Chin-Lung Hu (born February 2, 1984, Chinese 胡金龍 Hú Jīnlóng) is a Taiwanese professional baseball shortstop for the Uni-President Lions of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets, and in the CPBL for the EDA Rhinos/Fubon Guardians. He was the fifth player — and first infielder — from Taiwan to play in MLB. His last name (along with that of fellow Taiwanese Fu-Te Ni, formerly of the Detroit Tigers) is the shortest in MLB history.
| Chin-Lung Hu | |
|---|---|
 Hu with the Los Angeles Dodgers | |
| Uni-President Lions – No. 51 | |
| Shortstop | |
| Born: February 2, 1984 Tainan City, Taiwan | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
| Professional debut | |
| MLB: September 1, 2007, for the Los Angeles Dodgers | |
| CPBL: March 24, 2013, for the EDA Rhinos | |
| MLB statistics (through 2011 season) | |
| Batting average | .176 |
| Home runs | 2 |
| Runs batted in | 18 |
| CPBL statistics (through 2024 season) | |
| Batting average | .345 |
| Home runs | 85 |
| Runs batted in | 545 |
| Stats at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Medals | |
| Chin-Lung Hu | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 胡金龍 | ||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 胡金龙 | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
Professional career
editLos Angeles Dodgers
editHu was signed by the Dodgers on January 31, 2003, and began his professional career with the rookie league Ogden Raptors in 2003. He split 2004 between the Columbus Catfish in A ball and the Vero Beach Dodgers in High-A ball. In 2005, he played the whole season at Vero Beach and hit .313 with 23 stolen bases.
In 2006, he played for the Double-A Jacksonville Suns. Hu played in the All-Star Futures Game during the All-Star break in both 2006 and 2007. He won the MVP award for his performance in the 2007 game.[1]
He was promoted to Triple-A Las Vegas on July 12, 2007, and made his major league debut on September 1, 2007, against the San Diego Padres. In his second MLB at bat, Hu hit a solo home run against the San Diego Padres reliever Brett Tomko on September 11, 2007, against the Padres, becoming the first position player born in Taiwan to hit a home run in MLB. (Hu's teammate, pitcher Hong-Chih Kuo, had become the first Taiwanese-born player to hit a home run in MLB earlier in 2007). On September 25, Hu hit a two-run homer against the Colorado Rockies' starting pitcher Ubaldo Jiménez and became the first Taiwanese-born player to hit two home runs. Hu spent most of 2009 in AAA with the Albuquerque Isotopes and appeared in only five games with the Dodgers after a September callup.
In 2010, he again spent most of the year with the Isotopes. He appeared in 14 games with the Dodgers in 2010 and got 3 hits in 23 at-bats.
New York Mets
edit
On December 27, 2010, he was traded to the New York Mets in exchange for pitcher Michael Antonini.[2] On May 17, he was outrighted to the minor leagues.
Cleveland Indians
edit.jpg)
After playing for the Adelaide Bite of the Australian Baseball League and starting shortstop for the World All-Stars at the 2011 Australian Baseball League All-Star Game, Hu signed a minor league contract with the Cleveland Indians in January, 2012.[3] He was released on March 28, 2012, and signed to a minor league deal with the Philadelphia Phillies, however his contract was voided the next day after he failed a physical. He then signed with the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs for the 2012 season.[4]
EDA Rhinos/Fubon Guardians
edit
In 2013, he signed with the EDA Rhinos of the Chinese Professional Baseball League.[5] Hu was named captain of the team.[6] On September 11, 2016, Hu hit two home runs as part of a CPBL record eight home runs hit by the Rhinos.[7] Hu and the Rhinos won the 2016 Taiwan Series, before the team changed its name to the Fubon Guardians the next season.[8]
While playing in the CPBL, Hu participated in the 2019 WBSC Premier12.[9][10] On April 18, 2020, Hu became the 23rd and fastest player in CPBL history to reach 1,000 hits.[11] He was demoted to the minor leagues on June 25, as a message posted on the messaging application Line suggested that Hu advocated for the firing of field manager Hong I-chung.[12]
Hu did not appear in another game for Fubon and was non–tendered by the team on December 21, 2021.[13]
Uni-President Lions
editOn January 4, 2022, Hu signed with the Uni-President Lions of the Chinese Professional Baseball League.[14]
International career
edit
Hu was selected for Chinese Taipei national baseball team at the 2006 World Baseball Classic, 2006 Asian Games, 2010 Asian Games and 2017 World Baseball Classic.
He missed the 2009 World Baseball Classic and 2013 World Baseball Classic editions of the event due to injury.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Singer, Tom (June 8, 2007). "Dodgers prospect named Futures MVP". MLB.com. Archived from the original on May 8, 2008.
- ^ "Dodgers part ways with Chin-Lung Hu". ESPN.com. December 27, 2010. Archived from the original on December 30, 2010. Retrieved June 21, 2014.
- ^ Paul Hoynes (January 13, 2012). "Cleveland Indians GM Chris Antonetti works on making that first decision". Archived from the original on July 28, 2012. Retrieved January 30, 2012.
- ^ "MLB's Hu Chin-lung to join minor league team". The China Post. China News Analysis. April 4, 2012. Archived from the original on April 21, 2014. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
- ^ Pan, Jason (January 20, 2013). "CPBL: EDA Rhinos take over from Sinon Bulls ballclub". World Baseball Softball Confederation. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
- ^ Huang, Paul (October 26, 2013). "Rhinos looking to win for late coach". Taipei Times. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
- ^ Pan, Jason (September 12, 2016). "EDA Rhinos go top of table after five-game win streak". Taipei Times. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
- ^ Pan, Jason (October 30, 2016). "Rhinos charge to Taiwan Series win". Taipei Times. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
- ^ Ko, Lin (November 15, 2019). "Taiwan loses to U.S. 2-3 in Premier12 Super Round". Central News Agency. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
- ^ Yeh, Joseph (November 12, 2019). "Taiwan crushes S. Korea in Premier12, keeps Olympic hopes alive". Central News Agency. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
- ^ Yen, William (April 18, 2020). "Former MLB player becomes fastest to 1,000 hits in Taiwan league". Central News Agency. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
- ^ Pan, Jason (June 27, 2020). "Guardians' Hu demoted after post sparks ruckus". Taipei Times. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
- ^ https://x.com/gocpbl/status/1473226547737731077?s=46&t=UN5XGiNzRq3-vt33N7zCTw [bare URL]
- ^ https://x.com/gocpbl/status/1478319447618117634?s=46&t=UN5XGiNzRq3-vt33N7zCTw [bare URL]
External links
edit
- Career statistics from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)