Hung-Yu Lin

From BR Bullpen

HungYuLin.JPG

Hung-Yu Lin (林泓育)

  • Bats Right, Throws Right
  • Height 5' 11", Weight 227 lb.

BR register page

Biographical Information[edit]

Catcher Hung-Yu Lin played in the CPBL and for the Chinese Taipei national baseball team.

Lin represented Taiwan in the 2006 World University Championship and 2006 Haarlem Baseball Week. He was drafted by the La New Bears in the second round of the 2008 CPBL Draft and assigned to their minor league team. In the 2009 World Port Tournament, Lin hit .296/.345/.407 as a C-DH, splitting backstop duties with Kun-Sheng Lin. He was with Taiwan for the 2009 Asian Championship. He remained with Taiwan in the 2009 Baseball World Cup, serving as their cleanup hitter and DH. He hit .241/.250/.500 with a team-high four homers and 16 RBI in 15 games, showing great power but poor OBP and strikeout skills. He had game-winning hits against Australia (a 10th-inning, 2-run homer off Paul Mildren to end it) and Japan (a 10th-inning, 2-run single).

The Tainan native made his pro debut on March 20 with the La New Bears, hitting 5th behind Chin-Feng Chen and catching for a team depleted by a gambling scandal over the offseason. Lin had a strong debut, going 2 for 4. He hit .303/.337/.434 as a rookie in 2010 but did not take home Rookie of the Year honors, which went instead to pitcher Ching-Ming Wang. He ranked among the CPBL leaders in average (5th, after Cheng-Min Peng, Yi-Chuan Lin, Tai-Shan Chang and Chih-Sheng Lin), doubles (tied for 6th with 22), RBI (66, 3rd behind Chih-Sheng Lin and Tai-Shan Chang) and slugging (6th behind Chih-Sheng Lin, Cheng-Min Peng, Tai-Shan Chang, Yi-Chuan Lin and Chen-Yu Chung).

In 2011, Lin was better yet at .321/.378/.544 with 22 home runs and 106 RBI for the Lamigo Monkeys (the Bears having changed their name in the offseason). He was among the leaders in average (6th behind Cheng-Wei Chang, Chih-Sheng Lin, Kuo-Ching Kao, Kuan-Jen Chen and Chen-Yu Chung), slugging (3rd behind Chih-Sheng Lin and Kuo-Ching Kao), OPS (behind Chih-Sheng Lin and Kuo-Ching Kao), OBP (8th), doubles (tied for 6th with Yen-Wen Kuo at 28), RBI (1st, 18 more than runner-up Ssu-Chi Chou), home runs (tied for the lead with Kuo-Ching Kao) and runs (78, 4th after Cheng-Wei Chang, Fu-Hao Liu and Chih-Hao Chang). Lin also won the Best Ten as a catcher, and he was named the CPBL Most Valuable Player. He recorded a .444/.474/.667 batting line in the 2011 Taiwan Series, but the Monkeys lost to the Uni-President Lions in 5 games. He broke Chin-Mao Chen's record for the most homer by a catcher, and he was also the first catcher to win the MVP in CPBL history.

Lin suffered from a right finger injury in 2012, so he only hit .295/.359/.449 with 6 homers in 64 games. He then represented Taiwan in the 2013 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers, and he was 0-for-8. Taiwan still advanced to the 2013 World Baseball Classic, and Lin hit .333/.455/.444 as their starting catcher. In the 2013 season, since Hao-Jan Huang played well as a catcher, Lin was often used as a designated hitter. He hit .343/.415/.498 with 12 homers and won another Best Ten as a DH. He also attended the 2013 CPBL All-Star Game, and he was 2-for-4 with 2 RBI. He was 4th in batting (.015 behind Chin-Lung Hu), 2nd in hits (11 behind Yi-Chuan Lin), 4th in RBI (17 behind Tai-Shan Chang) and 3rd in homers (6 behind Lin).

The Monkeys drafted talented catcher Shih-Hao Liu after this season, so Lin played fewer games as a catcher in 2014. His batting line was a still-solid .313/.372/.488 with 16 homers, and he won his third Best Ten. He was 5th in batting (.037 behind Hu), 3rd in RBI (28 behind Lin), 5th in hits (41 behind Hu) and 2nd in homers (2 behind Kuo-Hui Kao). Lin also attended the 2014 CPBL All-Star Game, and he was 2-for-5 with a RBI and a double. In the 2014 Taiwan Series, Lin hit .333/.478/.500 to help the Monkeys top the CTBC Brothers in 5 games.

Lin improved to .353/.443/.581 with 24 homers and 101 RBI in 2015, and he won his third straight Best Ten. He was 4th in batting (.030 behind Hu), 5th in RBI (25 behind Lin), 6th in hits (18 behind Lin), 6th in doubles (4 behind Chun-Hsiu Chen) and 4th in homers (15 behind Kao). He hit .354/.427/.607 with 2 homers in the 2015 Taiwan Series, and the Monkeys beat the CTBC Brothers in 7 games. After this season, Lin represented Taiwan in the 2015 Premier 12, and he hit .250/.400/.500, with a homer against Shairon Martis of the Netherlands.

The 2016 season was a gorgeous season for Lin. He hit .400/.458/.665 with a career-high 40 doubles and 108 RBI, and he led the league in both categories. Lin became the first player to win two Best Ten awards at different positions, winning it multiple times as both catcher and DH. He also won the CPBL Gold Glove as a catcher. He ranked 3rd in batting (.014 behind Po-Jung Wang), 2nd in hits (33 behind Wang), 5th in runs (33 behind Wang) and 7th in homers (11 behind Kao). When Hung-Chun Yen shared the catcher spot in 2017, Lin was moved back to DH again, and he hit .331/.371/.539 with 18 homers. He reached 1,000 career hits on August 10 against Yun-Wen Chen of the Lions. Lin was 6th in batting (.077 behind Wang), 5th in doubles (6 behind Chieh-Hsien Chen) and 5th in RBI (24 behind Wang). He won his 5th straight Best Ten award, and he was the first player to win 5 consecutive Best Ten as a DH. In the 2017 Taiwan Series, Lin hit .500/.579/.929 and the Monkeys beat the Brothers in 5 games.

Due to a knee injury, Lin only crushed 6 homers with a .343/.399/.498 batting line in 2018. He hit .450/.478/.900 in the 2018 Taiwan Series, and the Monkeys won the title again as they beat the Lions in 5 games. He was named the outstanding player of the series, a step below the MVP (which went to Chun-Hsiu Chen). Lin came back in 2019, hitting .350/.416/.585 with a career-high 26 homers and won the Best Ten as a catcher. He led the league in runs, ranking 3rd in RBI (13 behind Lin), 2nd in hits (7 behind Yu-Hsien Chu), 4th in batting (.39 behind Li Lin) and 4th in homers (4 behind Chu). Lin also attended the 2019 CPBL All-Star Game, and he crushed a homer against Wei-Chun Weng. He recorded a .429/.520/.476 batting line to help the Monkeys beat the Brothers in 5 games in the 2019 Taiwan Series).

After the 2019 season, Lin played for Taiwan in the 2019 Premier 12, and he hit .208/.321/.208. He was still a reliable slugger in 2020, and he hit .312/.344/.466 with 13 homers. Lin's batting line was .295/.354/.497 with 14 homers in 2021, and he ranked 3rd in homers (8 behind Chu). However, he slumped to .258/.309/.400 in 2022, and he only hit .167/.167/.667 in the 2022 Taiwan Series as the Monkeys were swept by the Brothers. Lin bounced back in 2023 as he hit .293/.353/.389 as DH. In the 2023 Taiwan Series, he recorded a .125/.300/.125 batting line, and the Monkeys lost to the Wei Chuan Dragons in 7 games.

Sources[edit]

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