Taiwan's Second Swordsmanship - Wu Changzheng (2022/August Special Feature - Island's Wild Ball Youth 3)

Recently, Japanese player Shohei Otani set off a boom in the US professional game. The two-knife skill that can shoot and hit, like a character in a comic, arouses everyone's discussion. This makes one wonder if Taiwan, which is also a big baseball country, has top-notch players like Shohei Otani?

Looking back at history, there is really a second sword player in Taiwan. He is the locomotive of the world - Wu Changzheng.

Wu Changzheng, also known as Wu Bo, was born in 1916 (5th year of Taisho) and is a Kaohsiung bridgehead. During the third-level baseball period, he joined the famous Cannon baseball team and went on an expedition to Jiaziyuan four times. The fast footwork like a train, and the excellent performance in all directions, let the media give him the reputation of "human locomotive".

After graduating, Wu joined the Yomiuri Giants, where he hit two hits, one hit, and was named MVP in 1943. His results were quite impressive.

In 1944, Wu transferred to Osaka, and in the same year, Wu Xinheng, who was also from Taiwan, started a battle for stealing bases, and finally ended in a tie.

In 1946, Wu began to be a pitcher because of a shortage of pitchers on the team. Although he only pitched briefly in high school in the past, Wu Changzheng's pitching performance was surprisingly good. 14 wins in the entire season is the most on the team, 14th in the league with a 3.02 ERA, and he also threw a no-hitter in the season! And the performance of the attack is not inferior. Although it is not like dominating the league in 1943, the data is still the first class of the league. It can be said that Wu Changzheng in 1946 was a two swordsman who was excellent in both shooting and shooting.

After that, Wu Changzheng has maintained a good performance and achieved and set a number of records. For example, the first home run in the Japanese competition was hit by Wu Changzheng. In 1957, Wu Changzheng decided to retire, ending his 20-year professional baseball career. His outstanding achievements made him inducted into the Japan Baseball Hall of Fame in 1995, becoming the first Taiwanese to receive this honor.