Wei Chuan Dragons' Stolen Base Strategy Evolves; Pederson: Focus on Improving Baseball IQ
The Wei Chuan Dragons of the Chinese Professional Baseball League have significantly improved their stolen base success rate under the guidance of offensive coordinator Tyger Pederson. By focusing on enhancing players' baseball IQ, the team has achieved a league-leading 36 successful stolen bases with only 5 failures this season.
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- 📰 Published: May 7, 2026 at 18:21
- 🔍 Collected: May 7, 2026 at 18:31 (10 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 7, 2026 at 19:52 (1h 20m after Collected)
Central News Agency
(Central News Agency reporter Su Chih-yu, Taipei, 7th) The Chinese Professional Baseball League's Wei Chuan Dragons have started the season strong, with 36 successful stolen bases becoming a major offensive weapon. Tyger Pederson, who was invited to serve as the offensive coordinator coach this year, pointed out that the key is to teach players how to read the game and "improve their baseball IQ."
The Wei Chuan Dragons led the CPBL with 100 successful stolen bases last year, but also had 42 stolen base failures. This season, they still lead the league with 36 successful stolen bases, but with only 5 failures. The second-place Fubon Guardians have 24 successful stolen bases (15 failures).
Dragons' head coach Yeh Chun-chang, in an interview with Central News Agency, discussed the team's outstanding stolen base success rate, believing it is only a small sample record at the beginning of the season. "Over the entire season, it will still normalize." He added that opponents may gradually become more vigilant, "They weren't paying much attention before, but it won't be that simple from now on."
This year, the Dragons invited Tyger Pederson, former minor league hitting coordinator assistant coach for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball, to join the team. Infielder Li Kai-wei once mentioned that the information provided by Pederson improved the team's stolen base success rate. Pederson responded by saying that they had been preparing for this since spring training, telling players what to pay attention to, and learning from both failed and successful cases.
"Our players are all very smart," Pederson believes that improving the stolen base success rate is not solely dependent on coaching guidance. "They are also generous in sharing with each other, exchanging anything that can help with base running, playing aggressive and smart baseball."
Dragons' slugger Chu Yu-hsien stated that the team's hitting, pitching, and fielding have been excellent recently, and their aggressiveness in base running can also create more missed pitches for hitters. Pederson also pointed out that whether it's hitting or base running, it's all part of the team's offense. "Since I started playing baseball, I've always loved studying offense. Whether it's hitting or base running, it's a way to create scoring opportunities, so I really enjoy discussing different aspects of scoring."
Pederson not only has experience as a MLB hitting coach but also served as the hitting coach for the Israeli national team in this year's World Baseball Classic (WBC), and also as the third base coach and base running coach for Israel in the 2023 Classic. He also served as a first and third base coach in the St. Louis Cardinals' minor league system and has coaching experience in hitting and base running within the Mariners' system.
"In my experience, a coach's job is to make players students," Pederson said. He believes that players should be encouraged to actively learn and analyze baseball games. "Baseball is a very challenging sport, and the game process is ever-changing, encountering various situations. How to make players learn from the game is the most important thing to me." (Editor: Chang Ya-ching) 1150507
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(Central News Agency reporter Su Chih-yu, Taipei, 7th) The Chinese Professional Baseball League's Wei Chuan Dragons have started the season strong, with 36 successful stolen bases becoming a major offensive weapon. Tyger Pederson, who was invited to serve as the offensive coordinator coach this year, pointed out that the key is to teach players how to read the game and "improve their baseball IQ."
The Wei Chuan Dragons led the CPBL with 100 successful stolen bases last year, but also had 42 stolen base failures. This season, they still lead the league with 36 successful stolen bases, but with only 5 failures. The second-place Fubon Guardians have 24 successful stolen bases (15 failures).
Dragons' head coach Yeh Chun-chang, in an interview with Central News Agency, discussed the team's outstanding stolen base success rate, believing it is only a small sample record at the beginning of the season. "Over the entire season, it will still normalize." He added that opponents may gradually become more vigilant, "They weren't paying much attention before, but it won't be that simple from now on."
This year, the Dragons invited Tyger Pederson, former minor league hitting coordinator assistant coach for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball, to join the team. Infielder Li Kai-wei once mentioned that the information provided by Pederson improved the team's stolen base success rate. Pederson responded by saying that they had been preparing for this since spring training, telling players what to pay attention to, and learning from both failed and successful cases.
"Our players are all very smart," Pederson believes that improving the stolen base success rate is not solely dependent on coaching guidance. "They are also generous in sharing with each other, exchanging anything that can help with base running, playing aggressive and smart baseball."
Dragons' slugger Chu Yu-hsien stated that the team's hitting, pitching, and fielding have been excellent recently, and their aggressiveness in base running can also create more missed pitches for hitters. Pederson also pointed out that whether it's hitting or base running, it's all part of the team's offense. "Since I started playing baseball, I've always loved studying offense. Whether it's hitting or base running, it's a way to create scoring opportunities, so I really enjoy discussing different aspects of scoring."
Pederson not only has experience as a MLB hitting coach but also served as the hitting coach for the Israeli national team in this year's World Baseball Classic (WBC), and also as the third base coach and base running coach for Israel in the 2023 Classic. He also served as a first and third base coach in the St. Louis Cardinals' minor league system and has coaching experience in hitting and base running within the Mariners' system.
"In my experience, a coach's job is to make players students," Pederson said. He believes that players should be encouraged to actively learn and analyze baseball games. "Baseball is a very challenging sport, and the game process is ever-changing, encountering various situations. How to make players learn from the game is the most important thing to me." (Editor: Chang Ya-ching) 1150507
Choose to stand with facts; every sponsorship you provide is a force to protect press freedom.
Download the Central News Agency "First-hand News" APP to stay updated with the latest news in real-time.
The text, images, and videos on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, publicly transmitted, or used without authorization.