Dragons’ Guest Coach: Munenori Kawasaki
On July 9, the Wei Chuan Dragons announced the signing of former NPB and MLB infielder Munenori Kawasaki (川崎宗則) as the guest coach.
“We hope under the guidance of Munenori Kawasaki, he will be able to bring some new perspectives when it comes to defence for our players”, said in the Dragons’ press release.
There is some possibility perhaps Munenori Kawasaki is not done as a player yet. In the Dragons’ press release last night, the team hinted fans might be able to see Munenori Kawasaki in action as a player in some of the Dragons’ exhibition games.
The Dragons will have an exhibition game against the Cuban National Team in late October. From November to December, the team is highly likely to participate in the annual Asia Winter Baseball League (CPBL Winter League).
“We signed Munenori Kawasaki to a three months contract as both player and guest coach,” said the Dragons’ general manager. “It will be up to the head coach to decide whether they need Kawasaki to play in the CPBL winter league or not.”
The Dragons will hold an event on July 13 where fans can meet Munenori Kawasaki in person. More details to come on July 11 on the Dragons’ Facebook page.
Uni-Lions Were Going Sign Munenori Kawasaki?
There were rumours after Munenori Kawasaki parted ways with the SoftBank Hawks in 2018, a Mexican League team approached him to continue his playing career. However, his priority at that time was Taiwan’s CPBL.
According to the Uni-Lions’ general manager, in May 2019, Kawasaki’s agent approached the team seeking for an opportunity. Although the team were interested in signing a foreign positional player, after further review, they went with foreign pitchers instead.
Manny Ramirez as Guest Coach?
According to Mirror Media, the Dragons are currently in contact with Manny Ramirez hoping to sign him as the guest coach.
On July 13, the Wei Chuan Dragons’ general manager confirmed Manny Ramirez will come to Taiwan and meet with the team in August. The team then will have the discussion with Ramirez about the potential guest coach opportunity over dinner.
The former Boston Red Sox’s slugger spent his 2013 in Taiwan playing for the EDA Rhinos. He finished his 2013 CPBL season with a solid .352/.422/.555 with eight home runs across 49 games.
[…] Former major league utility infielder Munenori Kawasaki, who has put his playing career on hiatus since developing a nerve disorder, is reportedly going to coach on a three-month basis this summer with the Wei Chuan Dragons according to the CPBL Stats website. […]