Chien-Ming Chang

From BR Bullpen

Chieh ming chang.JPG

Chien-Ming Chang (張建銘) (Fire Brother)

  • Bats Left, Throws Left
  • Height 5' 9", Weight 165 lb.

BR register page

Biographical Information[edit]

Chien-Ming Chang was an outfielder for the Sinon Bulls and has played for the Taiwan national team in almost a dozen events.

Chang debuted with the national team when he was a teenager, going 4 for 20 with a double as the starting third baseman for Chinese Taipei in the 1999 Intercontinental Cup. He helped Taiwan win Gold in the 2001 Asian Championship. In the 2001 World Port Tournament, he hit .222/.243/.250 and was thrown out stealing in both attempts. He batted .294/.294/.294 in the 2002 Haarlem Baseball Week. In the 2002 World University Championship, he again played for Taiwan, hitting .286/.333/.357, stole 2 bases in 2 tries and had one outfield assist in four games. Chang hit .115/.258/.154 in the 2002 Intercontinental Cup as a regular corner outfielder.

In 2004, Chang made his professional debut with the Sinon Bulls and hit .291/.331/.366. He hit .333/.412/.433 with a homer in the 2004 Taiwan Series, and the Bulls beat the Uni-President Lions in 7 games. Chang batted .283/.325/.364 and stole 21 bases in 28 tries in 2005, and he ranked 3rd in steals (4 behind Sen Yang and Hung-Sen Chu. In the 2005 Taiwan Series, Chang hit .313/.389/.313 to help the Bulls sweep the Macoto Cobras He also won his first Best Ten as an outfielder. He appeared in the first Konami Cup.

Chang made the Taiwan roster for the 2006 World Baseball Classic and went 4 for 11 with a walk and a double as one of their better performers. In the 2006 CPBL campaign, he hit .284/.335/.365 and only stole 3 bases; the 21 in 2005 was the only time in his first four seasons that he reached double digits in swipes. He was with Taiwan for the 2006 Asian Games and 2006 Intercontinental Cup. In the latter event, he hit .405/.463/.595 with 8 runs, 7 RBI and a surprising 2 home runs in nine games for Taiwan, acting as their main right fielder; Chang only has hit 8 home runs in his first 1,107 at-bats in the CPBL. He tied Sharnol Adriana and Yoandry Urgellés for third in the 2006 Intercontinental Cup with 15 hits, trailing only Alexander Mayeta and Yung-Chi Chen. He tied 8 others, including former major leaguer Ivanon Coffie for second in home runs, trailing only Brad Harman. He failed to make the All-Tournament outfield as Urgellés, Giorvis Duvergel and Frederich Cepeda were chosen.

In the 2007 CPBL campaign, the outfielder batted .343/.389/.582 in 21 games for Sinon, his playing time limited by left elbow surgery early in the year. He was back in action for the 2007 Asian Championship, going 2 for 11. He was one of the top hitters in the 2008 Final Olympic Qualification Tournament, batting .480/.581/.640 to help Taiwan earn a spot in the 2008 Olympics. He tied Tom Brice and Matt Rogelstad for third in the event with 9 runs, trailing Yong-kyu Lee and Young-min Ko. He was 4th in average behind Joo-chan Kim, Jimmy Van Ostrand and Luke Hughes.

As the starting Taiwan right fielder, Chang hit .154/.233/.192 in the 2008 Olympics and made a throwing error that allowed Wei Sun to score the winning run in Taiwan's stunning loss to China. He recorded a .261/.321/.318 batting line with 7 doubles in the 2008 season. He had a fine season in 2009. Chang attended the 2009 CPBL All-Star Game, and he was 2-for-5 with a run scored. He broke the CPBL record by collecting 19 outfield assists in a season, and ended up hitting .328/.384/.448 with a league-leading 7 triples. He ranked 6th in batting (.039 behind Wu-Hsiung Pan), 3rd in hits (28 behind Wilton Veras) and 6th in doubles (12 behind Veras). He won his second Best Nine and Gold Glove.

Chang slumped to .288/.328/.332 in 2010, but his defense was still solid. He set a CPBL record as he didn't commit an error in 360 consecutive defensive chances in the outfield (broken by his teammate Chien-Jung Su later), and he won his third Gold Glove. He was also selected into the 2010 CPBL All-Star Game, but he was 0-for-2. Chang was 6-for-17 in the 2010 Taiwan Series, and the Bulls were swept by the Brother Elephants. He then represented Taiwan in the 2010 Asian Games, and Taiwan won Silver.

The veteran outfielder bounced back in 2011, hitting .323/.375/.401 with 23 doubles. He attended the 2011 CPBL All-Star Game, and he was 1-for-2 with a run scored. Chang extended his solid batting, recorded a .334/.386/.485 batting line despite only playing 76 games due to injury in 2012. He was selected into the 2012 CPBL All-Star Game, and he collected a single in 3 at-bats.

In the 2013 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers, Chang hit .545/.615/.727 and helped Taiwan advance to the 2013 World Baseball Classic. He was 5-for-14 in the '13 WBC, but Taiwan was still eliminated in the second round. Chang recorded a .279/.322/.364 batting line in 2013, and he won both Best Ten and Gold Glove honors. Chang was 2-for-3 with a RBI double in the 2013 CPBL All-Star Game. He was only 3-for-16 in the 2013 Taiwan Series, and the EDA Rhinos (the Bulls had changed their name) were swept by the Uni-President Lions.

Chang batted .299/.335/.346 in 2014, and he won his fifth Gold Glove. He attended the 2014 CPBL All-Star Game, and he went 3-for-3 with 2 RBI and a double. The 2015 season was Chang's career year. His batting line was .342/.389/.483, and he blasted a career-high 11 homers. He ranked 6th in batting (.041 behind Chin-Lung Hu), 8th in RBI (52 behind Yi-Chuan Lin) and 5th in hits (16 behind Hu). He won his fourth, and last, Best Ten award as an outfielder.

After the 2015 season, Chang represented Taiwan in the 2015 Premier 12; he was 2-for-6 with a RBI in the event. The veteran only played 58 games in 2016, and his batting line was .277/.317/.415. As a backup outfielder, Chang was 3-for-8 in the 2016 Taiwan Series, and he hit a clutch, pinch-hit double in the 9th inning of Game 6 to help the Rhinos beat the CTBC Brothers in 6 games. Chang recorded a .290/.338/.393 batting line in 84 games in 2017, but he only played 8 games in 2018. He spent the entire 2019 season in the minors, then he announced his retirement. He then became a coach for the Wei Chuan Dragons in 2020.

Overall, Chang hit .301/.348/.393 with 1,401 hits, 40 triples and 43 homers in 15 seasons in CPBL.

Sources[edit]

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