BASEBALL/28,018 bid farewell to veteran Uni-President hurler at Taipei Dome

Taipei, Sept. 28 (CNA) Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions pitcher Pan Wei-lun (潘威倫) appeared in his final game Saturday at the Taipei Dome in front of 28,018 fans, ending an illustrious 22-year career in Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL).

The 42-year-old, who began his professional career in March 2003, started the Lions' game against the TSG Hawks and was gunning for his 150th career win, but instead he got the loss after giving up four runs -- three earned -- in 6.2 innings in his team's 4-0 defeat.

He finished the season with a 1-6 record and an ERA of 6.83 in 29 innings, his best days clearly behind him, but he still received VIP treatment at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, being given a ride on the field in a personal vehicle to start the game.

Pan set the Hawks down in order in the first inning, but gave up two runs in the second and single runs in the fifth and sixth innings while Hawks starter Chen Po-ching (陳柏清) shut down the Lions over seven innings, allowing only four hits and striking out four.

For his career, Pan appeared in 398 games and had a won-loss record of 149-109 and an ERA of 3.61. He registered 1,187 strikeouts against 327 walks and had a WHIP (walks plus hits per innings pitched) of 1.28.

Although Sunday was Pan's last game as an active player, he will be staying with the Lions next year in a coaching capacity, the team's general manager Su Tai-an (蘇泰安) said Saturday.

Su also said that a retirement ceremony will be held for Pan on Sunday at the Tainan Municipal Baseball Stadium.