The Macoto Cobras' top pitcher Lin "Little Chick" En-yu was signed by Japan's Rakuten Eagles, the Cobras announced at a press conference in Taipei on Monday afternoon.
The move makes the second-year right-hander the third player that the Cobras have sent to Japan in the past four years.
Following in the footsteps of his predecessors Chang Chih-jia, who joined the Seibu Lions of the Nippon Professional Baseball League (NPB) in 2002 and most recently Lin Ying-jeh, who left the Cobras after a stellar 2004 campaign for a spot on the Rakuten rotation, Lin En-yu will likely begin his Japanese stint next spring with the Eagles bullpen before the Rakuten coaching staff decides where he will fit best in a depleted staff.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CPBL
The much anticipated signing of Little Chick brought an end to months of speculation as the league's most dominant hurler this year (last year's Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player) prepares to take on the new challenges posed by the hitters of the NPB, arguably the second most competitive professional league in the world.
While the terms of the signing were not revealed on Monday, many suspect that Lin will receive an instant multi-fold raise compared with his current annual salary of approximately NT$2 million (US$60,000).
Lin En-yu (188cm, 82kg), a product of the National Taiwan College of Physical Education, spent the past two seasons with the Cobras and finished with an outstanding 29-16 record and 1.73 earned run average. Along with a slew of hardware that he grabbed at the year-end awards' banquet last year, he is also expected to win this season's ERA crown and strikeout title, as well as having most wins (17). Opponents battered a lousy .179 against Lin over the past two seasons, making him the most feared pitcher on the mound in the league.
Coaching Changes
Wang Guan-hui will assume the commander's role with the Brother Elephants effective immediately, replacing former first-year manager Wu Si-hsien, who finished the year with a dead-last 40-59-1 mark.
Wang will join Sinon Bulls veteran Huang Chung-yi as the other rookie manager in the league when winter practices begin for the upcoming season.
Huang will retain his player eligibility in the upcoming season, at least for the time being, since he plans to get the two hits he will need to reach the 1,500-hit milestone, while replacing former skipper Liu Rong-hua at the helm.
Liu took the fall for failing to get the Bulls back into the Taiwan Series after having won two straight titles.
Fred Kerley is competing unaugmented against drug-fuelled athletes at this weekend’s Enhanced Games and still hopes to race in the 2028 Olympics, the suspended former 100m world champion said on Friday. Arguably the biggest name at the divisive event in Las Vegas, where doping is permitted, the US sprinter said he had chosen not to take any of the banned substances including testosterone and steroids that his competitors have been using. “I don’t need it. God gave me fast feet for a reason. And I’m here to showcase my talent,” Kerley said. Kerley last September became the first US competitor and first track
MLB is experiencing an epidemic of guys being dudes. At ballparks all across the US, groups consisting of mostly young men are joining in on the “Tarps Off” trend that is loud, goofy, infectious and new to the baseball world. Joining in on the fun is simple: Go to the section where the party is happening, take off your shirt and start twirling it above your head. Soccer-like chants or singing usually follow — injecting a jolt of energy for a sport that is occasionally chided for its lack of energy inside the stadium. After getting its start in St Louis, Missouri, on
Hull City AFC are to play Middlesbrough for a place in the Premier League after Southampton on Wednesday failed in their appeal against expulsion from the Championship playoff final for spying on opponents. Southampton were thrown out of the final on Tuesday and handed a four-point deduction for next season after they had beaten semi-final opponents Middlesbrough. “The original sanction of expulsion ... remains in place, as does the four-point deduction to be applied to the 2026/27 Championship table and the reprimand in respect of all charges,” the English Football League said in a statement. The final is to be played at Wembley
VICTORY ABROAD: The team took home a fistful of medals and secured spots for the autumn’s Asian Games, scheduled for September in Nagoya Taiwan’s women’s team captured the overall title at the Asian Taekwondo Championships in Mongolia on Sunday, finishing with two golds, one silver and one bronze medal. The strong showing, led by gold medalists Wang Chieh-ling and Chang Jui-en secured the full quota of available spots for Taiwan at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, in September. Wang opened Taiwan’s medal run by winning gold in the women’s under-46kg class on Thursday, the first day of competition. Liu Yu-yun later earned a silver in the under-49kg class. On the final day on Sunday, Chang won Taiwan’s second gold medal in the under-62kg event, and
RSS