Lingfeng Sun

Lingfeng Sun (孫嶺峰)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 9", Weight 143 lb.

• Born August 14, 1978 in Beijing China

Lingfeng Sun has played for the Chinese national team in numerous events.

In the 1998 Baseball World Cup, Sun hit .348/.348/.522 with four steals in five attempts as the left fielder for China and one of their top hitters. He tied Tomohiro Nioka and Yusuke Nishizawa for second in steals, one behind Davide Rigoli. He also played in the 1998 Asian Games. He led the 1999 Asian Championship with six steals. In the 2002 World University Championship, he batted .259/.259/.296 with 5 steals in 7 tries as China's center fielder and led the tourney in steals, two ahead of Eric Patterson and Takashi Toritani. He appeared in the 2002 Asian Games.

In the first season of the China Baseball League, 2002, Sun led in steals (14). He made the first out in league history and also had the first sacrifice fly, both on April 26.

The next year, he won an award for his defense in the CBL. He played in the 2003 Asian Championship.

Sun was the MVP of the 2004 China Baseball League, leading the circuit in average (.382), hits (55), runs (39) and steals (31). In game five of the best-of-five finale, the Beijing Tigers center fielder scored two and drove in two more in the 4-2 victory over the Tianjin Lions. In the 2005 Baseball World Cup, Sun batted .379/.379/.483 with four steals in five tries in six games. He tied Paul Rutgers for third in stolen bases, only half of the eight attained by leader Eduardo Paret. He stole 19 bases to lead the 2005 CBL. He played in the 2005 Asian Championship.

Sun did not play well in the 2006 World Baseball Classic, going 1 for 9 with 2 walks and an error. He was caught stealing in both of his attempts. Sun hit .211/.211/.211 in the 2007 Arizona Fall League and stole a base in his lone attempt.

Playing in the city of his birth in the 2008 Olympics, Sun hit .296/.345/.370 as the starting Chinese center fielder; he was the team's 2nd-best hitter after Fenglian Hou. Sun stole two bases in three tries and had an outfield assist. He made a baserunning gaffe in the 11th inning of a loss against the South Korean national team, breaking for home too soon on a fly and being thrown out by Jong-wook Lee when he was unable to return to third base in time. His 2 steals in the preliminary round tied Masahiro Araki, Giorvis Duvergel, Hyun-soo Kim, Tsuyoshi Nishioka, Eduardo Paret and Jong-wook Lee.

Sun went 2 for 10 with a walk, steal and run in the 2009 World Baseball Classic.

Sources: IBAF site, 2005 Baseball Almanac, World Baseball Classic site, Wiki Baseball (in Chinese), 2008 Olympics