie of the Year award in 2007, which he won. He was able to recover before the playoffs
2006 Chinese Professional Baseball League playoffs
The Chinese Professional Baseball League playoffs included the three top teams from the regular season and crowned a champion with the Taiwan Series through the month of October, 2006...
, and subsequently hit his first career home run in the against the Sinon Bulls
Sinon Bulls
Despite a nice start, this club had been performing poorly throughout its short history, mainly due to the controversial leading styles of Jungo Corporation's then chairman Chen I-ping...
on October 21. His first home run in regular season came on April 10, 2007 from Macoto Cobras.
Between June 22 and July 5, 2008, Pan hit home runs in six consecutive games. He was named to the Chinese Taipei national baseball team for the 2008 Olympics
Baseball at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Baseball at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing was held from August 13 to August 23. All games were played at Wukesong Baseball Field, a temporary venue constructed at the Beijing Wukesong Culture & Sports Center...
.