Anchorage Daily News

Anchorage Bucs closer Mitch Bialosky has learned several phrases in Mandarin Chinese this summer.

But the one he uses most often is "Hao chou," which means "good pitch " or "strike."

He says it often around Chen-Chang Lee and Chu-Kuan Lee, his Taiwanese teammates who can't speak English but are sending a clear message that they're every bit as good as the American players in the Alaska Baseball League.

The two right-handers are a combined 7-2 for the Bucs through the halfway point of the season and are among the team leaders in innings pitched (39 and 30) strikeouts (26 and 18) and games started (11 total).

"Baseball's kind of a universal language," Bialosky said.

DON'T GET CONFUSED

When the pair arrived at the airport before the season, longtime Bucs general manager Dennis Mattingly knew there would be confusion over two pitchers with similar first names and identical last names.

So right away, he dubbed them Lee 1 and Lee 2.

"They smiled at it," said Gary Lichtenstein, the Bucs' director of ballpark operations.

Officially, Chu-Kuan is Lee 1 and Chen-Chang is Lee 2.

Days later, Chu-Kuan introduced himself to longtime Bucs fan and supporter Ray Harding.

"Hi. I am No. 1"

He not only elicited laughs but ensured he would be called No. 1 for as long as he remains a Buc.

Stand in the dugout for 30 seconds and you'll hear the players and coaching staff toss around the numerical monikers as though the pair has been called that their entire lives.

"I don't really know their names," said their catcher, Matt Lucchesi.

Manager Mike Garcia has a different take on how they got their names.

"Originally we were going to call them CC and CK (but) that was too close together," Garcia said. "We just went with No. 1 because he's taller (6-foot-2) and No 2 because he's shorter (6-foot).

"We made sure they knew we weren't categorizing their talent. No. 2's pretty damn good."

DIRTY STUFF

The numbers say what Chu -Kuan and Chen-Chang can't.

"Lee 2 is some of the dirtiest stuff I've ever caught," said Lucchesi, the Bucs primary catcher. "Lee 1 is right up there. This is a great pitching league, and they're up there with the best."

Both pitchers are on the preliminary roster for the Taiwanese national team. Chen-Chang is perhaps best known in Taiwan as the 19-year-old who held world power Cuba to one run and two hits over eight innings last fall as Taiwan beat Cuba for the first time in two decades at the World University Baseball Championships.

Despite being smaller and younger, Chen-Chang has the more electric stuff.

Garcia says he has one of the top two or three arms in the ABL and is what Garcia calls a "knees-to-the-dirt" pitcher. Every pitch is at the knees or below, forcing batters to hit groundballs if they make contact.

Despite their raw talent, both pitchers need the development a summer league like the ABL offers.

Garcia was shocked when his pitchers first took the mound during nonleague play in early June.

Apparently, he discovered, they don't steal bases much in Taiwan.

Both pitchers had high, exaggerated leg kicks -- a license for larceny in a league known for low-scoring games.

"There was no chance," to throw out a runner, Garcia said.

Garcia and pitching coach Randy Kramer showed both pitchers to slide step with runners on base to quicken their deliveries, a technique most Little Leaguers in the United States already know.

'A GODSEND'

For three seasons, Taiwanese talent has flourished in the ABL, despite language and culture barriers.

But the Lees have better prospects because of a Buc who can't hit, run, catch, field or coach.

He's full-time interpreter Joey Kung.

"Joey's been a godsend," Garcia said of the league's first interpreter. "There's no barrier, it's tremendous."

Kung, 22, just graduated from Kenai Peninsula College. He moved to the United States from Taiwan at 14 and was introduced to the Lees through the pair's summer house parents.

Kung not only interprets between Mandarin Chinese and English, he explains American baseball's unique lexicon -- words like "dugout" and "mound"

Kung travels with the team on Kenai and Fairbanks for road trips -- and to the mound for any coaching visit during the game.

"(I was) kind of nervous the first time," he said. "I was afraid I couldn't translate that well."

He spends every road trip with the pitchers and the trio are rarely apart on game days.

A particular struggle occurs when a runner reaches second base and Lucchesi has to switch signs to avoid tipping pitches.

"They get that confused," he said.

TAIWANESE PIPELINE

The baseball immigration from the Orient to the ABL started in 2005 when Taiwanese pitcher Sung-Wei Tseng and shortstop Sheng-Wei Wang came to the Bucs and were named to the All-ABL team.

"It's going really well," said Chicago-based baseball advisor Alan Chang, who first approached Bucs general manager Dennis Mattingly about Taiwanese players in 2004. "Taiwanese college coaches, they are very happy with the progress their players have made."

Tseng and Wang played in the 2006 World Baseball Classic for Taiwan. Tseng signed with the Cleveland Indians and Wang now plays for a professional team in Taiwan.

Lin-Po Yu, a starter for the Bucs last year, recently signed the ninth-largest contract ever for a Taiwanese player, $300,000 with the Chicago White Sox.

Both Lees, especially Chen-Chang, have similar potential.

"This is something they (college coaches) want established for many years going forward to help with player development," Chang said. "These kids bring a different style over too."

A TWO-WAY EXCHANGE

That style extends to ballpark cuisine. Forget hot dogs in the clubhouse after games. The Lees bring sushi and Chinese specialty dishes for teammates to sample.

The education goes both ways, too.

Ask Chu-Kuan what he's learned in English and a smile breaks out before he delivers with a hurried accent the words that he says to his teammates every time he leaves the clubhouse.

"Peace. Out."

Find Brian Singler online at adn.com/contact/bsingler or call 257-4335.