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Children participating in the baseball clinic (Tianjin)	Flying balloons all at once in the game gets popular during “Fan Fun Weekend” (Jiangsu)

Click here for Team and Player Statistics from the First Half of the CBL Season

The dominance of the Tianjin’s Lions was what stood out most in the first half of the CBL season. This can be seen quite easily by comparing their statistics with the other teams in the league. They were the only team that had a team batting average over .300 (.337) and their team ERA (3.767), although by a narrow margin, beat out Beijing and Jiangsu for the league lead. Although they did not hit many home runs, their totals in such categories as stolen bases (43- led the league) and walks (71 –2nd in the league) show that their success thus far is attributable to their ability to do the small things to win ballgames.

The Beijing Tigers were second in the league behind rival Tianjin in the two categories of batting average (.299) and ERA (3.827). Both their hitting and pitching began to improve towards the end of the first half.

The Sichuan Dragons, who have the misfortune of playing in the same division as the Tianjin Lions and the Beijing Tigers, hit a league leading 5 home runs and scored more runs (85) than the three teams in the Southeast/Eastern China Division. However, their team ERA (5.260) was fifth in the league. Their pitching struggled against the top teams in the league, as was the case in week four when they surrendered a total of 31 runs in the three-game set against the Tianjin Lions.

The team batting average of the Shanghai Golden Eagles (.243), who lead the Southeast/Eastern China Division, was only .001 higher than that of last place Jiangsu. They did not put up any numbers that especially stood out in either the offensive or pitching categories, but pitcher Chen Hai Feng, who led the league in ERA, and Dong Shi, who was 3rd in the league in ERA, pitched effectively, which contributed to the team’s success early in the season.

The Guangdong Leopards, who were runner-up league champions last year, struggled with a team ERA of 5.851. They have some good pitchers on their staff, as they were second in the league in strikeouts (102), but it was their high ERA and number of errors (45) that resulted in the 115 runs allowed in total that put them in the cellar.

The Jiangsu Hopestars, who now have an ace in Sun Guodong, played hard in the first half, as it is shown in their statistics such as their team ERA (3.955 – 3rd in the league) and Strikeouts (113), which led the league. They will likely be relying on their pitching in the second half, as their team batting average (.242) was the lowest in the league and they did not hit a single home run.
 

The section below focuses on the players that were most successful in the first half.

【Li Lin (Si Chuan)】

【Luo Yu Bin (Tian Jin) Team leader: the most right of the picture】

【Cui Xiao (Bei Jing)】

[The Position Players]

The Tianjn Lions at the top spot had five players among the 10 league leaders in batting average. But it was Li Lin of the Sichuan Tigers (Age 26, Outfielder) who finished with the highest average, beating out the hot-hitting Tianjin hitters. He hit safely in all six games in the series against the Tianjin Lions from week three to four. Then, he was put in the cleanup spot in three games during the week five against Guangdong and hit 7-for-12.

From the Tianjin Lions, cleanup batter Yang Guo Gang (Age 31, Infielder) and Captain Luo Yu Bin (Age 32, Outfielder) both managed such a high average over .400 and finished 2nd and 3rd among the top 10 batters, showing why they were once on the national team. Yang Guo Gang also led the league in RBIs (17) and showed that he was a good hitter in pressure situations.

As for the power hitters, Shanghai’s Chen Qi (Age 28, Infielder) and Sichuan’s Liu Ya Qing (Age 25, Infielder), both left-handed hitters, belted two home runs each. Chen Qi showed his power when he hit home runs in 2 back-to-back games in weeks four and five.

Another hitter that stood out was Beijing's Cui Xiao (Age 19, Infielder). He became the regular number-two hitter from the start of the season and got three hits in the season opener. He was red-hot in the week four series against Guangdong when he hit 8-for-15 in the three games. He also led the league in triples with 5, and was 7th in the league in stolen bases with 5. He will definitely be key factor in Beijing's success in the second half.

The stolen base category was dominated by the Tianjin players. Tianjin’s young 1-2 punch of Du Liang (Age 22, Outfielder) and Wang Jing Chao (Age 19, Infielder) both had 11 stolen bases each and provided great speed for the Lions. Both of these players were among the top ten in batting average and are becoming Tianjin's hope for the future. 

【Dong Shi (Shang Hai)】

【Su Chang Long (Tian Jin)】

【Sun Guo Qiang (Jiang Su)】

【Lu Chao (Guang Dong)】

[Pitchers and Catchers]

While the offensive categories were dominated by Tianjin, the top two pitchers for the Shanghai Golden Eagles were among the top three in ERA. Chen Hai Feng (Age 29, Right-hander) and Dong Shi (Age 18, Right-hander) both had amazing ERAs in the 1.00 range. Chen Hai Feng, who is normally used as their second pitcher, has a great deal of stamina, as he has been able to pitch in a variety of situations including pitching in back-to-back games as well as in long-relief. Dong Shi began pitching well in the game against Guang Dong on April 20th. After pitching eight innings while allowing no runs and 2 base hits to get the win in this game, he continued his success in week three, when he pitched seven innings while allowing 1 run against Beijing, and in week four, when he started first and pitched into the fifth inning while allowing two runs against Jiangsu. He has definitely gotten the job done as a starter for the Golden Eagles. Dong Shi, who used to play in the Boys League in Japan, has continued to improve and is turning into an ace on the staff.

The pitcher who finished in second between the two Shaghai hurlers in ERA was Tianjin’s Bai Bao Liang (Age 27, Left-hander) who began to pitch well midway through the first half. Beginning with his start on April 27th, he surrendered a combined 2 runs in his last 3 starts. He pitched a four-hit shutout against Shanghai on May 10th and is showing some consistency on the mound.

Tianjin ace Su Chang Long (Age 26, Left-hander) has gotten off to a quick start and already has 6 wins. He helped his team get off to a quick start in the opener by pitching a complete game while allowing 1 run and 4 hits. He has pitched well both as a starter and reliever even after the beginning.

It was Sun Guo Qiang (Age 37, Right-hander) who provided that spark for the hard-playing Jiangsu Hopestars in the first half. He racked up strikeout after strikeout with his sidearm scorching fastball and his total of 35 strikeouts led the league, beating out Tianjin ace Su Chan Long. He also got a complete game victory on May 10th against Beijing and struck out nine batters. He reached double digits in strikeouts in his two previous outings and pitched three consecutive complete game victories from week three to week five.

Aside from this, the three pitchers for the Beijing Tigers, Meng Qing Yuan (Age 20, Right-hander), Zhou Jing (Age 26, Right-hander) and Li Hong Rui (Age 22, Right-hander) were 7-9th in the league top ten. Li Hong Rui was among the top three in wins and strikeouts.  Young phenom Lu Chao (Age 19, Right-hander) had an ERA in the 3.00 range and is doing his best for the Guangdong Leopards, who have had a tough first half.

Last but not least, the catchers. Shanghai’s Hao Guo Chen (Age 21) had a caught-stealing percentage of 64% which easily led the league and no one was even close to keeping pace with him. Jiangsu’s Zhang Fan (Age 18) finished second in the category. This is a category that involves the cooperative effort of the pitcher and catcher, but it is a statistic that may have contributed to Shanghai’s success in the first half.