Brothers' rare win prompts baserunning drills; manager Hirano has words

The CTBC Brothers clinched the top spot in the latter half of the season with a narrow 5-4 win over the Fubon Guardians, a victory sealed by a crucial late-game error from the opposing team. In a rare display of post-game intensity, the Brothers' fielders immediately returned to the practice field for baserunning drills, even after the MVP awards ceremony. Manager Eichi Hirano's somber demeanor underscored the team's dissatisfaction with their performance despite the win.

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Winning is always good, but since it was due to an opponent's mistake, out of respect, we won't be overly happy.

"Winning is always good, but since it was due to an opponent's mistake, out of respect, we won't be overly happy," Hirano stated. The team had committed several significant baserunning errors during the game. For example, in the bottom of the first inning, outfielder Chang Jen-wei misjudged a double, thinking it was caught, and advanced only to third base instead of scoring. Later, in the sixth inning, a runner was caught in a double play after failing to return to third base on a hard-hit line drive.

Hirano directly addressed these issues, noting "many baserunning errors, or situations with insufficient technique or poor baserunning awareness." He explained the decision to conduct immediate drills: "Strike while the iron is hot. While everyone's memory is still fresh, let's quickly practice to increase everyone's baserunning awareness, concepts, or techniques as much as possible."

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many baserunning errors, or situations with insufficient technique or poor baserunning awareness.

The team specifically worked on the scenario where runner Lin Wu-chin-wei failed to return to third base. Hirano acknowledged that they also intended to practice the situation involving Chang Jen-wei's misjudgment on a second-base runner, but time and field conditions were limited. He also commented on Chang's specific error, attributing it partly to poor lighting and potential overlap with the fielder's vision, causing hesitation. Hirano mentioned an internal team principle for such situations: a player should simply look at the third base coach if visibility is an issue, indicating the complexity of the play.

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Strike while the iron is hot. While everyone's memory is still fresh, let's quickly practice to increase everyone's baserunning awareness, concepts, or techniques as much as possible.