Chih-Yao Chan

From BR Bullpen

Zhi-Yao Chan.jpg

Chih-Yao Chan (詹智堯)

  • Bats Left, Throws Left
  • Height 5' 10", Weight 181 lb.

BR register page

Biographical Information[edit]

Chih-Yao Chan played in the CPBL for 14 years.

Chan went 2 for 12 with 4 walks and 3 runs in the 2003 World Port Tournament. He was Taiwan's right fielder in the 2003 Baseball World Cup, hitting .303/.378/.515 with 7 runs in 9 games. He had two outfield assists and no errors. The left-handed hitter was 6 for 18 with 2 walks, a homer and five runs in five games during the 2004 Haarlem Baseball Week. He also stole 3 bases in 3 tries. He tied for third in runs, trailing Ralph Milliard and Takashi Yoshiura. He tied Enrique Díaz for second in steals, one behind Milliard. Chan played in the 2005 Asian Championship. In the 2005 Baseball World Cup, he hit .233/.273/.233. He made no errors and had one assist from right field. Four of his 7 hits came in one game against the Spanish national team; otherwise, he barely topped .100 for the event.

The Pingtung native played two games in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. As a pinch-hitter for Chun-Chang Yeh against Chan-ho Park, he ground to Jin-man Park for a force out to end Taiwan's loss against the South Korean national team. Facing China, Chan replaced Chia-Hsien Hsieh in center field in the 6th inning. Chan grounded out against Tao Bu his first time up. In his next at-bat, he singled off Quansheng Zhao to score Tai-Shan Chang. He thus finished the 2006 WBC 1 for 3. He played in the 2006 World University Championship. In the 2006 Haarlem Baseball Week, Chan appeared as well, going 2 for 6 with 2 walks and a triple. During the 2006 Intercontinental Cup, Chia-Yao hit .259/.310/.296 with 8 runs in 8 games. Only Chung-Shou Yang scored more runs on the team.

Chan batted .303/.410/.455 and stole 2 bases in 2 tries during the 2007 World Port Tournament. In the 2007 Baseball World Cup, he was 2 for 7 as a backup to Ying-Chieh Liao in left field. He was picked by the Macoto Cobras with the 2nd pick of the 2007 CPBL Draft, following Yi-Chuan Lin. He hit .396 in the Taiwan minor leagues in 2008. He was 3 for 20 with two walks in the 2008 Haarlem Baseball Week and was held out of the Bronze Medal game. Following 2008, the Cobras (now known as the dMedia T-Rex) folded. In the disbursement draft, Chan was taken by the La New Bears with the third overall pick, following Chia-Hsien Hsieh and Fu-Te Ni. He did not sign immediately, as he wanted to test the international market. Chan was put on Taiwan's roster for the 2009 World Baseball Classic; he pinch-ran in one game and pinch-hit in the other, stepping in for Kuo-Ching Kao and singling off of Kun Chen.

After the WBC, Chan decided to joined the CPBL. He soon became a regular starting outfielder forf the Bears, and he hit .270/.361/.343 with 4 triples in his rookie year. He was selected into the 2009 CPBL All-Star Game, but he was 0-for-2. Chan also won a CPBL Gold Glove, but he lost the CPBL Rookie of the Year award to MVP winner Yi-Chuan Lin. He extended his solid performance, hitting .283/.358/.347 in 2010, then having a .265/.347/.332 batting line in 2011. He attended the CPBL All-Star Game for these two years, but he was 0-for-2 in each game.

Chan improved and hit .329/.393/.403 with 21 doubles in 2012. He ranked 6th in batting (.059 behind Wu-Hsiung Pan), 6th in hits (33 behind Cheng-Wei Chang) and 9th in runs (24 behind Chang). He won his second Gold Glove, and he won the CPBL Most Improved Player Award. In the 2012 Taiwan Series, he hit .158/.273/.316 and the Monkeys beat the Uni-President Lions in 5 games. Chan was on Taiwan's roster for of the 2013 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers, and he was 2-for-9 with a RBI and helped Taiwan advance to the 2013 World Baseball Classic. He was not on the roster for that event though.

The talented outfielder slumped to .253/.310/.331 in 2013, but his defense was still great as he was named a Gold Glove outfielder and selected into the 2013 CPBL All-Star Game; he was 1-for-2 with 2 steals. Chan bounced back soon in 2014, hitting .286/.364/.361 with a career-high 23 doubles, and won his fourth Gold Glove. He ranked 6th in doubles, 9 behind Yi-Chuan Lin. He was 5-for-2 with 2 doubles and 4 RBI in the 2014 Taiwan Series, and won his second Taiwan Series title as the Monkeys beat the CTBC Brothers in 5 games.

Chan extended his reliable performance in 2015, having a .284/.353/.362 batting line with 15 doubles, and won his fifth and last Gold Glove award. He was 2-for-3 with a steal in the 2015 CPBL All-Star Game. Chan hit .267/.290/.300 with 4 RBI in the 2015 Taiwan Series to help the Monkeys beat the Brothers in 7 games. He suffered a right shoulder injury in 2016, so he only played 69 games with a .261/.332/.448 batting line. Since the Monkeys had talented prospects like Po-Jung Wang, veteran Chan's starting spot was taken, and he only hit .244/.335/.425 in 73 games in 2017. Due to the juiced ball, he blasted a career-high 9 homers this season. In the 2017 Taiwan Series, Chan was 3-for-16 with 3 RBI, and the Monkeys beat the Brothers in 5 games.

After the 2017 season, Chan never had more than 150 at-bats in a season. As the 4th outfielder, he hit .274/.362/.345 in 60 games in 2018, but he only played 35 games and 38 games respectively in the next two seasons. Chan only had a .190/.320/.262 batting line in 2019, and the Monkeys released him. The Fubon Guardians signed him as a player-coach, and Chan played 4 games to reach 1,000 career games played in 2022 then retired. He was selected into the 2022 CPBL All-Star Game as a coach, but manager Wei-Chu Lin still selected him as a pinch-runner in the 7th inning. Chan then served as the outfield fielding coach for Fubon since 2023.

Overall, Chan hit .277/.353/.366 with 831 hits and 31 homers in 14 seasons in the CPBL.

Sources[edit]

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