Ming-Chieh Hsu

From BR Bullpen

Note: This page is for former CPBL and NPB pitcher Ming-Chieh Hsu; for the CPBL pitcher of the same name, click here.

MingChiehHsu.JPG

Ming-Chieh Hsu (許銘傑)

  • Bats Right, Throws Right
  • Height 6' 0", Weight 198 lb.

BR register page

Biographical Information[edit]

Ming-Chieh Hsu pitched in the NPB and the CPBL for 17 years.

Hsu first received international exposure as a player on the Taiwanese team that won the 1990 Little League World Series. He had a 2-2, 1.71 record in the 1993 World Junior Championship, walking one and striking out 13 in 21 innings for the Bronze Medal winners. He pitched for Taiwan in the 1995 Asian Championship. He was 0-1 with a 7.20 ERA in the 1995 Intercontinental Cup. Hsu was 1-1 with a 5.06 ERA for the Taiwan national team in the 1997 World Port Tournament. He won Bronze in the 1997 Asian Championship He rose to professional prominence in 1998 when the 21-year-old went 7-4 with a 2.52 ERA as the top Taiwanese native in the Taiwan Major League. The Taichung Agan ace was even better a year later, going 15-6 with a 2.83 ERA, third in the TML in ERA again and again the best of any native. He led his club to the TML title and was named championship series MVP. Three days later, he signed with the Seibu Lions of Japan's Pacific League, becoming the first Taiwanese performer in six years to go to Japan. He won Bronze in the 1998 Asian Games. In the 1999 Asian Championship, Hsu pitched for Taiwan.

His first year with Seibu, Hsu was 6-7 with a 4.57 ERA. He improved in 2001 and went 11-6 with a 3.47 ERA, second in the PL to Nate Minchey. He was selected into the 2001 NPB All-Star Game, and he started in Game 3. Hsu pitched 2 innings and allowed 2 solo shots to Yoshinobu Takahashi and Roberto Petagine. During the 2001 Baseball World Cup, Hsu was 2-1 with a 2.14 ERA. In 2002, Ming-Chieh was 9-7 with a 3.65 earned run average. In the 2002 Japan Series, he allowed three runs in five innings and got no decisions.

Hsu's performance slipped after that - Hsu was 4-2 with a 5.14 ERA in 2003 and he was removed from the rotation for a while. He pitched for Taiwan in the 2003 Asian Championship as they won Silver. Primarily a reliever in 2004, he went 4-3 with a 4.36 ERA and did not even appear in the Japan Series win by Seibu. In 2005, the 28-year-old on decline gave up 13 baserunners and four scores in 5 2/3 innings of work with Seibu. He was 0-4 with a 5.48 ERA for Seibu in the 2006 season. Hsu went 0-1 with a 4.88 ERA in 15 games for the 2007 Lions.

In the 2007 Baseball World Cup, Hsu had a 4.35 ERA in four games for the host Taiwan team. He had no decisions. He retired all three batters he faced in the 2007 Asian Championship. Hsu pitched 8 2/3 scoreless innings in the 2007 World Port Tournament, saving one game in five appearances. Hsu still struggled in 2008 as his ERA was 5.12 in 17 relief outings, and he had a 3.79 ERA in 16 games in 2009. He was turned into a starter again in 2010, and Hsu was 6-9 with a 4.55 ERA in 20 starts.

The Lions named Hsu as their new setup man in 2011, and he did his work very well. He recorded an elite 1.98 ERA in 49 appearances, and he also collected 22 holds. Hsu ranked 8th in holds, 21 behind Yoshihisa Hirano. He then announced that he would become a free agent, and the Orix Buffaloes signed him with a 2-year, 100-million contract. However, Hsu struggled with Orix, and his ERA was 5.29 in 37 games in 2012. He only played one game in 2013, and he became a free agent. Hsu then announced that he would go back to Taiwan and join the CPBL.

The Lamigo Monkeys drafted Hsu in the second round of the 2013 CPBL Draft (after taking Yu-Hsun Chen in the first round), and Hsu had a 7-5 record with a 3.87 ERA in the 2014. On May 6, Hsu shut out the CTBC Brothers and became the oldest local player to get a shutout in CPBL history. The Monkeys named him as the starter of 2014 Taiwan Series Game 4 against the Brothers, and he pitched 6 innings with 6 strikeouts and allowed 3 runs. He got the loss, but that was the only loss for the Monkeys in the series. He was selected into the 2014 CPBL All-Star Game, and he pitched 2 shutout innings. He had a 4-3 record with a 4.77 ERA in 2015, and he also attended the 2015 CPBL All-Star Game; he pitched a shutout inning. In the 2015 Taiwan Series, Hsu allowed 4 runs in 2 1/3 innings in Game 4, and the Monkeys beat the Brothers in 7 games.

Hsu was released by the Monkeys after the 2015 season, and the Brothers picked him up. His ERA was 7.45 in 16 relief outings in 2016; he announced his retirement and became a coach. He was the pitching coach for the Brothers in 2017, then coached the Seibu Lions from 2018 to 2020. He came back to Taiwan in 2021 and coached the Monkeys.

Overall, Hsu was 49-49 with a 4.20 ERA and 39 holds, struck out 476 and pitched 885 innings in 14 seasons in the NPB. He was 11-9 with a 4.56 ERA, struck out 114 and pitched 211 1/3 innings in 3 seasons in the CPBL.

Sources[edit]

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