Hsien-Ming Yu

Hsien-Ming Yu (余賢明)

• Bats Both, Throws Left
• Height 5' 5", Weight 154 lb.

• School Fu Jen Catholic University
• High School Hua Hsing High School

• Born March 21, 1980 in Taitung County Taiwan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Hsien-Ming Yu once led the Chinese Professional Baseball League in steals.

Yu played in the 1997 World Junior Championship; Taiwan finished second behind Cuba. In the 1999 World Port Tournament, the teenager hit .319/.435/.421. He was Taiwan's starting right fielder in the 1999 Intercontinental Cup but went 0 for 14 with a walk and a run. In the field, he had one assist and no errors. He appeared in the 2000 Haarlem Baseball Week, 2001 Asian Championship and 2003 World Port Tournament. In the 2003 Baseball World Cup, Hsien-Ming batted .300/.364/.700. In the Bronze Medal game, he hit leadoff and cracked a solo homer off Kosuke Matsui but Taiwan fell 7-3 to Japan. He alternated between left field and center field in that event. He had a better OPS than one of the event's three All-Star outfielders, Rubén Rivera, but trailed the other two (Frederich Cepeda and Takashi Yoshiura). Yu was also with Taiwan for the 2004 World University Championship.

The Sinon Bulls drafted Yu in the first round of the 2004 CPBL Draft, and he made his pro debut in 2005, hitting .242/.308/.321. He hit .308/.333/.308 in the 2005 Taiwan Series to help the Bulls swept the Macoto Cobras. The switch-hitting outfielder batted .292/.349/.356 with 27 steals in 35 tries in '06. He led the CPBL in swipes, eight more than anyone else. He also won his only Best Ten as an outfielder in this season. He was on the Taiwanese team that took Gold in the 2006 Asian Games; no Taiwanese national team before had done so nor has anyone else followed through as of 2023.

Yu fell to .228/.291/.294 in 2007, then rebounded to .280/.341/.306 in a part-time role in 2008. In 2009, the lightweight speedster put up a .250/.323/.293 line. He hit .268/.345/.357 with 15 steals (in 20 tries) in 2010. He tied for 7th in the league in stolen bases. He was 2-for-13 in the 2010 Taiwan Series, and the Bulls were swept by the Brother Elephants. Yu hit .259/.323/.337 in 2011, then he recorded a .314/.376/.388 batting line in 2012. He stayed in the minor league for the entire 2013 season, then he announced his retirement.

Overall, Yu hit .268/.332/.335 with 496 hits, 70 doubles and 93 steals in 8 seasons in the CPBL.

Sources

• Taiwan Baseball Wiki
• CPBL Player Page
• Defunct IBAF site
• Harry Wedemeijer's international baseball stats