The EDA Rhinos’ Lin Yi-chuan and Lin Chen-hua easily won last month’s Offensive Player of the Month and Pitcher of the Month awards respectively for their outstanding efforts last month, officials announced on Wednesday.
Lin Yi-chuan is leading the league in batting average and total hits, and had an amazing month last month in which he went 30-for-63 with two home runs and 17 RBIs to beat out fellow slugger Manny Ramirez by 17 votes to three to receive the monthly honor.
The former RBI champ’s recent surge was the main reason the Rhinos ascended from No. 3 in the standings to first place last month before falling back to second with back-to-back losses earlier this week.
This is also the eighth time that the man out of Greater Tainan’s Nan Ying Vocational High School has won the monthly accolade as he continues to wear down opposing pitchers with uncanny power and exceptional patience at the plate.
Equally impressive for the Rhinos last month was side-armer Lin Chen-hua, who was the members of the Baseball Writers’ Association’s unanimous choice for the monthly pitching honor with a perfect 3-0 record in three starts.
As last year’s top draft pick, Lin Chen-hua did not have as good a season as expected last year with a disappointing 7-10 record and a 3.96 ERA. However, he has finally lived up to his billing by posting a 1.44 ERA in the four starts he has had so far this year.
In the 19-2/3 innings Lin Chen-hua has pitched over the last three games, the stingy right-hander allowed no runs on 11 hits, while walking two and fanning nine.
His ability to change speed and get ahead of the hitters in the count are the main reasons he has been so instrumental for the Rhinos.
Lin Chen-hua’s continued success will not only stabilize a Rhino rotation that had been missing a true ace, but also allow the Rhino bullpen to give some much needed rest to their relievers, who have been overworked for the past several seasons after the team’s former front office (the Sinon Bulls) decided not to hire any foreign players.
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