Lin "Little Chick" En-yu made local baseball history by becoming the first person to win five individual distinctions in the same season at the Chinese Professional Baseball League awards ceremony at the Ministry of Sound in Taipei on Tuesday night.
The 23-year-old Macoto Cobras rookie right-hander out of the National College of Physical Education and Sports was named the league's Most Valuable Player for 2005, in addition to being the Rookie of the Year, the ERA king, the top pitcher (top player by position) and a Gold Glove winner.
Lin's unusual stamina, which led to an unprecedented nine complete games out of 21 starts, coupled with his league-best ERA of 1.72, made him one of the most feared figures on the mound throughout the season.
"My deepest gratitude goes to coach Kuo [Cobras manager Kuo Tai-yuan] for his selfless approach in helping me with my mechanics and having a sound pitcher's mentality," Lin said at the ceremony.
Fellow lefty ace Lin Ying-jeh was also recognized at the event, taking his second consecutive strikeout title (174), while fourth-year righty Hsu Chu-jien was honored for his 11 wins to run away with the Most Improved Player award.
Rounding out the individual honors in the pitching category were Sinon Bulls starter Lenin Piocta for his 16 regular-season victories to top all pitchers, Chinatrust Whales ace closer Dario Veras for his 24 saves, and the President Lions' setup man Tseng Yi-cheng for his 11 holds during the regular season.
On offensive, Cobras slugger Hsieh "the Ugly" Jia-shien was named top hitter of the year for his 23 home runs, 72 RBIs and a Louisville Silver Slugger index of 1309.
Hsieh was joined by fan favorite Peng "Chia Chia" Cheng-ming of the Brother Elephants, whose league-high batting average of .339 was good enough to earn the natural pure hitter his third straight batting title.
Peng was limited to only 76 games of action during the 100-game regular season because of a fractured right arm that he suffered in late-August.
Yang Seng of the Lions was also honored for his lethal combination of power and speed, collecting the most hits (121) and stealing the most bases (25).
The top-ranked players by position were Cobras pitcher Lin En-yu, La New Bears catcher Chen Fong-ming (second year in a row), Cobras first baseman Hsieh Jia-shien, Lions second baseman Yang Seng, Cobras third baseman Wilton Veras, Whales shortstop Cheng Chang-ming, Elephants outfielder Peng Cheng-ming, Bears outfielder Huang Long-yi, Bulls outfielder Chang Jien-ming and Whales designated hitter Tseng Han-chou.
The Golden Glove winners by position for this year were Cobras pitcher Lin En-yu, Whales catcher Shih Jin-sho, Bulls first baseman Hsu Guo-long, Elephants second baseman Fong Sheng-shien, Cobras third baseman Wilton Veras, Whales shortstop Cheng Chang-ming (second year in a row), Whales outfielder Chi Jung-lin, Bears outfielder Huang Long-yi and Cobras outfielder Yang Rei-chih.
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