Chung Hwa Brothers Pitcher Cheng Hao-chun Sent Down Again, Manager Urges 'Fresh Start'

Chung Hwa Brothers pitcher Cheng Hao-chun, once hailed as a homegrown ace, has been demoted to the minor league for the third time this season. His performance has fallen short of expectations, prompting the team to send him down for adjustments.

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Basically, his physical condition is fine. The only thing I can say is that I hope he can make good adjustments.

Manager Hirano Keiichi addressed Cheng's situation, stating that the pitcher's physical condition is not the issue. Instead, Hirano hopes Cheng will embrace a "start from scratch" mentality, focusing on fundamental improvements. This includes refining daily habits, such as establishing a consistent sleep schedule.

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I hope Mei Mei can start everything from scratch. Recently, there have been some adjustments in his daily habits to make improvements. A simple example is sleeping early and waking up early.

Hirano has been actively communicating with Cheng, sharing insights into the routines of top-tier pitchers. He recounted an instance where he asked Cheng to estimate the number of pitches a starting pitcher throws from warm-up to the end of a game. Cheng's initial estimate was vague, prompting Hirano to encourage him to recall and calculate the precise number, including warm-up throws between innings.

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I gave him some ideas about what top pitchers do and discussed these things with him. So, from the beginning, he started by adjusting his lifestyle and began writing some notes.

Hirano stressed that understanding such details is crucial for elite athletes. He explained that knowing the approximate pitch count, for example, 300 pitches, allows a pitcher to plan their preparation accordingly. This mindful approach, Hirano believes, leads to significantly better results than simply pitching without considering the physical demands and necessary preparations.

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Many people overlook the warm-up throws between innings or some more subtle numbers. Knowing this number is very important because the body must be prepared to support that amount of 300 pitches.