De-Long Yu

From BR Bullpen

De-Long Yu (余德龍)

  • Bats Right, Throws Right
  • Height 5' 11", Weight 163 lb.

BR Register page

Biographical Information[edit]

De-Long Yu has played in the Chinese Professional Baseball League.

Yu played for Taiwan in the 2003 World Youth Championship, 2005 Asian Junior Championship, 2007 World Port Tournament, 2007 Italian Baseball Week (.176/.222/.235, .947 FLD, 3 SB in 3 tries), 2008 Haarlem Baseball Week (0 for 3) and 2008 World University Championship.

The La New Bears took Yu in the third round of the 2010 CPBL Draft, following former minor leaguer Yen-Wen Kuo and Cheng-Hao Cheng. Yu tore up the Taiwanese minors in 2011, hitting .409/.446/.552 with 39 runs, 26 RBI and 15 steals in 35 games. He hit for the first cycle in Taiwanese minor league annals, on April 9, as part of a 5-hit, 7-RBI show. He opened the season with a 21-game hitting streak to break Yong-Wei Kuo's one-year-old record. On September 28, Yu had five hits to set a Taiwanese minor league postseason record.

Following his 2011 minor league show, big things were expected for Yu in the 2012 CPBL but he did not live up to those hopes - .245/.291/.294 in 81 games for the Lamigo Monkeys (La New having changed hands and names); he did hit a grand slam as his first homer against Huan-Yang Chen, the 10th player in CPBL history to do so. He fielded .962, being used primarily as a backup left fielder. He also attended the 2013 CPBL All-Star Game, and he was 2-for-2 with a run scored. Yu played six different positions in 2013: LF (52 G), 1B (36), 3B (35), CF (23), RF (6) and SS (2). He batted .277/.306/.342 and stole 21 bases in 32 tries. He was third in the league in swipes behind Sheng-Wei Wang and Chih-Hsiang Lin but led in times caught stealing.

Yu fielded .987 in a similar utility role in 2014, with games 52 games in LF, 17 at 1B, 15 in CF, 14 in RF, 13 in SS, 8 at 3B and even 2 as a pitcher (1 R in 2 IP). He batted .270/.292/.321 and was 9-for-14 in steal attempts. In the 2014 Taiwan Series, though, he became Lamigo's starting shortstop and #8 hitter. He was 7 for 13 with 3 runs, 3 walks and 5 RBI in the first four games before an 0-for-5 game 5; it was still enough to win Taiwan Series MVP honors. He had the winning RBI in game 2 and 4 hits in game 3. The Monkeys had now won two Taiwan Series with a shortstop being Series MVP each time, as Chih-Sheng Lin had won in 2012.

The Taitung native was selected into the 2015 CPBL All-Star Game, and he was 0-for-2. He ended up hitting .301/.356/.378 in 2015, and he won his only CPBL Gold Glove as an outfielder. He hit .429/.429/.524 in the 2015 Taiwan Series to help the Monkeys beat the CTBC Brothers in 7 games. Yu attended the CPBL All-Star Game in the next summer, and he was 1-for-4. He recorded a .256/.293/.335 batting line in 2016, then hit .253/.308/.311 in 2017. Since he was not a slugger, Yu's spot was taken and he only played 39 games in 2018.

Yu bounced back in 2019, hitting .319/.372/.429 as an utility man. He recorded a .214/.267/.357 batting line in the 2019 Taiwan Series, and he won the title again as the Monkeys beat the Brothers in 5 games. He hit .306/.352/.378 in 2020 then had a .287/.323/.298 batting line in 2021. The veteran played 33 games with a .205/.241/.247 batting line in 2022, so he only had 48 at-bats in 2023.

Sources[edit]

Retrieved from "https://www.baseball-reference.com/bpv/index.php?title=De-Long_Yu&oldid=1345112"