Learning to stop playing hard: McSweeney says pitching in Taiwan is like playing chess
Morgan McSweeney of Rakuten Monkeys struggled early but adjusted by learning to pitch strategically, like playing chess, to adapt to Taiwan's style.
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- 📰 Published: May 16, 2026 at 18:16
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(Central News Agency, Su Chih-she, Taipei, 16th) From struggling to pitch 5 innings, to pitching 7 innings and allowing 1 run in each of the recent 2 games, Rakuten Monkeys' Morgan McSweeney admits that the biggest change is letting go of himself, learning to deal with Taiwan's batters, and not simply pitching hard, but rather like playing chess, developing more strategies.
Morgan McSweeney reached 3A in the US professional baseball. He transferred to the CPBL this season. In his first 4 games, he pitched at most 5 innings with an average of 3.25 runs allowed. However, in his recent 2 games against the Uni-President Lions and the Wei Chuan Dragons, the top teams, he pitched 7 innings and allowed 1 run in each game.
Asked what changed in between, McSweeney said that the reasons are diverse. First of all, he is a slow starter, and he didn't pitch as smoothly at the beginning of the season. Another point is that he is still spending time learning how to deal with the batters here. This is a brand new league, and the type of batters is different from the US.
McSweeney believes that control is more important when pitching in Taiwan, followed by paying more attention to the co-軌 effect when releasing the ball. "In the US, you might know this batter won't hit a slider, so you throw 12 sliders in a row for him to hit. But in Taiwan, it has to be like playing chess, and you need to develop more strategies."
McSweeney pointed out that trusting the catcher is also very important. "You have to put yourself aside, understand that the model you were accustomed to in the past no longer works, and trust those who have had successful experience here, such as asking Fernandez (Pedro Fernandez) and Eppler (Tyler Eppler)."
Different from the slower pace of his first 4 games, McSweeney has obviously accelerated in his recent 2 games, and he admits this is true. "At first, I thought a slower pace would make the batters less comfortable, but it actually made me more uncomfortable. I personally prefer games with a faster pace, pitching without thinking about anything, just like these past 2 games, and I hope to pitch more games like this in the future."
Morgan McSweeney reached 3A in the US professional baseball. He transferred to the CPBL this season. In his first 4 games, he pitched at most 5 innings with an average of 3.25 runs allowed. However, in his recent 2 games against the Uni-President Lions and the Wei Chuan Dragons, the top teams, he pitched 7 innings and allowed 1 run in each game.
Asked what changed in between, McSweeney said that the reasons are diverse. First of all, he is a slow starter, and he didn't pitch as smoothly at the beginning of the season. Another point is that he is still spending time learning how to deal with the batters here. This is a brand new league, and the type of batters is different from the US.
McSweeney believes that control is more important when pitching in Taiwan, followed by paying more attention to the co-軌 effect when releasing the ball. "In the US, you might know this batter won't hit a slider, so you throw 12 sliders in a row for him to hit. But in Taiwan, it has to be like playing chess, and you need to develop more strategies."
McSweeney pointed out that trusting the catcher is also very important. "You have to put yourself aside, understand that the model you were accustomed to in the past no longer works, and trust those who have had successful experience here, such as asking Fernandez (Pedro Fernandez) and Eppler (Tyler Eppler)."
Different from the slower pace of his first 4 games, McSweeney has obviously accelerated in his recent 2 games, and he admits this is true. "At first, I thought a slower pace would make the batters less comfortable, but it actually made me more uncomfortable. I personally prefer games with a faster pace, pitching without thinking about anything, just like these past 2 games, and I hope to pitch more games like this in the future."