Chang-Ming Cheng

Chang-Ming Cheng (鄭昌明)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 170 lb.

• School Taipei Physical Education College
• High School Hua Hsing High School

• Born January 28, 1978 in Taitung County Taiwan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Chang-Ming Cheng was an infielder in the Chinese Professional Baseball League who played in numerous international events, most notably the 2004 Olympics, but whose career was derailed by illegal actions three years later. He is a cousin of Yu-Hao Cheng.

Cheng played in the 1990 Little League World Series for the champion Taiwan team alongside future major leaguer Chin-Feng Chen. He played for Taiwan in the 1995 World Junior Championship, helping them win Silver. He was 0 for 1 in the 1997 World Port Tournament for the senior Taiwan national team. In the 1998 Baseball World Cup, Cheng hit .238/.279/.429 as the starting Taiwan shortstop. He also played for his homeland in the 1998 Asian Games and 1999 Asian Championship. In the 1999 World Port Tournament, Chang-Ming was 3 for 13. In the 1999 Intercontinental Cup, he hit .200/.200/.250 while manning third base for Chinese Taipei. He was 4 for 20 in the 2000 Haarlem Baseball Week, his third Dutch baseball tourney.

The Chinatrust Whales drafted Cheng in the first round of the 2001 CPBL Draft, and he hit .240/.314/.355 with 15 steals in 18 tries and fielding .955. In the 2001 Baseball World Cup, the national team veteran posted a .227/.320/.409 batting line and fielded .927 in 9 games at short. In the 2002, the Chinatrust infielder hit .202/.266/.263 but still played every single game for his club, fielding .951. He again was on the national team, this time for the 2002 Asian Games. In 2003, Cheng batted .240/.323/.290 and fielded .935. He was with Taiwan for the 2003 Asian Championship but missed the Baseball World Cup for the first time since he was a teenager.

Cheng's batting line for the 2004 Whales was .216/.264/.302 and he fielded .959, continuing to be the Chinatrust starter despite his poor hitting. He won his first CPBL Gold Glove as a shortstop. He even got called on to play in the 2004 Olympics, going 0 for 4 with a run as the backup SS behind Chao-Hang Cheng (no relation). In 2005, Cheng hit .263/.325/.363 for the best OPS of his career. He won another Gold Glove, and took home his only Best Ten award as a shortstop.

The Whales infielder returned to the national team for the 2006 World Baseball Classic, going 1 for 6 with a double in his final appearance for Taiwan. In the 2006, he hit .278/.333/.351 for his best average and OBP. He won his third Gold Glove while fielding .966 to match his high, set the prior campaign. The next year, Cheng started by hitting .215/.288/.323 in 76 games. His career then came to an end when he and four Chinatrust players were thrown out of the league on charges of fixing games.

Overall, Cheng hit .238/.303/.324 in 634 games and stole 50 bases in 84 tries in 7 seasons in the CPBL. He scored 222 runs and drove in 259 and fielded .956.

Sources

• Taiwan Baseball Wiki
• CPBL Player Page (in Chinese)
• Defunct IBAF site
• 2008 Baseball Almanac
• Taiwan Baseball Blog
• Harry Wedemeijer's international tourney stats
• World Baseball Classic site