Hong I-chung
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| Hong I-chung | |
|---|---|
| TSG Hawks – No. 2 | |
| Born: 14 May 1961 Kaohsiung City, Taiwan | |
| Professional debut | |
| CPBL: March 17, 1990, for the Brother Elephants | |
| Taiwan Major League: 1997, for the Gao Ping Fala |
Hong I-chung (born May 14, 1961), nicknamed "Hongzhong", is a Taiwanese baseball catcher. He once played for the Brother Elephants of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) and Gao Ping Fala of the Taiwan Major League. He has previously served as the manager of the La New Bears, Lamigo Monkeys, and Fubon Guardians, and became the manager of the TSG Hawks on January 16, 2023.
Youth era
[edit]Hong I-chung first played baseball when he was in elementary school, and later joined the famous Meiho Senior High School Baseball Team. He represented Taiwan in the 16th World Youth Baseball Championship in 1976 and 1979 respectively.
Playing career
[edit]Before the establishment of the Chinese Professional Baseball League, Hong joined the Brother Elephants baseball team and stayed with the Elephants for a total of eleven years. During these eleven years, he won the Taiwan Series MVP, the Best Nine Award, a Gold Glove, and more.[1] However, after moving to Gao Ping Fala of the Taiwan Major League,[2] Hong was regarded as a traitor by the Chinese Professional Baseball League. After the merge of the two leagues, he did not return to the Chinese Professional Baseball League until 2004 when he became pitching coach for the La New Bears.
Coaching career
[edit]La New Bears/Lamigo Monkeys/Rakuten Monkeys
[edit]In 2004, Hong became the pitching coach of the La New Bears,[3] and became the head coach in the same year after Takuji Ohta resigned from his job.[4] Hong led La New to two consecutive championships in 2006-2007, both beating the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions. In 2009, due to some La New players being involved in a match fixing incident and poor performance in leading the team, Hong was sent down to manage the minor league team of the Bears, swapping with Tsai Rongzong who was in that position at the time. In 2010, he returned as the manager for the Bears after Tsai resigned from his job. After the Bears rebranded into the Lamigo Monkeys in 2011, in 2012, 2014, 2015, and 2017, Hong successfully won the Taiwan Series. The five championships Hong won officially surpassed the record of four championships won by former Lions head coach Lu Wen-sheng. On July 11, 2017, he led the Monkeys to defeat the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions 4-2,[5] becoming the manager with the most wins in the history of the CPBL, and the manager with the most wins coaching a single team. Hong then won the Taiwan Series in 2018 and 2019 to give Lamigo their three-peat, leading the team to establish the "Lamigo Dynasty".
Fubon Guardians
[edit]Hong switched teams in 2020 and managed the Fubon Guardians for 2 years.
TSG Hawks
[edit]In 2023, Hong signed a three-year contract with the TSG Hawks, becoming their first ever manager. On May 15, 2024, the Hawks defeated the Rakuten Monkeys, earning Hong his 1,000th career managerial victory.[6]
References
[edit]- ^ "中華職棒大聯盟全球資訊網 The Official Site of CPBL". www.cpbl.com.tw (in Traditional Chinese). Retrieved 2024-04-28.
- ^ "高屏雷公隊".
- ^ 中央通訊社 (2024-02-12). "中華職棒35年話題十足 洪一中率台鋼雄鷹展翅 | 運動". 中央社 CNA (in Chinese). Retrieved 2024-04-28.
- ^ https://twbsball.dils.tku.edu.tw/wiki/index.php/%E6%B4%AA%E4%B8%80%E4%B8%AD.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ "中華職棒大聯盟全球資訊網 The Official Site of CPBL". www.cpbl.com.tw (in Traditional Chinese). Retrieved 2024-04-28.
- ^ "TSG Hawks' Manager Hong I-Chung Records 1000 Managerial Wins". cpblstats.com. Retrieved May 18, 2024.