Shin-Ming Tan

Shin-Ming Tan (譚信民) (AKA Hsin-Min Tan)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 175 lb.

• High School Liu Hsin High School

• Born June 16, 1950 in Chiayi County Taiwan

Shin-Ming Tan was the first player from Taiwan to play in Organized Baseball.

Tan served in the Taiwan Air Force. During that time, he was with the Taiwan national team for the 1969 Asian Championship, 1971 Asian Championship, 1972 Amateur World Series, 1973 Asian Championship, 1973 Amateur World Series and 1973 Intercontinental Cup. In the 1972 Amateur World Series, he made the All-Star team as the best right-handed pitcher. He led that Series in strikeouts (53) and innings (51 1/3).

Tan signed with the Taiheiyo Club Lions of the Pacific League. They shipped him out to the Fresno Giants. He pitched 23 games, 9 of them starts (5 complete games), posting a 8-4 record with 2 saves. He allowed 87 hits and 22 walks in 73 innings while striking out 53 and posting a 4.68 ERA. As the California League had recently instituted a Designated Hitter rule, he did not bat. After the season, the San Francisco Giants signed him, but he never again pitched in their farm system. He was the first Taiwan native to sign with a MLB team, predating Chin-Feng Chen by 26 years.

Tan returned to Taiwan and pitched in amateur leagues as there was no professional baseball yet in his homeland. He played in the 1976 Amateur World Series. He later coached for the Chinese Cultural University and the Brother Hotels. In the 1986 Baseball World Cup, he coached for Taiwan and he managed Taiwan in the 1988 Haarlem Baseball Week.

From 1991-1993, Tan was manager of the Mercuries Tigers of the Chinese Professional Baseball League, guiding them to a 104-147 record. He was briefly a visiting coach in the Korea Baseball Organization, working with the Lotte Giants.

Tan threw a knuckleball, fastball and curveball.

Sources

• 1975 Baseball Guide
• A History of Cuban Baseball by Peter Bjarkman (1972 AWS stats)
• Wiki Baseball (Chinese)