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10/19/2003 Archived Entry: "Taiwan Baseball News: Elephants Win! Elephants Win!"
Taiwan Baseball News: Elephants Win! Elephants Win!
By Paul Huang
Marred by some pre-game controversies regarding unfair ticket distribution practice, Game 6 of the 2003 Taiwan Series on Saturday in Tienmu did not exactly start off on the right foot, as thousands of furious baseball faithfuls spent over 24 hours of grueling wait, only to learn that there were no tickets available for their earnest effort.
The Brother Elephants did what they could to help with the situation by making sure there wouldn・t be a Game 7 for such unfair practice to continue as they rallied from a 0-3 deficit to win the in all in a 4-3 thriller.
Game-MVP Tsai Fong-an・s two-out clutch single off Sinon Bulls reliever Yang Chien-fu that just beat the outstretched glove of Bull captain Huang Chung-yi in the bottom of the tenth scored the runner from third to give the Elephants their third consecutive and sixth overall title. The 4-3 dramatic victory sent the entire Tienmu Municipal Stadium rocking as bright yellow ribbons thrown from the stands cover a good part of the field with fireworks lighting up the chilly autumn sky.
Finding themselves in unfamiliar territory, the Elephants trailed the Bulls for only the second time in the series as the determined Sinon club rang up three runs in the fourth against Elephant starter Yokota Hisanori, capped by third baseman Chang Tai-shan・s towering two-run blast off Yokota.
The defending champs were not rattled, as they scored two unanswered runs against Bulls starter Yu Wen-pin in the bottom of the fifth to knock the right-hander out of the game.
Osvaldo Martinez of the Bulls entered the game in relief for Yu and loaded the bases by allowing Elephant left fielder Lin Ming-shien to reach on another infield single. Martinez would strike out the next batter for the second out of the inning to bring up ：Golden Warrior； Chen Chih-yuan to the plate with the bases still loaded.
Living up to his regular-season RBI title, Chen snuck a sharp grounder through the left side of the infield for two runs to cut the Bulls・ lead to 3-2.
：I knew we had to make it count when we get a chance, because these guys (the Bulls) don・t give you that many chances.； Chen recalled. It was his two-run single that stopped the Bulls・ momentum in a hurry after they had taken the 3-0 lead.
Bull right fielder Kao Chien-lung・s mishandling of a high fly ball to deep right put Elephant hitter Tsai Fong-an on third with no out in the ensuing inning. It was only a matter of time that the runner would score as the opportunistic Elephants made the Bulls pay with third baseman Chen Huai-shan・s sacrifice fly to left to tie the game up at 3-all.
The score would remain tied at 3-all for the next three innings, after the Bulls missed two great scoring chances in the seventh and the ninth, stranding runners on second in both innings.
Reliever Wang Ching-li for the Elephant, who started the seventh would held the Bulls hitless the rest of the way, en route to his second straight title-clinching victory. Wang also won the clincher last season in the Elephants・ title run over the Chinatrust Whales.
：My offspeed stuff really wasn・t locating as well as I would like, so I went with the fastball as much as I could. It had enough tailspin on it today, so I didn・t have to worry about it being hit out of the park.； Wang said after the game.
Facing elimination for the second time in the series, the Bulls went with ace closer Ramon Morel to start the eighth and the Dominican right-hander responded with two spectacular innings of relief before yielding a leadoff single in the bottom of the tenth.
Rookie sensation Yang Chien-fu was able to strike out two batters in relief for Morel, but a wild pitch, coupled with an untimely walk that put the runners on first and second proved to be fatal as Tsai Fong-an came through for the Elephants with a crafty swing to end an otherwise outstanding season for the Bulls.
It was the second time that these Elephants would ；threepeat,； giving them a record-high total of six and making the already-most-popular team on the island more electrifying than the fireworks set off in the outfield after the win.
：This is another dynasty in the making!； Lin Yi-tseng said after the champagne-soaked Elephant manager, wearing a new championship logo T-shirt was tossed in the air by his troops to celebrate their storybook season.
：It・s a tough way to end a season, but I am very proud of our guys. We・ve overcome some difficult moments to get to where we are today.； A disappointed Bulls・ manager Chen Wei-cheng told the press after he had watched the entire game from inside the clubhouse, serving a five-game suspension for punching the first base umpire in Game 5.
