Tzu-Wei Lin
Tzu-Wei Lin (Chinese: 林子偉, born February 15, 1994) is a Taiwanese baseball shortstop for the Boston Red Sox organization. He began the 2013 season with the Lowell Spinners.
Career
editLin led Taiwan's team to victory in the Junior League World Series in 2007.[1][2] He played in the 2010 World Junior Baseball Championship, in which Taiwan won the championship.[3] He led all players in the tournament in batting average (.607), on-base percentage (.656), and slugging percentage (.907).[4] For his efforts, Lin was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player, best hitter, and to the All-Tournament Team as a third baseman.[5][6]
Lin agreed to sign a contract with the New York Yankees in 2010, when he was 16 years old, for a signing bonus of $350,000. Though Lin was eligible to sign at the time, the Chinese Taipei Baseball Association threatened to ban Lin from playing or coaching in Taiwan if he signed before completing high school, leading Lin not to complete the deal.[4] In 2012, Lin agreed to sign a contract with the Boston Red Sox, the Yankees' rivals, receiving a $2.05 million signing bonus,[7] the largest bonus for a Taiwanese position player, the second largest bonus for a Taiwanese player behind Chin-Hui Tsao, and the third largest bonus for an Asian amateur after Tsao and Byung-Hyun Kim.[4]
Scouting report
editLin is listed at 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 m) and 155 pounds (70 kg). Scouts view Lin as a capable fielder with an average throwing arm. He is seen as a fast runner and good hitter who could bat .300, though not with much power.[4]
References
edit- ^ "Chinese Taipei wins first-ever Junior League World Series in Taylor". City of Taylor. August 21, 2010. Retrieved June 28, 2012.
- ^ Held, Scott (August 25, 2010). "JLWS: Late rally lifts Taiwan to first series championship (with video)". thenewsherald.com. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
- ^ "Taiwan beats Canada in semifinal of World Jr Championship". Tsn.ca. July 31, 2010. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
- ^ a b c d Badler, Ben (June 28, 2012). "Prospects: International Affairs: Red Sox Sign Shortstop Tzu-Wei Lin For $2.05 Million". BaseballAmerica.com. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
- ^ "All-IBAF Junior tournament team named". IBAF. August 2, 2010. Retrieved August 7, 2010.
The 2010 All-World Junior Baseball team is headed by tournament MVP Wei Tzu Lin, third baseman of Chinese Taipei.
- ^ "Searching for the next Wang Chien-ming". Taipei Times. September 6, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
- ^ Flannery, Paul (June 22, 2012). "Full Count » Taiwanese phenom Tzu-Wei Lin close to starting pro career with Red Sox". Fullcount.weei.com. Retrieved June 28, 2012.