Bruce Chen

Bruce Chen
Kansas City Royals – No. 52
Pitcher
Born: (1977-06-19) June 19, 1977 Panama City, Panama
Bats: Left	Throws: Left
MLB debut
September 7, 1998 for the Atlanta Braves
Career statistics (through 2013 season)
Win–loss record	80–76
Earned run average	4.49
Strikeouts	1,100
WHIP	1.37
Teams
Atlanta Braves (1998–2000) Philadelphia Phillies (2000–2001) New York Mets (2001–2002) Montreal Expos (2002) Cincinnati Reds (2002) Houston Astros (2003) Boston Red Sox (2003) Baltimore Orioles (2004–2006) Texas Rangers (2007) Kansas City Royals (2009–present)

Chen pitching for the Texas Rangers in 2007

Bruce Kastulo Chen (born June 19, 1977) is a Panamanian professional baseball pitcher for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball.

Background

Chen is of Chinese descent. His paternal grandfather, Kuen Chin Chan Lee, joined his brothers and other relatives in Panama at age nine. Bruce's maternal grandmother, Kuen Yin Liu de Laffo, was 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] Bruce's older brother, Greg Kateso Chen, is also a professional baseball player.^{[citation needed]} Bruce Chen attended Panamerican Institute and studied civil engineering during the baseball off-season at Georgia Tech.

Career

Atlanta Braves

Chen signed with the Atlanta Braves as an amateur free agent on July 1, 1993. He made the South Atlantic League All-Star team in 1997 when he went 12-7 with a 3.51 ERA in 28 starts for the Macon Braves. In 1998 he made 23 starts for the Greenville Braves and was 13-7 with a 3.29 ERA. He was selected by the Southern League as an All-Star and the Most Outstanding Pitcher. He was also a Double-A All-Star, Baseball America minor league All-Star and the Braves minor league pitcher of the year.

He made his Major League debut with the Braves on September 7, 1998 against the New York Mets. He started the game but only lasted three innings while allowing 4 runs on 6 hits. He picked up his first win, when he went seven innings on September 12 against the Florida Marlins. He remained with the Braves through mid-2000, pitching in 42 games (starting 11) and was 8-2 with a 4.28 ERA.

Philadelphia Phillies

He was traded by the Braves to the Philadelphia Phillies on July 12, 2000 (with Jimmy Osting) for Andy Ashby. He was a full-time starter with the Phillies, starting 31 games with a 7-9 record and 4.28 ERA. While playing for the Phillies, Chen had a loyal group of fans known as "The Chen Pen".^[2]

New York Mets

The Phillies traded him to the New York Mets on July 27, 2001 for Dennis Cook and Turk Wendell. He made 11 starts (and 1 relief appearance) for the Mets and was 3-2 with a 4.61 ERA.

Montreal Expos

Chen was traded again, on April 5, 2002 to the Montreal Expos (with Luis Figueroa, Saul Rivera and Dicky Gonzalez) for Phil Seibel, Scott Strickland and Matt Watson. He made 15 appearances (only 4 starts) for the Expos and was 2-3 with a 6.99 ERA.

Cincinnati Reds

He was traded for the fourth time, on June 14, 2002, to the Cincinnati Reds for Jim Brower. He only made 1 start for the Reds and appeared in relief 39 times, with a 4.31 ERA.

Houston Astros

Released by the Reds, he was signed as a free agent by the Houston Astros on March 14, 2003. He appeared in only 11 games and had an ERA of 6.00 with the Astros.

Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox selected him off waivers from the Astros on May 7, 2003. He appeared in 5 games for the Red Sox, with 2 starts and had a 5.11 ERA.

Toronto Blue Jays

He signed as a free agent with the Toronto Blue Jays on November 26, 2003. He made 3 starts in AAA with the Syracuse SkyChiefs.

Baltimore Orioles

He was sent to the Baltimore Orioles on May 1, 2004. He 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. ^{[citation needed]}

In 2006, Chen appeared to have regressed. He went 0–7 with a 6.93 earned run average (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 re–sign Chen, and he filed for free agency on November 1, 2006.

Texas Rangers

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 was reported to have reworked his contract to accept an outright assignment to Triple-A Oklahoma if room was needed on the roster.

Kansas City Royals

On March 1, 2009, Chen signed a minor league contract with the Kansas City Royals. He made his debut with the Royals on June 27, 2009. He allowed 4 runs in 7⅓ innings. Chen's second start was much better, as he only gave up two runs on five hits with one walk and five strikeouts.^[3] On August 6, 2009, Chen won his first major league game since October 2, 2005.^[4]

Chen re-signed a minor league contract with the Royals on December 11, 2009. On April 26, 2010, he earned his first Major League save, in a 3–1 Royals victory over the Seattle Mariners. He threw seven perfect innings before allowing a hit on July 20, 2010 against the Los Angeles Angels.

On October 1, 2010, in his last start of the season, Chen threw a two-hit shutout against the Tampa Bay Rays, striking out seven and only walking two. It was the first shutout he has thrown in his Major League career. He finished the season with a 12–7 record, and an ERA of 4.17.

Bruce had a productive 2011 season, posting a 12–8 record with a 3.77 ERA. On November 23, 2011, Chen agreed to a two-year deal to return to the Royals.

In 2012, Chen finished with an 11-14 record and posted an ERA of 5.07. Despite the regression, Chen threw 191.2 innings (2nd highest career total) and had a career high 140 strikeouts.

He returned to the Royals for the 2014 season, agreeing to a one year contract.^[5]

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. He also pitched for Panama in 2009.

Panama did not qualify for the 2013 World Baseball Classic, and Chen was contacted by Team China about the possibility of playing for them.^[6]

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)