Twenty-one-year-old Taiwanese pitcher Lee Chen-hsun on Wednesday said that he hoped to make it to the majors before he turns 26, after signing with the San Francisco Giants earlier this week.
Lee signed an US$800,000 contract with the Giants, consisting of a US$650,000 signing bonus and US$150,000 education allowance, as Major League Baseball’s international signing period opened this week.
“I hope to get to the majors before I turn 26,” Lee said at a news conference announcing the signing in Taipei on Wednesday. “Because that age is the peak moment of an athlete’s career, if it’s not going well beyond that time, then the opportunity is almost probably over.”
Photo: CNA
Teams in the US and Japan had been eyeing Lee heading into the signing period, with the Giants opening negotiations with the right-hander in November last year.
The 1.93m Lee has a fastball that is about 150kph and could reach 160kph as he fills out and adds strength.
Lee has been on the radar of teams in the MLB since he was throwing at about 150kph as a 17-year-old at the Palomino World Series, reports said.
Joe Salermo, senior director of international scouting for the Giants, said in a video that he first saw Lee in 2018 at a wood bat tournament in Taiwan.
“And right away, he opened up my eyes. His frame, his diameter, his pitching ability, and of course his fastball, all stood out. Right away I gave him my business card and told him we would keep following him,” Salermo said.
Salermo also congratulated Lee for the hard work and effort he has put to be signed by a US team, going through ups and downs, and not giving up on reaching his goal.
Lee had gone under the knife for Tommy John surgery in 2019, but has bounced back to show his prowess on the mound.
Robinson Cano spent 17 seasons playing in the MLB in front of all kinds of baseball fans, but he said there is something special about his stint with the Mexican Baseball League’s Diablos Rojos. He is not alone. The league last week opened its 100th season, aiming to keep an impressive growth in attendance that began after the national team’s surprise run at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, and is already surpassing some first-division soccer clubs. After finishing third in the 2023 tournament, many casual fans, some of them soccer enthusiasts disappointed after Mexico were eliminated in the first round in the 2022
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
CUNNINGHAM CONNECTS: In the Eastern Conference, the Pistons snapped their record 15-game playoff losing streak by beating the Knicks to level their series at 1-1 Kawhi Leonard on Monday scored 39 points on 15-of-19 shooting as the Los Angeles Clippers evened their first-round NBA Playoffs series against the Nuggets with a 105-102 win in Denver. “It feels like he didn’t miss a shot,” James Harden said. “His shot-making ability is elite.” Good thing, too, because his teammates were a combined 26 of 66 for a 39 percent clip. “I made shots tonight,” Leonard said. “I just keep playing, try to stay in the zone no matter if I’m making or missing shots.” The fifth-seeded Clippers needed every bit of his brilliance to snatch the homecourt advantage in the series
RSS