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Three starting pitchers were added into Austronesia Professional Baseball’s Hall of Fame for 2041. First ballot nods went to Je-Chang Yang at 85.0% and Ferry Iilang at 72.8%. Patrick Chen joined them with 71.9% on his third ballot. Two other SPs barely missed the 66% cut with Kuo-Chen Kao at 63.4% for his seventh try and Moch Kopriyana at 62.8% on his debut. The only batter above 50% was C Fandi Makatindu at 50.9% in his second ballot. No players were dropped after ten failed tries in 2041.



Je-Chang “Terror” Yang – Starting Pitcher – Taichung Toucans – 85.0% First Ballot

Je-Chang Yang was a 6’5’’, 205 pound left-handed pitcher Shulin, Taiwan; an inner-city district of New Taipei City with around 180,000 people. Nicknamed “Terror,” Yang used great control and movement to thrive along with above average stuff. His velocity peaked in the 95-97 mph range with an arsenal of cutter, slider, curveball, and changeup.

Yang’s stamina was generally solid relative to other APB aces. His durability was great prior to suffering a major injury at age 34. Yang was decent at holding runners, but poor defensively otherwise. He was considered a bit greedy, but also quite loyal to those around him. Yang got plenty of hype coming out of Qiangshu High School, as tall lefties always make scouts drool. He was the #2 pick in the 2018 APB Draft by Kaohsiung, but declined their offer and joined National Taiwan University.

After a stellar college career, Yang was the #1 overall pick in 2021 by Taichung and signed a five-year, $19,350,000 major league deal right away. He was immediately a full-time starter worth 5+ WAR in each of his first five seasons. Yang was second in 2022’s Rookie of the Year voting, third in 2023’s Pitcher of the Year voting, and second in 2025’s POTY.

Yang led in wins in 2026 and 2028, posting a career-best 22-8 record in 2028. 2025 was his best ERA at 1.45, although he missed the ERA title by four points. It wasn’t the easiest to get noticed in Taichung at this point, as they had a playoff drought back to 1987. With Yang’s arrival, the Toucans were at least mostly above or around .500 after some putrid seasons just before his debut.

2029 was Yang’s last year under team control with Taichung and they weren’t confident they would be able to re-sign him. That winter, the Toucans traded him to Taoyuan for three prospects. One of them, SS Kuo Peng, went onto be a ten-year starter for them with a reliable glove. For the Tsunami, they had also been stuck in the middle-tier in the last few years and hoped to make a run.

The bet paid off with a 98-64 finish and the top seed in the Taiwan-Philippine Association. Yang had a 20-6 record, 2.41 ERA, 246.1 innings, 288 Ks, and 8.0 WAR. He stepped up huge in the postseason though with an 0.82 ERA over 33 innings, 2-1 record, 37 Ks, and 1.6 WAR. Taoyuan beat Quezon for the TPA title and won the Austronesia Championship 4-1 over Batam; their first APB title since 2008.

Yang had a solid run in the Baseball Grand Championship with a 4-1 record in 41 innings, 2.20 ERA, 46 Ks, and 1.1 WAR. The Tsunami ended up 10-11 in the event. Yang ended up as a rental for them, but you can’t argue with the result of winning a league championship. Taoyuan did negotiate with him, but Yang was excited to see what he could get in free agency heading into his age 30 season.

At this point, he already had national attention pitching for Taiwan in the World Baseball Championship. His numbers weren’t exceptional from 2024-33 with 110.1 innings, 6-3 record, 3.43 ERA, 149 Ks, and 1.5 WAR. Taiwan’s deepest run came in 2029 as runner-up to Pakistan, although Yang was used in a limited relief role that year.

Yang didn’t sign until March 1, 2030, but he ended up going back to Taichung on a three-year, $72 million deal. The Toucans earned a playoff trip the year he was gone and earned the top seed upon his return at 98-64. Yang posted a 1.72 ERA and 7.8 WAR effort. He injured his heel in his one playoff start and the Toucans were upset in the divisional round by Manila.

They stayed in the mix the next two years, but fell just short of the playoffs both years. Between stints with Taichung, Yang had a 164-97 record, 2.31 ERA, 2529.1 innings, 2642 strikeouts, 314 walks, 125 ERA+, 71 FIP-, and 69.5 WAR. His #37 uniform would eventually be retired by the Toucans for his decade of work. Once his deal was up, he was back to free agency for 2033 heading towards age 33.

Taoyuan brought him in for a second stint on a five-year, $88,600,000 deal. Yang took third in 2033’s Pitcher of the Year voting and the Tsunami got a wild card, although they were a one-and-done. After a solid return, Yang saw a velocity drop down to 92-94 mph by the start of 2034. His stuff had diminished noticeably, but he still had firm control of his arsenal. Yang had lackluster results over 91.1 innings, then suffered a devastating rotator cuff tear in late June.

Yang tried to make a comeback but he had trouble getting his velocity beyond the mid 80s. He made one start in 2035 with poor results and retired in the winter at age 35. Between Taoyuan stints, Yang had a 38-24 record, 2.60 ERA, 605 innings, 598 strikeouts, 120 ERA+, 75 FIP-, and 15.4 WAR.

Overall, Yang had a 202-121 record, 2.37 ERA, 3134.1 innings, 3240 strikeouts, 390 walks, 291/386 quality starts, 150 complete games, 41 shutouts, 124 ERA+, 72 FIP-, and 85.0 WAR. Yang ranks 31^st in wins, 60^th in innings, 62^nd in strikeouts, 39^th in complete games, 41^st in shutouts, and 29^th in pitching WAR.

Even though he never won Pitcher of the Year, Yang was a finalist multiple times and put together nice tallies. His dominant playoff run with Taoyuan’s 2029 title really solidified his case as well. Yang isn’t an inner-circle type Hall of Famer, but the voters felt he was a firm first ballot guy. At 85.0%, he headlined a three-pitcher 2041 class for Austronesia Professional Baseball.