Bruce Chen

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Bruce Chen
Texas Rangers — No. 27
Starting Pitcher
Bats: Both Throws: Left
Major League Baseball debut
September 7, 1999 for the Atlanta Braves
Selected MLB statistics
(through September 27, 2006)
Record     35-37
ERA     4.60
Strikeouts     635
Former teams

    Bruce Kastulo Chen (born June 19, 1977 in Panama City, Panama) (Traditional Chinese: 陳用彩, pinyin: Chén Yòngcaǐ) is a pitcher who is currently a member of the Texas Rangers organization. He previously played for the Baltimore Orioles, Houston Astros, Boston Red Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Montreal Expos, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, and Atlanta Braves. He attended Institute of Panama and studied civil engineering during the baseball off-season at Georgia Tech.

    He is, along with the Chinese Mexicans, among the little known number of ethnic Chinese in Latin America. His paternal grandfather, Kuen Chin Chan Lee, joined his brothers and other relatives in Panama when he was 9. Bruce's maternal grandmother, Kuen Yin Liu de Laffo, was actually born in Panama but her family had to return to China after fire destroyed their home. After years of hard labor, she was able to return to Panama at age 24. Both of Bruce's grandparents have died, but he hopes to reconnect with his Chinese roots someday. [1]

    Chen has found it difficult to shed the "journeyman" label - a label supported by the number of organizations he has been through. Though he was once a top prospect for the Atlanta Braves system, his inability to maintain a level of consistency at the Major League level has made it difficult for him to stick. One might trace this inconsistency to his penchant for giving up home runs (151 in 797 innings pitched as of today.)

    He appears, however, to have turned the corner playing for the Baltimore Orioles. He has added a changeup to his repertoire of pitches, which includes an 87-90 mph fastball, and a slow 12-6 curveball. Though it is too early to tell whether he will maintain this level of success, his 11 starts for the Orioles, from the end of 2004 through the 2005 season, indicate that he was well on his way to fulfilling the enormous potential that made him such a highly regarded prospect earlier in his career. His career stats were a win-loss record of 35-30 with an ERA of 4.27.

    Chen pitched for Panama in the Inaugural World Baseball Classic in 2006, working five innings, giving up four hits, two runs(both earned), and a walk with three strikeouts against a powerful Cuba team in the opening round of the tournament at San Juan, Puerto Rico.

    In 2006, Chen appeared to have regressed. He went 0-7 with a 6.93 ERA, starting 12 games, but appearing in 28 others coming out of the bullpen. After pitching for an entire season without a win, the Orioles declined to resign Chen, and he filed for free agency on November 1, 2006. Chen signed a minor-league contract with the Texas Rangers on February 6, 2007, with an invitation to spring training where he will most likely be competing for a spot in the rotation with Josh Rupe, Kameron Loe, and John Koronka.

    During his time playing for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chen had a loyal group of fans known as "Chen's Pen."

    [edit] External links

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