BASEBALL/Peng steps down as CTBC Brothers manager over health issues

Taipei, Dec. 29 (CNA) Taiwanese baseball legend Peng Cheng-min (彭政閔) has stepped down as manager of the CTBC Brothers due to health concerns, the franchise announced Friday.

Peng will serve as the manager and supervisor of the Brothers' team in the minor league of Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL), the team said in a statement, with its Japanese hitting coach Keiichi Hirano taking over Peng's post.

It was the second managerial change by the Brothers within a year, and made Hirano the franchise's eighth manager in a decade.

"I feel sorry that I failed to lead the CTBC Brothers to the playoffs this season, and I told the franchise I will take responsibility right after the season concluded," Peng wrote in an Instagram post Friday.

"But due to my health issues, I decided to go to the minors to give my body a chance to recover and strengthen myself professionally after discussions with my family, doctor and the franchise," Peng wrote, thanking CTBC for giving him the opportunity.

In an interview Friday, CTBC General Manager Liu Chih-wei (劉志威) declined to detail Peng's condition out of respect for his privacy, but denied that Peng was replaced because of the team's performance under his leadership.

Peng took over as the team's manager from Lin Wei-chu (林威助) in mid-May when the Brothers were 10-15-1 and tied for last place in the five-team league with the Fubon Guardians.

After that, the Brothers were 47-43-4, the second best record in the league during that stretch, but it was not good enough to get the team into the playoffs in October.

The Brothers were CPBL champions in 2021 and 2022 with Lin at the helm.

Liu said the franchise had hoped Peng would stay on as the Brothers manager and was looking forward to his return, but felt that Peng's health should be the top priority at this point in time.

Meanwhile, Lin, who had served as the Brothers' overseas development counselor since May, will leave the organization along with minor-league base running coach Hsu Feng-pun (許峰賓).

"We respect the two coaches' decisions and sincerely appreciate their contributions to the franchise," the CTBC said.