As the second half of the 2024 Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) season progresses, here is a look at the top news and notes from the last week in Taiwan’s highest level of professional baseball.
Rakuten Monkeys Release Mexican LHP Manny Banuelos
On Sunday, the Rakuten Monkeys parted ways with left-handed pitcher Manny Banuelos, a former Major League Baseball journeyman. Banuelos finished the 2024 CPBL season with a 4.14 ERA in 84.2 innings.
The 33-year-old appeared in 58 games for four different MLB organizations between 2015, 2019, and 2022. According to Baseball America, he was the New York Yankees No. 6 overall prospect before the 2010 season. However, he underwent Tommy John Surgery in October 2012 and missed the 2013 season.
Banuelos has pitching experience in multiple leagues besides the CPBL, including the KBO, Liga Mexicana de Beisbol, and NPB. He is the definition of a journeyman pitcher but should find another job overseas or with an MLB team on a minor league contract.
Bryan Woodall Picks Up Strikeout No. 700 in the CPBL
Wei Chuan Dragons starting pitcher Bryan Woodall became the 15th player in CPBL history to strike out 700 hitters on Sunday night. He struck out two Fubon Guardians hitters in four innings and threw 43 of his 61 pitches for strikes.
Woodall, 37, played his first season in the CPBL in 2015 with the Chinatrust Brothers and spent the 2016 and 2017 seasons with the club. He joined the Fubon Guardians in 2018 and followed a 135-strikeout season in 2017 with the Brothers with 126 in his first year with the Guardians.
He posted an ERA below three in his first three seasons with the Dragons and is 3-6 with a 3.23 ERA in 2024. Woodall played two seasons with the Lancaster Barnstormers in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball in 2015 and 2016.
CPBL to Hold Musical Performance in October
On Monday, the CPBL announced a musical performance titled “Formosan Baseball Saga.” The concert, scheduled for October 14 at the National Concert Hall in Taipei, Taiwan, will focus on baseball-related music throughout Taiwanese history.
In a statement, the CPBL emphasized that music is quintessential to Taiwanese baseball and its fans. The same can be said for American music at baseball games across the United States, such as songs like “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” and “Centerfield.”
The concert will feature the Octangle Male Choir, a Taiwan-based singing group. According to Focus Taiwan, the choir’s head, Cheng Mu-chun, said the first act will focus on baseball history in Taiwan, and the second act will focus on baseball tunes from other countries, like the United States and Japan.
This Day in Taiwanese Baseball History
On August 21, 2023, the TSG Hawks announced pitcher Shungo Fukunaga had torn a ligament in his throwing elbow. The team deregistered him from the minor league roster but kept him as an assistant pitching coach.
“Shungo Fukunaga has demonstrated a great attitude and is always willing to share his past experience with younger players,” the Hawks said in a press release. “Therefore, the team has decided to add him to the coaching staff.”
The 30-year-old from Osaka, Japan, last played four combined games between the Generales de Durango and the Mariachis de Guadalajara during the 2022 Liga Mexicana de Beisbol season. He remains an assistant pitching coach for the TSG Hawks farm team in 2024.
CPBL Standings as of Wednesday, August 21
You can watch every Chinese Professional Baseball League game on DAZN.
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WBN CPBL: https://worldbaseball.com/?s=CPBL
Photo Credit: Pitcher Bryan Woodall #21 of Fubon Guardians pitching at the top of the first inning during the CPBL game. (Photo by Gene Wang/Getty Images)
