After sitting out five games, Tai-wan's Chen Chin-feng (陳金鋒) finally made his major-league debut for the LA Dodgers against the Colorado Rockies and scored a run.
Chen, the first Taiwanese baseball player to join the US major leagues, was one of six pinch hitters sent onto the field Saturday in the first half of the sixth inning, at Coors Field in Denver.
PHOTO: AP
Los Angeles used six pinch hitters in the inning, which ties a major league record last set by the Braves in 1993.
The Dodgers had scored 13 unanswered runs in the first four innings, when Chen went up to the plate to face Sean Lowe of the Rockies.
Chen was walked after three balls, two strikes, one outside pitch and another ball. With support from his teammates, Chen scored the 14th run for the Dodgers and they went on to win the game 16-3. LA is in the hunt for a wild card to the postseason playoffs.
"I imagined the major leagues would be a fiercely competitive battlefield, but now that I've tried it, I have more confidence about breaking into the major leagues," Chen said after the game.
He said he was satisfied with his debut. "I'm very happy to be able to contribute to a victory in the team's effort for the postseason."
Back in Taiwan, baseball officials said they were delighted with Chen's performance.
Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) Secretary Wayne Lee (
"His first at-bat is significant not only for his own baseball career but to fans all over Taiwan, as he is the first Taiwanese to play in the majors," he said.
"Chen's accomplishment will also inspire more youngsters in Taiwan to keep their baseball dreams alive and to pursue a future career in baseball."
Dean Yuan (
"Playing in the majors is a tremendous achievement. It used to be the `impossible dream' but it has now become a reality. It will inspire kids and be a tremendous boost for local baseball."
Yuan said Chen's arrival on the world's center stage for baseball would encourage local youngsters to play the game.
He said that in other sports, size is important and Taiwan is at a disadvantage. But he said Chen's example proved that in baseball, size is not an issue.
"It shows size doesn't matter. A lot of other Taiwan players are around the same build as Chen and it shows that anyone with ability can be a major leaguer."
Some commentators have said that with many of Taiwan's best players going to the US, Japan or South Korea, there will be a drain of talent out of the country.
"Actually, this creates a bigger dream," Yuan said. "In three to five years these players will return and their experience will be invaluable for the development of the game."
Former major-leaguer Jonathan Hurst, who pitches for the Taiwan's Brother Elephants, said Chen would do well with Los Angeles.
"[The] Dodgers is an organization that knows how to take care of young talent," he said.
"Chen will be getting plenty of good advice from people around him and I believe that he will get better and better as he continues his career in the major leagues."
FIREPOWER: On top of the torpedoes, the military would procure Kestrel II anti-tank weapons systems to replace aging license-produced M72 LAW launchers Taiwan is to receive US-made Mark 48 torpedoes and training simulators over the next three years, following delays that hampered the navy’s operational readiness, the Ministry of National Defense’s latest budget proposal showed. The navy next year would acquire four training simulator systems for the torpedoes and take receipt of 14 torpedoes in 2027 and 10 torpedoes in 2028, the ministry said in its budget for the next fiscal year. The torpedoes would almost certainly be utilized in the navy’s two upgraded Chien Lung-class submarines and the indigenously developed Hai Kun, should the attack sub successfully reach operational status. US President Donald Trump
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to start construction of its 1.4-nanometer chip manufacturing facilities at the Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP, 中部科學園區) as early as October, the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) reported yesterday, citing the park administration. TSMC acquired land for the second phase of the park’s expansion in Taichung in June. Large cement, construction and facility engineering companies in central Taiwan have reportedly been receiving bids for TSMC-related projects, the report said. Supply-chain firms estimated that the business opportunities for engineering, equipment and materials supply, and back-end packaging and testing could reach as high as
ALL QUIET: The Philippine foreign secretary told senators she would not respond to questions about whether Lin Chia-lung was in the country The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday confirmed that a business delegation is visiting the Philippines, but declined to say whether Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) is part of the group, as Philippine lawmakers raised questions over Lin’s reported visit. The group is being led by Deputy Minister of Agriculture Huang Chao-chin (黃昭欽), Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association (CIECA) chairman Joseph Lyu (呂桔誠) and US-Taiwan Business Council (USTBC) vice president Lotta Danielsson, the ministry said in a statement. However, sources speaking on condition of anonymity said that Lin is leading the delegation of 70 people. Filinvest New Clark City Innovation Park
DEFENSIVE EDGE: The liaison officer would work with Taiwan on drones and military applications for other civilian-developed technologies, a source said A Pentagon unit tasked with facilitating the US military’s adoption of new technology is soon to deploy officials to dozens of friendly nations, including Taiwan, the Financial Times reported yesterday. The US Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) is to send a representative to collaborate with Taiwan on drones and military applications from the semiconductor industry by the end of the year, the British daily reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “Drones will certainly be a focus, but they will also be looking at connecting to the broader civilian and dual-use ecosystem, including the tech sector,” one source was
RSS