Chin-Feng Chen

Chen Chin-feng (Chinese: 陳金鋒; pinyin: Chén Jīnfēng; Wade–Giles: Ch'en² Chin¹-Feng¹; born 28 October 1977) is a Taiwanese aborigine of Siraya tribal ancestry, who is a former professional baseball outfielder.^[1] In 2002, he became the first player born in Taiwan to play in Major League Baseball.^[2] He currently serves as the manager for the Fubon Guardians of the Chinese Professional Baseball League.

Chen Chin-Feng
Chen batting in his final CPBL game
Outfielder
Born: (1977-10-28) 28 October 1977 (age 46) Danei, Tainan, 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 appearance
MLB: July 20, 2005, for the Los Angeles Dodgers
CPBL: September 18, 2016, for the Lamigo Monkeys
MLB statistics
Batting average	.091
Hits	2
Runs batted in	2
CPBL statistics
Batting average	.304
Home runs	132
Runs batted in	490
Teams
Los Angeles Dodgers (2002–2005) La New Bears / Lamigo Monkeys (2006–2016)
Career highlights and awards
MLB First Taiwan-born player in Major League Baseball CPBL 4x Taiwan Series champion (2006, 2012, 2014-2015)
Medals Representing  Chinese Taipei Men’s Baseball Baseball World Cup 2001 Taipei Team Asian Games 2006 Doha Team Asian Baseball Championship 1999 Seoul Team 2003 Sapporo Team 2007 Taichung Team

In this Chinese name, the family name is Chen.

The native form of this personal name is Chen Chin-Feng. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.

Playing career

In 1999 in the Cal League with Single–A San Bernardino Stampede in 1999, he batted .316/.404/.580 with 31 homers, 31 steals, 123 RBIs and 75 walks.^[3] Along with outfielder Joc Pederson, who achieved the same feat in the Triple–A in 2014, Chen is one of only two LA Dodger minor leaguers to have a 30 home run, 30 stolen bases season.^[3][4]

Chen playing for Los Angeles Dodgers in 2005

Chen became the first Taiwanese baseball player to play in Major League baseball when he made his debut on September 14, 2002. He played for the Los Angeles Dodgers in parts of the 2002-05 seasons, but only sparingly. In 2005, Chen was reluctant to accept a designation for assignment back to the Dodgers' Las Vegas 51s Triple–A team, and try out with another major league team.

In 2005, Chen was the first Taiwanese position player to ever get a hit in Major League Baseball, a 2-run RBI single off Colorado Rockies' reliever Bobby Seay. However, Chin-hui Tsao had earlier become the first Taiwanese player to get a hit in the Majors as a pitcher, with the Colorado Rockies on August 18, 2003.

Chen batting for Los Angeles Dodgers in 2005

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. 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 in 2007

He was promptly selected by the La New Bears as a designated hitter. Chen completed his first complete baseball season back home in Taiwan in 2006. He ranked first in many aspects such as the highest batting average and 81 RBIs for the whole season. He also led the Bears to the championship title, and won his first MVP title for the final series matches. Later on, in the second Asian baseball tournament, he produced the best performance again and gained attention from several Japanese and Korean teams, including the Orix Buffaloes. However, Chen did not sign with them, and remained in Taiwan.

Chen in 2013

Chen announced his retirement from the Chinese Professional Baseball League on September 18, 2016.^[5] On September 18, 2016, at the conclusion of his final match, Lamigo Monkeys retired his #52 jersey.

Coaching career

On December 31, 2023, the Fubon Guardians of the Chinese Professional Baseball League hired Chen as their manager for the 2024 season.^[6]

International career

He was selected Chinese Taipei national baseball team at the 1999 Asian Baseball Championship, 2001 Baseball World Cup, 2003 Asian Baseball Championship, 2004 Summer Olympics, 2006 Asian Games, 2007 Asian Baseball Championship, 2008 Summer Olympics Qualification Final Qualifying Tournament and 2016 exhibition games against Japan.^[7]

Achievements

Chen hit the first grand slam in Konami Cup history during the 2006 series.

See also

• List of Major League Baseball players from Taiwan

References

1. "Singer works to insert indigenous songs into mainstream". Taiwan Culture Portal. Ministry of Culture, Republic of China. April 23, 2010. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
2. "ESPN.com: MLB - Dodgers make Chen first Taiwanese on big-league roster". www.espn.com.
3. "Joc Pederson already in rare company in Dodgers minor league history". True Blue LA. December 18, 2013. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
4. "Los Angeles Dodgers prospect Joc Pederson joins Pacific Coast League 30/30 club for Albuquerque Isotopes | MiLB.com News | The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". milb.com. Retrieved September 6, 2014.
5. Lin, Hung-han; Lu, Hsin-hui; Liu, Kay (September 18, 2016). "Chen Chin-feng, first Taiwanese playing in MLB, retires". Central News Agency. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
6. https://x.com/gocpbl/status/1741659629753700809?s=46&t=UN5XGiNzRq3-vt33N7zCTw ^{[bare URL]}
7. "中職日職對抗賽 代表隊參賽名單出爐". 中華職棒大聯盟全球資訊網 The Official Site of CPBL. January 29, 2016. Retrieved December 5, 2018.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or CPBL