Chin-Feng Chen
| Chin-Feng Chen | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Lamigo Monkeys | |
| Outfielder | |
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Born: October 28, 1977 Tainan City, Taiwan | |
| Batted: Right | Threw: Right |
| Professional debut | |
| MLB: September 14, 2002 for the Los Angeles Dodgers | |
| CPBL: March 21, 2006 for the La New Bears | |
| Last professional appearance | |
| MLB: July 20, 2005 for the Los Angeles Dodgers | |
| Career statistics (through 2010, Aug 28) | |
| CPBL Games | 426 |
| Batting average | .330 |
| Hits | 509 |
| Home runs | 95 |
| Runs batted in | 341 |
| Stolen bases | 50 |
| Teams | |
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| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Competitor for  Chinese Taipei
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| Men’s Baseball | ||
| Baseball World Cup | ||
| Bronze | 2001 Taipei | Team |
| Asian Games | ||
| Gold | 2006 Doha | Team |
| Asian Baseball Championship | ||
| Bronze | 1999 Seoul | Team |
| Silver | 2003 Sapporo | Team |
| Bronze | 2007 Taichung | Team |
Chin-Feng Chen (simplified Chinese: 陈金锋; traditional Chinese: 陳金鋒; pinyin: Chén Jīnfēng; Wade–Giles: Ch'en2 Chin1-Feng1; born October 28, 1977) is a baseball outfielder who was the first player born in Taiwan to play in Major League Baseball.
He played for the Los Angeles Dodgers in parts of the 2002-2005 season, but only sparingly. In 2005, Chen was reluctant to accept the designation for assignment back to Dodgers' Las Vegas 51s AAA team, and try out with another major league team. In 2006, after struggling to make the 25-man roster with the Dodgers, Chen tried out for the Japanese professional league (NPB) and eventually decided to play in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) in Taiwan.
Chen is the first Taiwanese baseball player to play in Major League baseball when he made his debut on September 14, 2002. In 2005, Chen was the first Taiwanese position player to ever get a hit in Major League Baseball. However, Chin-hui Tsao became the first Taiwanese player to get a hit in the Majors as a pitcher with the Colorado Rockies on August 18, 2003. After his contract with the Dodgers organization expired after the 2005 season, Chen announced on December 26, 2005, that he would not return to North America for the 2006 season, but would instead enter the CPBL draft. He was promptly selected by the La New Bears. Chen had completed his first complete baseball season at the hometown Taiwan in 2006. He ranked first on many aspects such as the highest batting average and 81 RBI for the whole season. He also led the La New Bears team to the championship title and he also won his first MVP title for the final series matches. Later on in the second Asian baseball tournament, he showed the best performance again and gained attentions from several Japanese and Korean baseball Clubs, including the Orix Buffaloes. But, Chen did not sign with them and remained in Taiwan.
Chen is a Taiwanese aborigine (Siraya tribal ancestry), as is Chin-hui Tsao (Amis people).
Since Chen's debut, other Taiwanese baseball players have played in the MLB: Chien-Ming Wang with the New York Yankees and Washington Nationals, Fu-Te Ni with the Detroit Tigers, Wei-Yin Chen of the Baltimore Orioles, and former Dodgers Hong-Chih Kuo and Chin-Lung Hu.
Achievements
Chin-Feng Chen hit the first grand slam in Konami Cup history during the 2006 series.
See also
- Chinese Taipei national baseball team
- List of the Taiwan national baseball team squad at the 2006 Asian Games
External links
- Career statistics and player information from ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
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