Yi-Cheng Tseng

Yi-Cheng Tseng (曾翊誠)
formerly known as Chieh-Chih Tseng

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 176 lb.

• School Taipei Physical Education College
• High School Chung-Hua High School

• Born August 12, 1978 in Hsinchou County Taiwan

Yi-Cheng Tseng pitched in the CPBL for 10 years.

BR register page

Biographical Information

Tseng pitched for the Taiwan national team while in college. He went 1-1 with a save and a 7.16 ERA in the 1999 World Port Tournament, striking out 12 in 7 1/3 innings. In the 1999 Intercontinental Cup, he had a save and a 4.26 ERA in 4 games, fanning 10 in 6 1/3 IP. He also appeared in the 1999 Asian Championship.

The Uni-President Lions selected him in the first round of the 2000 CPBL Draft, and they signed him with a 5 million NT signing bonus (New Taiwan Dollars). At the time, it was a record signing amount for the CPBL to that point (broken by Chung-Nan Tsai in 2002). In 2000, Tseng was 0-1 with a 3.60 ERA in two games. He appeared in the 2000 Taiwan Series, but he allowed 5 runs in 1 1/3 innings. Tseng went 6-5 with a 3.76 ERA in 2001 (he had the first no-hitter to be cut short by rain in CPBL annals, June 13 against the Sinon Bulls), then 8-4 with a 5.55 ERA in a rough 2002 season. He was 0-1 with a 0.71 ERA in 2003, missing most of the year due to injury. Tseng returned in 2004, going 3-2 with a 2.65 ERA.

In 2005, Tseng was 1-1 with a league-leading 11 holds and a 2.07 ERA. Tseng had another fine year in 2006 (2-1, 17 Sv, 2.17) and was named the reliever of the year; he tied for the most saves in the CPBL. Tseng allowed a run in a inning in the 2006 Taiwan Series Game 1, and he got the loss. He then notched a hold with 2 1/3 shutout innings in Game 4, but the Lions were swept by the La New Bears. Tseng was 1-1 with a save and a 2.70 ERA in the 2007 CPBL, and he appeared in the 2007 Taiwan Series. He pitched a shutout inning in Game 1, then collected a save with 2 shutout innings in Game 2. He relieved Yueh-Ping Lin in the 7th inning in Game 5, but he couldn't retire any of the three batters he faced, and he got the loss. The Lions beat the Bears in 7 games.

Tseng went 3-0 with 3 saves and a 2.97 ERA in 33 games in 2008. He pitched a shutout inning in 2008 Taiwan Series Game 4, then recorded another shutout inning with a hold in Game 5 to help the Lions beat the Brother Elephants in 7 games. He was still a solid reliever in 2009, having a 3.18 ERA in 44 games with 15 holds. Tseng was 3rd in holds, 8 behind Matt Perisho. In the 2009 Taiwan Series, Tseng pitched 2/3 of a shutout inning with a hold in Game 1, then pitched 2 shutout innings for another hold in Game 6. The Lions beat the Brothers in 7 games again. Due to a severe right elbow injury, Tseng never pitched another game with the big club after the 2009 season, and he announced his retirement in 2012. He then coached the Lamigo Monkeys from 2013 to 2021.

His repertoire included a slider, changeup, curveball, forkball, sinker and fastball (peak time of 90 mph).

Overall, Tseng was 22-22 with a 3.31 ERA, notched 39 holds and 25 saves in 286 appearances, struck out 342 and pitched 480 2/3 innings in 10 seasons in the CPBL.

Sources

• CPBL Player Page
• Taiwan Baseball Wiki
• Defunct IBAF site
• 1999 World Port Tournament