Chen-Chang Lee
From BR Bullpen
Chen-Chang Lee
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 5' 11", Weight 176 lb.
- School Taipei Physical Education College
- High School Pingtung County High School
- Born October 21, 1986 in Penghu County Taiwan
[edit] Biographical Information
Chen-Chang Lee was one of Taiwan's top college prospects in the middle of the first decade of the 21st Century. He was on Taiwan's senior national team roster for the 2008 Olympics. Lee is a sidearm pitcher who has been timed at 93.8 mph at his peak. He throws a forkball, changeup, curveball and slider in addition to the fastball.
Lee was with Taiwan for the 2004 World Junior Championship. He pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings against the USA, striking out four. Against Japan, he had a no-decision versus Yu Darvish, allowing one earned run in 3 2/3 IP. It was rumored in October of 2005 that the Cleveland Indians had made an offer to Lee and had been turned down.
Lee threw 7 hitless, scoreless innings against the Czech Republic in the 2006 World University Championship. Against Cuba, he allowed two hits in 8 1/3 innings and fanned 6; Taiwan went on to win in 15 innings, its first win against Cuba in a couple decades. He pitched for Taiwan's senior team in the 2006 Asian Games and 2006 Intercontinental Cup (10 H in 5 2/3 IP, 4.76 ERA, no decisions in two games). He pitched for the Anchorage Bucs in the Alaska Baseball League in 2007.
Lee pitched for Taiwan in the 2008 Final Olympic Qualification Tournament, allowing 4 runs in 2 1/3 IP in a loss to the South Korean national team. Poor defense by Che-Hsuan Lin and Yi-Chuan Lin did not aid his cause; two of the tallies were unearned. Lee was 0-1 with a 0.77 ERA in the 2008 Haarlem Baseball Week. He was 0-1 with a 4.76 ERA for Taiwan in the 2008 World University Championship and was one of three amateurs with Taiwan in the 2008 Olympics. In Beijing, he was 0-1 with a 2.00 ERA and 11 strikeouts in 9 innings. He tossed six shutout against the Cuban national team in a duel with Elier Sánchez but lost 1-0 when Frederich Cepeda homered in the 7th. Lee then allowed one run in a relief stint against the US.
The Cleveland Indians signed Lee in September of 2008, reputedly for between $350,000 and $400,000.
Taiwan made Lee their game one starter in the 2009 World Baseball Classic, facing South Korea. He was toasted for 6 runs in 1/3 of an inning for the loss. He started by walking Jong-wook Lee, hitting Keun-woo Jeong and walking Hyun-soo Kim; only 2 of his first 11 pitches were strikes. Tae-kyun Kim singled home two. Lee retired Dae-ho Lee on a long fly, then walked Shin-soo Choo. A grand slam by Jin-young Lee knocked out Chen-Chang, who was replaced by Kai-Wen Cheng.
Lee made his US debut on April 9, 2009, tossing two scoreless innings for the Kinston Indians against the Winston-Salem Dash.
