Bruce Chen
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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|---|---|
| Free Agent — No. -- | |
| Starting Pitcher | |
| Bats: Switch | Throws: Left |
| Major League Baseball debut | |
| September 7, 1999 for the Atlanta Braves | |
| Selected MLB statistics (through April 15, 2007) |
|
| Win-Loss | 35-37 |
| Earned Run Average | 4.61 |
| Strikeouts | 640 |
| Teams | |
Bruce Kastulo Chen (陳用彩) (born June 19, 1977 in Panama City, Panama) is a pitcher who is currently a free agent.
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[edit] Education
He attended Institute of Panama and studied civil engineering during the baseball off-season at Georgia Tech.
[edit] Genealogy
He is from the little-known ethnic Chinese and other ethnic Asian communities in Latin America. His paternal grandfather, Kuen Chin Chan Lee, joined his brothers and other relatives in Panama when he was 9. Bruce's older brother, Greg Kateso Chen, is in the minor-league affiliate of the Red Sox organization. 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]
[edit] Career
Chen has previously played for the Baltimore Orioles, Houston Astros, Boston Red Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Montreal Expos, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, and Atlanta Braves.
[edit] Baltimore
He appeared, 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. His 11 starts for the Orioles, from the end of 2004 through the 2005 season, indicated that he was well on his way to fulfilling the enormous potential that made him such a highly regarded prospect earlier in his career, but that turned out not to be true.
[edit] World Baseball Classic
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.
[edit] 2006 Season
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. Chen made the Rangers' opening day roster, taking a spot in the bullpen. He is reported to have reworked his contract to accept an outright assignment to AAA Oklahoma if room is needed on the roster.
During his time playing for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chen had a loyal group of fans known as "Chen's Pen."
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
