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Taiwan's Chen `dares to dream' of playoffs

Taiwan's Chen Chin-feng (陳金鋒) is getting plenty of support from his home country now he has been called up on the 25-man roster of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The 24-year-old has been receiving thousands of good luck messages from his fans and even President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) got in on the action with a big-screen message for the Tainan County player that was shown at Dodgers Stadium before the game against the San Francisco Giants.

First lady Wu Shu-chen (吳淑珍) may visit Chen Chin-feng and the Dodgers when she visits the US from Sept. 19 for 10 days.

After mooted visits to New York and Washington on a so-called "soft diplomacy" tour she will head to Los Angeles for two days on Sept. 26, where she is expected to meet up with the Dodgers star.

Recognition of Chen's achievement in becoming the first Taiwan player in the major leagues is timely.

The right-handed player who stands 1.86m and weighs 86kg has paid his dues.

Bright start

Beginning with Little League baseball, Chen has always stood out and he made his first trip to the US in 1990 as the leadoff hitter for a team from Sunhua, which rolled over Shippensburg 43-9 in the championship game.

He went on play for Taiwan in eight international tournaments hit .425 with 40 home runs and 115 RBI.

In the world championships in Italy, he set a record with home runs in four consecutive games.

At the Asian Games in 1998 he hit three home runs with a .444 average. He also belted South Korea's Chan Ho-park -- a starting pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers -- out of the ground, which got him noticed by the major league club.

As a Taiwan Major League player in the 1998/1999 season he won the RBI, home run and batting titles and became the first Triple Crown winner, before being approached by the Dodgers.

They made a US$600,000 offer he could not refuse and it was off to the US and the minor leagues, though he was panned by local media for selling out Taiwan.

Now the tables have turned and the reason is Chen's natural strength as a hitter, speed around the bases and a burning desire to play "at the highest possible level," as Chen told one Dodgers scout.

He was sent to California and made his professional debut in the US for the Single-A San Bernardino, going on to earn California League Most Valuable Player honors after becoming the first player in league history to total more than 30 home runs and stolen bases in a season.

He batted .316 (161-for-510) in 131 games and led all Dodger minor leaguers with 31 home runs and 123 RBI.

He also had 22 doubles, 10 triples and 31 stolen bases.

Then he was sent to the Triple-A Las Vegas 51s and after recovering from a shoulder injury he went on to become one of the league's top pinch hitters this year.

His average was .284 and he led the 51s with 26 homers and 84 RBIs this season. "He was the man to go to," his coaches said.

He was a member of Taiwan's national team at the 34th World Cup of Baseball, held in Taiwan last year, and led all players with 11 RBIs to help his country win the bronze medal.

51s bomb

The 51s were eliminated by the Edmonton Trappers in a Pacific Coast League semifinal playoff series last week, in which Chen hit

.333 and drove in four runs, after which he was transferred to the 40- and 25-man L.A. Dodgers roster.

Now he is waiting for his chance to shine in the majors, with the Dodgers vying with the Giants for the National League wild card.

With Hideo Nomo doing the damage in the pitching department for the Dodgers, it is the offense that needs boosting and Chen could be the answer.

As batter Brian Jordan of the Dodgers put it to mlb.com, "It's great to watch him [Nomo]. ... It's a shame we don't score more runs for him."

If Chen does get his chance and the Dodgers do make it to the playoffs, then it will be one more envelope pushed through for this exceptional local player.

Either way, Chen is expected to keep in raking the money as Chen-collectables are already being rushed out to local outlets. Check out a set of T-shirts, caps and wrist protectors (all in a blue net-bag) with the Chinese characters 敢夢 (Dare to Dream), embossed on them. Chen's number 52 shirt is another big selling item.

Finally, stardom would not be complete without signature shoes and Nike will also introduce Chen's Air Zoom Respect SP shoes for general sale in December.
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